influence and potential of digital styli

8/9/2019 Influence and Potential of Digital Styli

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The Influence and Potential of Digital Styli:

Smartpens And Note-taking

Abstract:

This research delves into Smartpen technology and describes how it is able to enhance any note-taking-intensive profession by supplementing memory better than current techniques andmethods. This is shown by looking at the Smartpen technology itself, the psychology of the brainand memory, the use of current techniques and instrumentation, and the effect on society.



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Introduction

Writers of every genre, from journalist to novelist, use notes to keep track of important ideas

and quotes. Scientific and historic researchers process large amounts of information, and must

document it perfectly—lest they make fraudulent their findings or make it impossible for later

researchers to carry on with their work. In a world that depends so heavily on electronics and

computing, it is no surprise that many writing-intensive careers have found various means of note-

taking. There are programs available such as voice-recognition software to replace standard typists

for dictation, and some areas of expertise such as psychology and psychiatry have gone to using

entirely audio-based technology on hand-held voice-recorders for later transcription or recall. All of

these measures are not just matters of convenience; they are designed to supplement the memory

and productivity of the respective user. However, not all of these technologies are readily accessible

and of universal application to a wide range of uses. Only one,

This research paper intends to exemplify the possibilities for a technology such as LiveScribe’s

Pulse Smartpen. It will show how the Smartpen can operate as a potential universal replacement

for the current means of note-taking in various writing-intensive professions by supplementing

memory.

A World Going Electronic

As Norman points out what many might believe to now be common knowledge, “computers

permeate nearly every human activity in the modern world and affect human behavior from the

most basic sensory-motor interactions to the most complex cognitive and social processes” (i).

Psychologists may have a great need for recording equipment, students may need to take a great

deal of notes, and journalists may have the need for both. The Smartpen combines and improves

upon these annotative technologies, allowing for anyone with the need to write and listen and

watch all at the same time to be capable of doing so. It succeeds in this by combining the

technologies of manual writing, electronic writing, and audio recording all in an electronic stylus



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(Weaver 32). Respectively, these three technologies have been around for a very long time. It was

not until recently that “pen-based computing” was attempted, and the LiveScribe Pulse is the

newest and most powerful of them to date.

It houses an infrared camera for picking up the dots on special Smartpen notepaper, as well as

the ink on it while writing. What makes it truly “smart” is the high-definition audio microphone that



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picks up ambient speech and ties it into the writing much like an audio track on a movie. In this

sense, it can effectively act as a backup for human memory.

Smartpens Amongst New Technologies

A technology that is competition with Smartpens is the tablet laptop, where the swivel screen

adjusts to become an electronic notepad. While recording audio, these devices possess effectively

the same capabilities except for the text-linked audio. However, the prices between the two differ

vastly. Tablet PCs range anywhere from $500 to $5000—as opposed to the Pulse, where the two-

gigabyte model is priced at $199. Psychologists, technical writers, lawyers, journalists, and even

executive secretaries could certainly manage to afford $150-$200 if it meant their capacity and

dependability as a writer would increase (Payscale.com). One should note again that technologies

are developed with a specific use in mind… and the Pulse was designed for writers and taking notes.

Bill Weaver touches on this when he describes the actual hardware that was developed for the

Pulse:

This hand-held computer sports a 32-bit ARM 9 processor 1 or 2 GB of flash

memory and runs applications written in Java. It does have a 96x18 pixel

monochrome OLED display, but it is not a touch screen. It instead uses standard

paper that has been printed with a screen pattern of 100-µm diameter dots. … these

offset dots produces a position-addressable grid with an area exceeding 4.6 million

square kilometers… . Instead of poking around with the stylus on a 320x240 pixel

touch screen, the Smartpen can smoothly track its position at a sub-mm resolution

on a canvas having the combined size of Europe and Asia. (32)

And that is just the specifications on the pen and the paper. The actual controls of the pen are all

on the paper itself—there are actual button areas on the paper that act as event procedures for the

software in the pen to activate. Weaver, however, does not stop with what the Smartpen is, but



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what it could be in the future. He considers how open-source programming could lead to massive

developments in further use for the Pulse, especially on a professional level. He discusses how just

on a research level, the Pulse could replace some current laboratory equipment as a sensory device,

not to mention other instrumentation. He also observes that due to everything heading towards

online-based and computer-based documentation, the Smartpen could develop as a low-cost

transfer into a digital environment. As he so aptly considers, “the computer-as-a-pen form factor

may not be a laptop substitute, but an emerging essential data acquisition peripheral” (33).

