« Access to ICT* without losing touch with paper. »

« I have mainly used PAPERSHOW™ with small groups of primary pupils with special needs. The strengths of the system are its mobility, the fact that it uses paper and its ICT for money ratio, to coin a phrase. P Involving a pupil in the class or group in writing on the board (video projection) is just as simple as with a tablet PC, but far cheaper. The paper and pen can be handed round the classroom so that everyone can participate, and all that needs to move is the teacher, handing out the pen and the paper being worked on. The other major benefit compared with a graphics tablet is that the child doesn’t have to look at the board while writing. He or she can concentrate on writing, while the others watch on the board. This is a relief for some pupils, who find it painful to write at all, let alone in public. I have also had a case of a disabled child in a wheelchair, who obviously couldn’t get to the board to share his written work with the class. PAPERSHOW™ enabled him to show his writing and his solution just like everyone else, overcoming his mobility problem at a stroke. Even if PAPERSHOW™ cannot replace an interactive whiteboard, it complements it perfectly, enriching it with a huge number of possibilities thanks to its use of paper. Above all, it can give access to ICT very cheaply to pupils and teachers who feel a need to retain the contact with paper. »

David Hebert, has used PAPERSHOW™ in his work with RASED (specialist support network for children in difficulties.) He is an active member of the Projetice association, aimed at promoting the insertion of ICT in Education. 

« A fantastic tool for cohesion »

Like a clerk in court, the student who uses PAPERSHOW™ in Mr Costille’s class has the heavy burden of taking down notes which will then be used by all his or her colleagues. « I use PAPERSHOW™ while showing videos », explains Mr Costille. « Individual note-taking then becomes group note-taking. How ? It’s simple. While the video is showing, all the students take notes in their ordinary notebooks, while one of them uses PAPERSHOW™. When the video is finished, I show this student’s notes, enabling the others to compare them with their own. If anyone thinks something is missing, he or she takes the tool and adds it directly. And so on... At the end of the session, we copy up these notes together and store them. The benefit is that we end up with a common stock of information. In the next lesson, everyone starts from the same place. » A fantastic tool for cohesion, PAPERSHOW™ is also used to run brainstorming sessions before starting a new subject : « Before we start a new chapter, the tool is passed round the class so that everyone can write down what they know about the subject. Now it’s the tool that moves round, rather than the students. This is much less intimidating for the students, who, especially at their age, don’t like standing out from the crowd. The tool relaxes and reassures. Because it’s easy to correct what you have written, and only the good ideas are left at the end ! »

Jean-Pierre Costille, history and geography teacher at Lycée Jules Haag in Besançon. Member of the Clionautes association.

« A magic pen that brings rough drafts back to life »

« Since I’ve been using PAPERSHOW™, I have noticed how much more enthusiastic the pupils are about group written work. » For Caroline Jouneau, once past the fun and surprise of a new toy, this is a tool that is proving genuinely useful. She adds: « It promotes collaborative work and encourages everyone to participate. It also brings rough drafts to life – the magic pen excites them, because it allows mistakes. The pupils realise that you can get it wrong and it doesn’t matter. You can make corrections straightaway, and there’s no problem. Suddenly, they want to write! In a debate about Turkey’s entry into the European Union, for example, they all think hard to find an idea. What they want is to be able to use the pen to add a thought to the group’s store of ideas ! » PAPERSHOW™ helps the pupil regain control of writing : « Before, the written word came from them, but it was me who wrote it on the board. With PAPERSHOW™, they do the writing themselves. »

Caroline Jouneau-Sion, history and geography teacher at the Germinal school in Raismes. President of the Clionautes association.

« A new tool, a motivating factor »

« I use PAPERSHOW™ in group lessons, on a computer connected to a video projector. As often as possible, I give it to the pupils themselves, who love the « magical » side of the digital pen. P We use it to draw diagrams, compare different people’s suggestions, complete documents, analyse or annotate images or illustrations, such as maps for example. The very natural way PAPERSHOW™ is used enables everyone to produce something very quickly, which is obviously a motivating factor. Using drawing software, which is more complex, and a mouse, is much less direct. The pupils are also very sensitive about how they render their ideas, because their work is « published » immediately – everyone can see what they are writing on the screen. This encourages effort. I have been surprised to see how some pupils who take little care on paper become suddenly extremely legible when everyone can see their work ! It would be true to say that PAPERSHOW™ is a tool that promotes sharing between pupils. »

Denis Sestier, history and geography teacher at Saint Martin de Fontenay secondary school. Member of the Clionautes association.

*TICE : Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication appliquées à l’Enseignement.