I love my Livescribe Pulse Pen!

For the past 2 weeks I have been taking notes during a web training via phone and internet. Each training lasted more than an hour with a lot of details being said. While I am a fairly adept note taker, I have just found the equivalent of performance enhancing substances for note taking. What I am talking about is my Livescribe Pulse pen. This pen enables me to record every stroke of my pen on the paper, while at the same time recording every word that was spoken.

Not only are all of the words that are spoken being recorded, but the technology allows me to go back and listen to what is being said at any point by clicking on the words on the paper. Due to the technology of the paper and the camera in the pen, it actually can locate that moment in the audio file and play from there.
This ability combined with easy to use technology, solid software interface for your computer, and printed controls on every piece of paper and you are looking at the makings of a great product.
Having the product demoed for me at NECC 2009, I was sold almost immediately. Since getting the pen, it has lived up to everything that I was shown at the conference without any disappointment.
Let me say this outright, I cannot stop listing the academic uses for this product. The uses are both for adults and children alike. This can be a support tool for staff (much like I have been using it), I can see my school administrators using this as a tool during observations, I see staff using it during parent teacher conferences. I see students using this tool to supplement note taking, and as a study aid.
The livescribe website has resources for educators as well. With the addition of paper available for download and a bevy of additional resources in development, I see this as a tool that will grow with the changes in technology.
I have not spoken yet about the USB connection and software interface. In the software, notebooks are downloaded, indexed and ready to be viewed in a page viewer. Text is colored differently if there is an audio file associated with them. You can upload to a livescribe server and access your files and share them as well.
The only flaw I have found is that you need to use "special" paper that is made for the pen. Though this may seem limiting, the cost of the notebooks are comparable to the price of regular notebooks from any store. There are a variety of notebooks available in styles and colors.
As I continue to use the pen I will continue to write about how I use it and what types of obstacles and successes I have.