Current Professional Standards of Note-taking Technology

The current standards of technology are already in place for many of the professions that could

benefit from the Smartpen. Psychologists, researchers, journalists, novelists, lawyers, and many

others use a combination of audio-recording devices and written long- or short-hand notation to

keep track of communicated concepts and ideas. These technologies work, and they are trusted

enough to ensure the verifiability of concepts in legal proceedings or developing new research.

Purdue’s own Engineering Projects In Community Service (E.P.I.C.S.) program requires daily

written note-taking of developments by the students for future build teams and legal purposes

regarding patents. Journalists are especially common users of audio-recorders since it allows for

greater accuracy and the possibility of a full transcription of interviews and press conferences.

These technologies have been in use for some time, but until now no attempt at fusing the two

together as a combined technology has occurred—nor has the understanding of such a fusion’s

technological advantage over contemporary note-taking mechanisms existed. Smartpens, in specific

LiveScribe’s Pulse, offers a significant series of advancements when compared to tape-recorders,

PDAs, laptops, and even video recording.

The LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen as a New Technology

The Pulse, as a significant development—and a potential upgrade from the common styli of

pens, pencils, PDAs, and tablet laptops—offers a unique opportunity to take new technologies



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(audio-recording and computer-based storage and data sharing) and mix them with everything that

worked from writing as a technology within itself. The capture of audio works because it takes the

act of speaking and mixes it with the spoken words themselves to generate a rhetorical context

capable of being analyzed. This is a step up from simple writing as especially note-taking because

the original context and words, by the very nature of the act, are usually no longer present. The

exception is notes copied directly from another medium such as a black board, slide presentation,

text book, or even direct quotations by a speaker. Note-taking works perfectly when there is ample

time and something to copy directly from, such as audio recordings. It is much harder when, such as

the cases of journalists or novelists when things said or thought are a long series of fleeting

instances—a stream of consciousness. As stated by Underwood and Underwood,

The task of taking a contemporaneous record of another’s speech, or in this case a

conversation between two people, one of whom is the note taker, necessarily

demands selection. The selectivity demanded by note-taking is a recurrent theme

here, and can been seen to have effects upon what is recorded as well as what is

encoded and remembered. (61)

This is congruent to the idea that as one takes notes, the mind’s working memory shifts

momentarily to the structuring and creation of written words and concepts, then shifts again to the

transcription of them onto paper or a keyboard. With fewer notes taken, more can be listened to

and processed to memory. However, the less notes taken, the harder it is to quote or fully recreate

the original concepts and rhetorical context. Underwood and Underwood continue to point out that,

The note-taker is set the task of listening to what is being said, deciding which parts

of the spoken message to record, and then converting these thoughts into written

transcription. Can we divide our attention between listening and simultaneous



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writing? … The listener’s attention can be expected to alternate between what is

being said and what is being written. (61)

The Psychological Impact of Smartpens

The reason Smartpens work is that they affect all the types of memory—working, short, and

long—but not all at once. Instead, Smartpens are used during the actual experience that is being

annotated, which is being processed in the working memory and making it’s way to the long-term

storage. It is here that a paradox begins: in order to remember better, people will take notes as they

listen. This act of taking notes causes a bottleneck in the processing component of the very limited

short-term memory, and due to the need to recall words and images and concepts necessary for

writing it will fill up and lose new information. The more in-depth and precise these notes are, the

less the working memory will be able to process concurrent information flooding the senses as the

notes are being written. However, because long-term memory operates by familiarity, the less notes

that are taken or the less specific they are, the less accurate the information will be when retrieved

later on, and this effect grows as more time passes due to lost connections to those memories in the

brain (decay). Using a Smartpen as a literal long-term memory bank will allow far greater amounts

of information to flow through working and short-term memory to long-term memory, and then

notes can be taken later without interrupting the flow using the audio from the electronic stylus.



