Today, Logitech announced the launch of their new Logitech Pen, a stylus that allows students to digitally write, draw, and design in class, with no pairing required.
Software manufacturers created the stylus in collaboration with students and educators, working alongside children to observe how they held pens and calling on the knowledge of ergonomic experts. The Pen has been crafted for comfort, designed to suit a range of hand shapes, grips and holds, and levels of motor skills development.
The Pen is fit for touch-screen Chromebooks, supports Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) standards, and is Works With Chromebooks certified.
Given that students and educators are increasingly using Chromebooks as an everyday tool in schools and at home, we created the Logitech Pen to unlock the full potential of Chromebooks in the classroom. The Logitech Pen is notably transforming how students utilize their Chromebooks, enabling these devices to become even more essential tools in active learning through annotation, sketching, and note taking, which are proven to increase comprehension and retention – Michele Hermann, vice president of mobility and head of education solutions at Logitech
Writing by ‘hand’
Research has shown that writing by hand aids in retention and comprehension – the act of physically annotating during lessons makes a significant difference in how and what students learn.
With this in mind, creators of the Pen wanted the digital stylus to be as lifelike as possible. The design allows for pressure sensitivity, so the student can add shading, marks, bold lines or faint annotations however they please.
The stylus allows for flexibility in its functions, enabling the student to have more choice in their input. The active tip of the Pen features 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, allowing students to create lines or characters more clearly than with a finger or rubber tip stylus.
Creators of the Pen have said this feature will be particularly useful in STEM topics and exams, whereby the assessment may call for annotations of a diagram, or the showings of working out within the steps of a maths equation.
Teachers can make notes on their Chromebooks for real-time feedback, and students can easily begin working thanks to the Logitech Pen’s no pairing needed design.
Although there is a pen loop on the Chromebook screen whereby the Pen may be attached, the student can also just carry the Pen around with them in their pencil case. The Pen will automatically go into sleep mode, ready to be picked up and used whenever they next need it.
Student-proof
Chromebooks have seen an unparalleled surge in popularity for educators over recent years, with around 40 million currently in use.
To enhance compatibility and ease of use, Logitech have designed the Pen to use the same USB-C charger already used for Chromebooks, with a battery life that is ready to write for up to 15 days under normal school usage.
A full charge will take up to 40 minutes, but if a student is in need of a quick boost – indicated by the flashing LED once the battery hits 10% – they can plug their Pen in for only 30 seconds to get a full 30 minutes of use. The stylus can also be used while it’s charging.
With the hustle and bustle of K-12 classrooms in mind, the Pen offers military-grade drop protection, able to withstand a fall of up to four feet (roughly the height of a standard school desk). It is also completely spill resistant.
Pricing and availability
The Logitech Pen will be available to order from education resellers in the United States and select markets in January 2022 at the suggested retail price of $64.99. For more information, please visit Logitech.com.
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