Understanding the Features of Digital Pen Use in Initial Introductory Lessons

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the present state and features of the digital pen, as well as its use in school lessons in Japan; it does so by undertaking an investigation of related systems and research, executing a questionnaire survey, and implementing its use in a real classroom setting. We discuss the Anoto digital pen system while reviewing related research studies; we found some of those studies helpful, as they address the issue of sharing each student’s writing and, by extension, reflections on their ideas and thought patterns. We then describe the results of the questionnaire on the use of digital pens before and after lessons. The results revealed that adults tend to have negative images of the system prior to actual use. If learners have such images, teachers should work to counter students’ system-use anxieties, in the initial introductory stages; by doing so, learners could find the system attractive and discover its effectiveness. We believe they would understand and appreciate the use of the digital pen, given the causal relationships we discovered through a covariance structure analysis of questionnaire data. Furthermore, these causal relationships were demonstrated in interviews with teachers who suggest that students were most appreciative of the system only when teachers worked to make its use as stress-free as possible.