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Effects of Smartpens on Working Memory and Short-Term Memory

The Smartpen’s greatest asset comes in the form of storing digitally the writing and audio of a

timeframe. This action on part of the Smartpen is to the benefit of all forms of memory for the

writer. For working memory, the Smartpen offers the opportunity to focus on what is being said

and done in the context of the situation and not be as concerned with constantly scribbling notes. In

fact, it is this very act of switching from listening to writing that human memory itself creates a

need for the Smartpen. As Howe emphasizes,

There are capacity limits on attention and thus also on WM. We can only attend to a

single channel of (new) information at a time. For instance, it is not possible to read

one story while simultaneously listening to another and follow the content of both

(Mowbray, 1953). This is another way of saying that at any given moment we can

only hold a single channel of information active in WM. The second limitation on

WM involves the quantity of information—now related to a single channel—that can



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be maintained in WM, and how long the information can be maintained across time.

(81)

In many situations, the amount of information presented and the speed at which it is given is

significantly rapid. Writers who have to listen and type on their laptops during conferences or

interviews and even classroom lectures may find that the key tapping is distracting to others, while

voice recorders may pick up more than just the lecturer or interviewee in a loud or crowded area

with a high ambient noise level. In cases such as these manual note-taking may be a good choice,

but all of the distractions now present may cause problems of their own for the working memory of

the writer. In any case, the Smartpen allows for usability in a range of environments. When these

situations are at a minimum or can be avoided entirely, the Smartpen truly allows for freedom of

attention. Many psychological models of memory involve the attention span as part of what it

governs. [Baddeley’s model of verbal Short Term Memory (STM)] posited that the phonological

loop could only hold information for about 2 seconds; following 2 seconds, the information would

be lost through decay if it was not reinstated by the articulatory control process … however, the

data have not on the whole supported the view that verbal STM traces decay in 2 seconds (Norman

83).

Baddeley’s model continues to describe the use of the phonological loop is his own

conceptualization of working memory, “Working memory is controlled by a central executive and

has at least two storage areas, a phonological loop and a visuospacial working memory . The

phonological loop allows for the rehearsal of speech-based information. Words can be temporarily

stored and manipulated in the loop (Norman 160).” The phonological loop is what causes the brain

to congest during a lecture that necessitates notes; while notes are being taken, the phonological

loop is reiterating the information. But when the notes have been taken, the loop is missing

whatever was said during the actual time taken to write because it was needed to manipulate the



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speech into text through the visuospacial working memory. This whole processes literally shuts out

any new input—if new input manages to come in, it is because it has overwritten something else.

Recall and Storage Enhancements by Note-taking Technologies

It seems to be a central belief that “when notes are taken during a discussion we would expect

some selectivity and therefore some loss of information simply as a product of the limit of our

attention” (Underwood 62). The limit of such attention is based deeply in the psychology of the

human mind, and even with all contemporary research there is no one definitive understanding of

how the human brain operates concerning memory. Current research indicates several theories of

operation, but the most generally accepted concept is “divided into three systems or stages … with a

sensory register, a short-term memory [STM], and a long term memory [LTM] with an executive

processor in charge (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968)” (Norman 157). The sensory register in some

models includes Working Memory (WM)—the actual consciousness of an individual and where the

activated content being interpreted by the senses is processed (Howes 80).

Other models claim WM is a storage area before processing to STM, and others still claim that

WM is a continuous stream of LTM connecting experiences to sensory input. The use of a Smartpen

will supplement memory in general, but during its actual time of use it is working in conjunction

with WM. Standard manual note-taking creates a visual reminder or direct quote of what has been

said, usually as a personal reminder of specific points or—as might a student in a lecture—an

outline that provides an overview of topics with sub-points.

Depending on the circumstance, the range of topics could either be a single subject or, as is the

case of a speech like the State of the Union address, a vast range of important areas for concern.

Note-taking as a solitary technology is not effective enough to truly guarantee the effectiveness or

the accuracy of the original, especially when one considers that “the more memory modalities



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(motor: speech, drawing, writing; visual; sight of word or design; hearing: sound of word or

melody) are used in recall, the stronger the probability that recall will be perfect” (Arnold 41).

