Fly Pen Handwriting Recognition

Fly Pen Handwriting Recognition

One of the best features of the Fly Pen is its handwriting recognition ability. The pen uses several interesting pieces of technology to provide students with nearly flawless handwriting recognition. This allows the student to digitize handwritten notes and upload them onto a PC as a text document.


In order for the pen to recognize handwriting, the student must write on special Fly Paper. This paper is covered with millions of little dots that form a grid. As the student writes, the computer interprets the letters, numbers and other characters by reading the lines made on the grid.


The pen has a built-in scanner or camera near the tip of the pen. The scanner basically reads the grid (rather than the actual ink) and tells the computer what is being written by storing a series of grid coordinates. The computer then uses special software to interpret those coordinates as letters, words, numbers or even drawings.


The Fly Pen uses MyScript handwriting recognition to read those grid coordinates. MyScript is a powerful handwriting recognition tool that uses vocabulary lists to recognize actual words rather than just letters, numbers and other characters. The program uses the context words are written in to determine precisely which word should be used.


All of this technology sounds great, but of course it leads one to wonder how well a middle school student could use it. The technology itself operates on its own behind the scenes, but what about a middle school student with sloppy handwriting?


Leap Frog, the maker of the Fly Fusion, actually had a test group of 8-13 year-olds who provided handwriting samples to develop the handwriting recognition program. As a result, the pen offers copletely operational handwriting recognition for both words and individual letters and numbers, even if the student’s handwriting isn’t the clearest.

Fly Pen for Studying and Organization

Fly Pen for Studying and Organization

The Fly Pen is a fantastic studying tool. Three features make it one of the best ways to study around. Those features are the pen’s translator, quizzes and note organization system. The Fly Fusion keeps students engaged in their schoolwork and encourages them to excel. Here’s a brief overview of it’s study features.


The pen’s translator tool provides translation into Spanish and French. The student simply writes the English word on Fly Paper, asks the pen to translate and the pen speaks the word in Spanish or French, giving correct pronunciation and spelling. Far from a cheat sheet, this feature enables students to whiz through foreign language assignments and helps them master a second language in far less time.


The Fly Pen also quizzes students on their school subjects. Using a database compiled from hundreds of the most commonly used middle school textbooks, the pen asks questions and gives answers. Believe it or not, this is pretty fun to use and actually makes students want to study. It takes on the qualities of a game and makes subject quizzes addictive.


Of course, the key benefit of the Fly Fusion is that it transforms handwritten material into digital text. In other words, the pen can read a student’s handwriting and then convert that into a text document that can be uploaded onto a PC. This allows students to take notes with pen and paper like their classmates, but then turn around and quickly upload the notes onto a computer. Students can then search and edit their notes with ease and the textbook database mentioned above actually provides chapter outlines for subjects, making note organization a breeze.


And the pen doesn’t just recognize handwriting; it can actually spell check handwritten work. One of the best ways to become a good speller is to consult a dictionary if you’re not sure how to spell a word. Students rarely do this, but with the Fly Fusion, the dictionary and spell checker are built write in, making it easier than ever to become a good speller.