A simple yet nonetheless impressive fusing of technology and education, the smart pen is a pen that allows you to digitally record all your notes from classes and lectures via smart software which digitalizes your written text, and a sensitive microphone which records audio. Once uploaded, smart pen programs such as the Livescribe Echo Smartpen will allow you mark any point in your digitalized text and play the audio that coincides with the time you wrote the note. After use, the smart pen’s software allows you to upload your recordings and notes onto programs such as Evernote or Google Docs. So whether you’re using the smart pen simply to record a lecture, or a journalism or business student using the device during a field outing or meeting, Livescribe is the digital native’s way of keeping on top of academic notes.
Keyboards you can fold up and take with you have been around long enough for us to realize how handy they are for hooking up to mobile devices for typing on the go. But there’s a newer, better innovation being bought to market… the virtual keyboard. Yeah, it’s happened, and it is as good as it sounds. A virtual keyboard, such as the Cube Laser Virtual Keyboard, utilizes laser technology and functions as a wireless device that you can connect to any mobile or tablet via Bluetooth. The keyboard device itself, little larger than a Tic Tac box, stands on your desk and once turned on, issues a red laser QWERTY keyboard for you to type on to directly. Your text is synced onto your device in real time. If you’ve ever wanted to feel like one of those futuristic spy-tech operatives in the James Bond movies, the virtual keyboard is for you.
The digital devices such as tablets are now slowly replacing the heavy textbooks. Cost was a highlighted issue; many schools have now recognized that this cost is much affordable over the time. School authorities can easily upload the study materials every term or year on the same devices and save the extra cost of new textbooks every year. The ease of accessibility and storage and comfort of carrying only a light weight tablet to school every day makes this a smart choice.