Even tape recorders, when compared with much newer technologies, are becoming outdated

rapidly. Video streams on YouTube and news broadcast channel websites are becoming more and

more prevalent, so it is not uncommon to use video recorders for specific events. It is necessary to

note, however, that broadcast-grade video requires a camera crew, and not every low-scale

interviewer and sports editor can afford or supply one. In mid- to low-scale reporting and

interviewing, generally the least invasive recording equipment works best. It is here where the

Pulse Smartpen can truly shine above other equipment. A key feature of the Pulse is the capability

to start parallel audio from any given line of text by simply tapping a position on the notepaper with

the pen itself. This makes for an incredible outlining technique for psychologists and psychiatrists

who want the client to feel open about expressing themselves and not be concerned that every time

they say something it will be noted. The awkwardness of issue-specific notation in a scenario such

as psychological counseling can be avoided entirely with the Smartpen by the counsel writing the

heading of the topic and letting the pen record the rest.

Smartpens work better than current assistive technologies because they improve upon the

typical usages of modern techniques. There are multiple uses for a Smartpen, and those uses may

change to meet the differing needs of the specific user. A journalist who does not have a Smartpen

may attempt to take audio notes with a voice recorder (digital or tape) and shorthand notes on

paper while listening to an interview or a press release. For this profession, writing and taping the

necessary audio information is crucial to getting facts straight and being able to quote effectively in

a fast-paced speech or a high-profile interview. However, even professionals forget to bring fresh

batteries for their recorders, have trouble recollecting the rhetorical context of the situation, lose

their notes, or have accidents like coffee spills and dropped papers. When the notes that are



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supposed to allow for recollection are corrupted or the audio meant for transcription is accidently

overwritten, the entire point of that supportive technology is lost. These accidents are perhaps not

as common to seasoned veterans as they are to beginners, but accidents happen nonetheless. This

is not to say that accidents might not happen with the Smartpen, but it does mean that by using a

single instrument instead of several, there is far less possibility for problems—especially when the

instrument stores a digital copy of everything that was written onto the hard copy on the paper.

Smartpens Act as a Digital Phonological Loop

Recalling Baddeley’s model, the phonological loop is what is used when a writer goes to write

down notes from a lecture, memory, or his imagination. It is that use of the sounding out words in

the mind before they are written, and it requires visuospacial memory to target where and how the

letters are to be written on the page. Because working memory is limited, it becomes more and

more difficult to take truly accurate notes when there is an abundance of information flooding the

working memory. The mind must not only process all the information to define each part’s

importance and relevance to previously written notes, but also to the continuous stream of

information coming across to the writer as these notes are being taken. As Howe quite aptly

emphasizes,

The dissociatively coded information [separate audio and visual] has to be reunited

into a single stimulus before that stimulus is entered into awareness. This reuniting

or “binding” of the information requires attention (Treisman, 1998; Wheeler &

Treisman, 2002). It is possible that the bottleneck in sensory memory reflects the

need to perform complex processing involved in connecting the relevant codes (for

shape, meaning, etc.) back together. The processing may drain the capacity of the

system to maintain information in the sensory store… (43).



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The act of re-entering awareness from LTM is the mind recalling the words and letters

necessary to annotate what is being taken down for the notes. Even from working memory, “when

items are recalled from sensory store, this creates output interference. Output interference means

that it becomes more difficult to recall the remaining items” (Howe 49). The new stimulus that is

the enjoinment of audio and visual takes up space in the working memory, preventing new,

incoming sensory input to be processed. When this happens, Howe found, and someone is

attempting to write and listen at the same time, not only is it harder to formulate a sentence for

expression on paper, but it is actually progressively harder the longer the sentence is: “If

experimental participants are required to articulate a word or nonsense syllable while hearing and

recalling material presented for short-term retention, the memory span is shortened. This effect is

known as articulatory suppression” (62).

