I have heard a lot about e-paper over the last couple of years, but hadn’t really seen much evidence as to the possibilities of it replacing traditional paper – until now.

The new Livescribe paper-based computing platform is due out at early in the next year. Complete with a “smartpen”, e-paper, applications, etc, this system will allow users to write, much like on traditional paper. The difference is that content is digitally translated, stored and is sharable via email or other tools like blogs. Imagine a whole class full of students making notes and connections.

There are also translation features – will students even need to share a common language to work together? – and notes, sketches and voice can be auto-posted to blogs and other web 2.0 tools.

Some subjects that require creation of graphics and working with non-linear text and numbers (e.g. Math) just lend themselves easier to pen and paper. This platform would allow learners to maintain the flexibility of handwriting with the even more portable and affordable nature of this medium as opposed to a laptop with a graphics tablet or even a tablet PC.

I have some questions…does it work in colour? Connectivity options? Does it connect wirelessly to a PC? I would love to get my hands on one to explore further…but the possibilities are mind-boggling…:)

Check out this video …even more details are available at their website.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/DE-mnEdAf7g" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple, livescribe

As users on this side of the planet continue to define connectivity primarily through an ever-increasing demand for PC’s (both desktops and laptops), the future is being glimpsed in the connected center of the planet – Japan.

In the Yahoo Tech blog, Christopher Null reports that the fall of the PC world has begun, with Japanese consumers, primarily young people, ditching their laptops for other devices. 2007 second quarter sales of desktops fell almost 5%, while laptops fell over 3%. The question is, why? The answer is, of course, rather simple – they demand to be connected, to their work, to their play and to their learning.

If we believe that our kids will invent the future with demand, then we are beginning to see the end of the PC. Not that it will be obsolete tomorrow, but it is obvious that the tremendous rate of change vis a vis technology will continue, with demand for smaller and more portable connectivity driving the shift. We can see evidence in devices like the iPhone, which is surely just a start.

What does this mean for education? Well, to start it reinforces the fact that it is not about any particular technology, but rather about the connectivity and the information. While PC’s are a powerful learning tool, we don’t need to spend huge amounts of time teaching kids how to use the machine. Rather, we need to spend time working with our kids to learn how to locate, assess, harvest, manipulate, synthesize, connect and communicate new information.

It also provides a challenge to those seeking to ban cell phones and other small, portable connected devices in our schools. What will be our response when, ten years (or less!) from now, our students are completely connected anytime, anywhere and laptops and desktops are not the most efficient tool for learning. How will we react? Would it not just be more effective to start with learning about proper digital citizenship, including when and where to utilize the tools?

This is not to say we shouldn’t be transitioning to 1:1 computing environments, it just means that this is only the beginning phase of a connected revolution, where being connected in an anytime, anywhere environment will be the key to learning.

tags: technology, education, learning, whipple

Photo Credit: “Old Car” by Whip62’s (me) photostream on Flickr