Hi Pemberly,
A smartpen doesn't require handwriting - it gets the student around the need to use handwriting. You can record audio and when you hear something you want to refer back to later you make some type of notation in your notebook - but it can be anything - like a simple figure to remind you what was mentioned, or a lbrief word or whatever system you like to use. When you want to refer back to that note (after you've downloaded or uploaded the data - if I remember correctly you can upload it online as well as download to your pc/laptop... but I might be remembering that incorrectly) - anyway, by tapping on the figure that refers to a specific location on the recording, you automatically bring up that part of the recording - there's no rewind.
That said, you can do the same thing with Notability, it's an inexpensive app (only a few dollars), has the same type of play-back feature as the smarten, and also allows you to store multiple documents together (graphics etc). You can handwrite, type, or draw in it. We've been told it's an app that's widely used dyslexic/dysgraphic students use for note-taking.
For note-taking in books and on papers, ds just underlines. He had to do specific types of note-taking on papers for English class in his first years of high school and he didn't enjoy it at all. I think one option might be to scan the docs into Adobe Pro or another software app where you can highlight and make comments etc on pdf files - for short pieces. For books, we just buy extra copies and let ds mark them up. It's actually what his teachers recommend kids do.
Note-taking is definitely not one of ds' strong academic areas
I think he got into a habit years ago of not wanting to write due to dysgraphia, and therefore got very used to relying on memory, and now that he's older and has to take notes he isn't anywhere near prolific. He's still able to slide by in most classes by just listening and typing notes that he feels are important.
Best wishes,
polarbear