In effect, the act of recalling information in order to initiate and continue of writing down notes

actually temporarily prevents new sensory input (lecture data, interview quotes, rhetorical context,

body language, etc.) from being properly processed into short-term memory. This failure to process

means that not only is the immediately following surrounding context of the notes lost, but so is

that actual new data itself. As notes are being written, potentially critical words and ideas may be

failing processing, resulting in altogether missed input. Not only are new data being missed, but

even the now-old new data is decaying as it is written; “Sensory memory for auditory stimuli

(echoic memory) lasts for about 4 seconds and in the absence of interference may last for as long as

20 seconds” (Howe 49). This is unacceptable if there is already a long string of information

attempting to be processed in the working memory. One might consider this like a random-access

memory for a computer, except that it deletes anything it cannot process both quickly and within

the constraints of its capacity. In effect, if there is too much information coming in to fit, and it

bottlenecks to the point of no longer processing, anything not already in the memory after 4

seconds is lost. It is for this reason that audio technology is extremely important, because besides



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the fact that information may be lost over time, it also has great potential to be lost immediately.

The smartpen makes all of this irrelevant and vastly improves the capacity to remember by

recording a hard copy of the actual audio; the listener can take personal or reminder notes at will

without worrying that something is missed.

Smartpens Counter The Shortness of Echoic Memory

For some people who have perfected the art of note-taking, immediate memory loss can be

countered with techniques like short-hand. Short-hand takes advantage of the fact that processing

small chunks of big things runs faster and smoother than trying to process a large amount of things

all at once. However, even with such techniques, the full extent of the rhetorical context is missing.

Norman agrees with his explanation of how the mind processes data in chunks as necessarily

meaningful large pieces: “STM [short term memory] is limited by the number of chunks, not the size

of the chunks. This means if we can convert strings of information into meaningful chunks, we can

retain much more information in STM” (159).

With this in mind, it is now possible to see how a technology that merges both written and

auditory technologies can replace them because they are seen as separate tools separate tools. The

capabilities of the Pulse Smartpen as a merging of technologies opens the door to entirely new ways

of computing, impossible as long as such technologies remained parallel concepts but never

working together as one unit. As said before, the more types of sensory that are applied to a

learning objective, the faster and better it will be put to memory. Just as hearing and motor are two

complimentary senses, they can be two complimentary technologies as auditory and written; a

powerful tool when used well in conjunction with one another. The question then becomes not a

matter of how Smartpens are an upgrade to current technologies, but how they set themselves

apart as a technology of their own. Jeff Hastings discusses this when he states,



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I thought I’d witnessed both the beginning and the end of the pentop computer. But

it’s back as the Pulse Smartpen by Livescribe, a sleeker tool targeted at older

students and adults… the Pulse employs special paper imprinted with barely visible

microdots. That, combined with a tiny camera mounted in the tip, lets the pen log

the location of every pen stroke. The pen even recognizes hand-written icons the

user can jot anywhere on the paper. (21)

Even though Smartpens have a camera and can record movement, so can a writer’s eye, and

even though Hastings claims that a must-have is the “built in microphones that can record things

like lectures and interviews with surprising natural fidelity,” so can a normal—and cheaper—tape

recorder or even a cell phone with voice recorder (21+). The Pulse Smartpen is, again, a new

technology. Every technology is designed and modified and perfected for a purpose. Audio devices

for the most part are meant to record only sounds. Styli are designed to write. The Pulse is designed

to do both—and with greater efficiency by creating both an analog and digital copy of note-takings

in tandem with an audio log.

Smartpen Scenarios: Note-taking at Work

The Pulse does far more than just convert a few scribbles to PDF. One could draw a keyboard

and use it as if it were the real thing, or translate individual words to Spanish just by clicking on

them with the right setting, the translated material showing in the pen’s LED. And though these are

nice little extras, the real meat of the technology still lies in its capacity to merge audio and script.

