Throughout my undergraduate degree, I struggled to keep up with my lecturers when I was taking notes. I always found myself a step behind and never had time to completely finish my thoughts before rushing to write down the next point. Borrowing friends’ notes didn’t really work, either, because what they thought was important to write down wasn’t always what I thought was important, leaving me with missing information. I eventually found a solution, though: the Livescribe Smartpen.

Have you heard of this pen? The Livescribe Smartpen completely changed how I took notes. Not only does it record your lecture while you’re taking notes, but it also connects what you hear to what you write. It allows you to come back later and play back your lecture at any point in time by tapping on a particular note or on the uploaded version on your computer. Another benefit to this pen is that you don’t actually need to write notes: you can draw a picture on the page and the pen will still link what you hear to your drawing. Finally, if you are someone who takes in more information from just listening to a lecture, by using the Smartpen, you can record the lecture and highlight any important information you hear by using the star feature on the tool bar at the bottom of the Livescribe notebook. Sound too good to be true? This pen actually works, and I strongly recommend it for anyone who needs to take notes, whether in class or in a meeting. For more information on the Livescribe Smartpen, check out their website.

-AR [Written by Ashley Ross, guest contributor, who will be at the Academic Success Centre on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 3:30 pm for the next few weeks.]
For more information on “The Pen That Never Forgets,” check out this article by Clive Thomas in the New York Times.