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Student perception on the impact of the Livescribe smartpen as an accommodation

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Abstract

The goal of this exploratory qualitative study was to determine how students with disabilities in higher education are using the Livescribe smartpen in their note-taking process and the perceived impact on their academic tasks. Based on participant interviews, many are using the Livescribe smartpen for recording class lectures while taking notes and for engaging with the content outside of the class session. All but one participant reported a perceived positive impact from the use of the Livescribe pen. The positive impacts included improved focus, higher academic outcomes, independence, and capturing complete notes. One unexpected trend that was revealed is that the majority of the participants adjusted their use of the Livescribe smartpen accommodation based on the professor’s teaching style and course structure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT, 06515, USA

    Lauren Tucker & Bogdan Zamfir

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  1. Lauren Tucker
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  2. Bogdan Zamfir
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Correspondence to Lauren Tucker.

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The authors disclose that they were both employed at the university where the research was conducted.

Ethical approval and standards

Transparency is vital in research. The authors disclose they were both employees at the university where the study was conducted; however, there were no funding conflicts of interest and the researchers were not instructors of any participants. The two researchers gained approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to conduct the study and each participant received informed consent. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. For in-person interviews, participants signed an informed consent document. For phone interviews, students read the informed consent and provided verbal consent.

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Tucker, L., Zamfir, B. Student perception on the impact of the Livescribe smartpen as an accommodation. Univ Access Inf Soc 21, 599–607 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-021-00806-2

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