Hastings agrees when he introduces his own vision of the Pulse’s possibility for writers;

Ever watch a political press conference and see the gaggles of reporters, with pen

and paper, feverishly trying to both listen and formulate follow-up questions while

accurately writing down the politician’s pithiest quotes? That’s pushing multitasking

to the limit. The Pulse Smartpen could really streamline such jobs … Back at the



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hotel, using the paper replay feature, those reporters would have a random-access

digital audio review of the entire press conference that they could play back, word

for word, from any point, right from their pen. (23)

This may be a fantastic opportunity for journalists, but what about situations where the law of

recording speech-driven lectures, such as a classroom, is fuzzy at best? Where legal issues are

concerned, Charles Hannon delves into the potential ramifications of using technology like the

Smartpen, as it may end up threatening intellectual property laws with the increasing use of social

networking websites combined with the digital ease of sharing proffered by the Pulse. He states

that though there are no current laws in place prohibiting recording devices in classrooms, some

professors may simply be concerned over patentable ideas and research they are producing that

might be discussed in the classroom (Hannon 15). Some may believe that all a professor would have

to do is keep private about his or her work, but the university itself is generally the profiting

enterprise of such endeavors. If such an institution felt that it’s highly profitable research was

under threat of open knowledge, they would be foolish to not condemn open speech about

developing products or ideas. In other circles, one may also argue that a space of learning such as a

classroom would be an inappropriate place to condemn any kind of suppressed education. If

something needed an example, a professor could certainly find something besides his or her own

work to speak on.

Conclusive Concerns

This paper has discussed the growth of computer dependency in modern times, the change in

annotative technologies due to this growth, and how new technologies directed specifically at

improving note-taking can influence and improve many writing-dependent careers and institutions.

Furthermore, it has argued the physiological and psychological reasons why the Smartpen should

be the tool of choice for writers, and how it benefits both the technology and the writer from

combining millennia-old writing practices with modern electronic technologies. A final notable



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concept is how fully the Smartpen integrates writing with computing. What perhaps fails to be

recognized on many accounts is not seeing how the Smartpen improves the future, but also how it

emphasizes the continued use of one of humanity’s most influential technologies: the hand-written

word. In many ancient civilizations, those who were most current with the writing technologies

such as the Egyptian scribes and the Roman scholars held powerful social and institutional

positions. The ability to communicate with new technologies is crucial, but it raises the question

about what happens to the older technologies (like papyrus scrolls), and if it is inevitable that they

die hard with the times (Baron). With the Smartpen, hand-written documentation is still possible,

which means that anyone of any age group with the ability to write can do so. In effect, it does not

replace the older technology, but instead integrates it with the newer and combines the best of

both. Perhaps without the Smartpen—or perhaps even with it—the manual stylus may give way to

the keyboard and cease use.



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Works Cited

Arnold, Magda B. Memory and the Brain. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1984. Print.

Baron, Dennis. “Should we fear a world without books?” http://illinois.edu. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 28 Jan 2009. Web. 26 Feb 2009.

Hannon, Charles. “Paper-based Computing.” EDUCause Quarterly 31.4 (2008): 15-16. Google

Scholar. Web. 4 Feb. 2009.

Hastings, Jeff. “Pulse Smartpen.” School Library Journal 54.11 (2008): 21-23. EBSCOhost. Web. 4

Feb. 2009.

Howes, Mary B. Human Memory: Structures and Images. Thousand Oaks : SAGE Publications, c2007.

Print.

Norman, Kent L. Cyberpsychology: An Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.

Underwood, Jean D. M., and Geoffrey Underwood. “The Selective Nature of Memory: Some Effects of

Taking A Verbal Record A Response to A. Plaut.” Journal of Analytical Psychology 50.1

(2005): 59-67. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 Feb. 2009.

Weaver, Bill. “On The Pulse.” Scientific Computing 26.1 (2009): 32-33. EBSCOhost. Web. 4 Feb. 2009.

www.payscale.com. Web. 4 Feb. 2009. Pages referenced:

<http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Attorney_%2F_Lawyer/Salary>

<http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Executive_Secretary/Salary>

<http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Journalist/Salary>

<http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Technical_Writer/Salary>

<http://www.payscale.com/research/US/People_with_Jobs_in_Psychology,_Psychiatrists,_P

sychologists/Salary>

Works Referenced

Cohn, Elchanan, Sharon Cohn, and James Bradley, Jr. “Notetaking, Working Memory, and Learning inPrinciples of Economics.” Journal of Economic Education 26.4 (1995): 291-307. OmniFile MTMega. Web. 4 Feb. 2009

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