Birth of a Notion
(Reflections on the creation of an idea)

I'm going to write about my experience using a brand new idea, the Page Pen. It's a goofy little idea that is actually a lot of fun to use.

I thought it might be helpful if I were to provide an inside look at the problem-solving strategies I employed during the course of a seminar as I worked at refining and improving the initial concept.

Genesis
If you've been to one of my seminars, you know that almost all of the ideas I've created over the years have come about through problem solving. It's not that I'm trying to be clever or novel but more that I'm trying to make the classroom an easier place in which to live.

Problem to Be Solved
What's the best way to communicate a page number to a group of students?

I know what the easy thing to do is: verbally announce the page number you'd like your students to find. But just because it's the easiest doesn't mean it's the best.

There are already enough words being spoken by the teacher without adding to the body count by saying something along the lines of, "Okay, I'd like everyone to turn to page 78 in your social studies book."

If you think about it for a moment, you'll realize that the only critical info being shared in the statement above is "page 78." (We're going to assume that the social studies book is already out and accessible.) Everything else is just blah, blah, blah.

So, if I only need to share the actual page number, why not write it on the board? Not only will this eliminate unnecessary words from the teacher, it will also eliminate unnecessary questions from the students.

"What page did you say?"
"Huh?"
"What page?"
(Supply your own annoying question here.)

And that's what led to the creation of the Page Pen: a whiteboard marker I'm going to use during seminars to indicate which page in the seminar guide I'd like the teachers to find.

First Attempt
I introduced the idea to the group that day and showed them where I was going to write the page number.

It was a dedicated space on the whiteboard directly behind me. The nearness of the board was going to make it easy for me to write new page numbers throughout the day. And, as I learned during my days of classroom teaching, ease-of-use is critical to the success of just about any new idea.

However, just writing the page number was not going to be enough. I was going to need some way to draw the group's attention to the fact that I had just written a new page number on the whiteboard. Being a true believer in the power of sounds as effective communication vehicles, I quickly realized that I needed a sound to send a message that meant, "Look at the new page number I just wrote on the board and turn to that page, please."

I looked through my suitcase of tools and toys that I always have with me during seminars.

There were quite a few sound makers from which to choose.

1. Hotel bell
2. Dog squeak toy
3. Train whistle
4. Dog clicker
5. Cow bell
6. Jingle bell bracelet
7. Slide whistle
8. Musical chime
9. Bicycle horn
10. Bicycle bell

The first three choices on the list were no good. I had planned to introduce them during the day as sound makers I used over the years and didn't want to confuse anyone by using them for something other than what I had used them for in the classroom.

1. Hotel bell (passing out materials)
2. Dog squeak toy ("Stop, look, listen.")
3. Train whistle (students line up outside)

The jingle bell bracelet seemed like a reasonable choice. It was loud enough to be heard and was somewhat easy to use. By that I mean it only took one hand to use. The slide whistle, which produces a great sound, requires two hands to use; not good if I'm going to need to produce the sound numerous times.

New Problem to Solve
Where do I place the jingle bell bracelet so that it's convenient?

The simple fix would have been to hang it from one of the hook/clips already attached to the rail above the whiteboard. Unfortunately, the clip wasn't big enough to securely hold the bracelet. It would have been iffy every time I gave it a shake. Is it going to stay or fall? That kind of niggling stress is not something I need during a talk. And so, after giving it a try a time or two and confirming that the pathetic little hook wasn't going to cut it, I decided to make the attachment more secure.

I went back to the suitcase and pulled out a shoelace necklace. (See: Neon Necklace, page 33, in the book Tools & Toys.) I fed one end of the necklace through the bracelet, slipped the other end through the loop, and then pulled it tight.

With the "leash" attached to the bracelet, I was able to hang it from the hook without fear that it would fall down. But after using it three or four times, I wasn't happy with my design. It was a bit awkward to write the number on the board, cap the pen, put the pen down, and then reach over and ring the bells. I just knew it could be easier than all that.

Back to the Drawing Board
More than anything, it was the placement of the bells that was buggin' me. They were hanging down from the side of the whiteboard--nowhere near the spot where I wrote the page number--but there didn't seem to be a way to get them any closer.

That's when I thought that maybe I should switch sound makers.

I took the bells down, returned them to the suitcase, and pulled out my trusty little dog obedience clicker.

I've been sharing these at seminars as a more sophisticated attention-getter than the dog squeak toy. Secondary teachers, I've noticed, are somewhat reluctant to use a classroom toy that may seem too elementary schoolish. I'm guessing that this stems more from a natural fear of hearing either derision or rejection from the students than from a lack of desire on the teacher's part to try new ideas. Whatever the reason, good ideas are going unused which is always to be lamented.

The clicker, I thought, would work great if I could attach it to the whiteboard so that it sat right next to the page number spot. Unfortunately, I didn't have any adhesive magnets to stick to the back of the clicker so that it would cling to the magnetic whiteboard. (See: Adhesive Magnet on Attention Clicker)

Even without the magnet, though, a little tape loop on the back so that it would stick to the board for the remainder of the day would allow for a temporary work-around. Then, when I got back home, I could find a magnet and attach it so that it would be ready for subsequent seminars.

But when I held the clicker against the whiteboard to try it out, it didn't work well. The spot on the metal clicker I needed to press was not that easy to hit. It's very easy to do when the clicker is held in my hand but not so easy when it's not in my hand.

Bummer. Now what?

Eureka
And that's when I realized that the ideal solution would be to somehow attach a sound maker to the actual pen so that the sound was produced while the pen was being used to write the number. Oh, yeah. That's the ticket.

Since I had used the jingle bells earlier in the day, my first thought was to hot-glue a single jingle bell to the end of the pen. That thought died a quick death when I realized that when the pen ran dry, the bell glued to it was worthless.

Immediately following the hot glue idea was the thought to just tie the bell to the end of the pen so that it could be removed and attached to a new pen when the need arose. Sadly obvious when you think about it.

And so, at the lunch break, I drove to Michael's Arts & Crafts, and was soon standing in front of the display of bells. (Holy cow. Who knew there'd be so many different types and sizes?) After a bit of decision-making--the bell needed to be big enough so that the sound was distinct and easy to hear--I grabbed a 3-pack of miniature cow bells for just $1.29.

Michael's was out of mini-cow bells when I went back.
These should work just as well.

On my way back to the seminar site, somewhat giddy about the new, improved idea but also contemplating how I was going to attach a bell to the pen, I realized that tying it on with string was not as elegant as using a simple rubber band. In fact, I could thread one end of the rubber band through the eyelet on the bell, poke the other end through the loop, and then pull it tight. (That's right. Just the way I did with the shoelace and the jingle bell bracelet.)

Once the cow bell was securely attached to the rubber band, it was an easy matter to wrap the rubber band around the end of the pen.

Voila!

I used the Page Pen for the remainder of the seminar to great effect. Not only did it clearly transmit the page number I wanted everyone to look at, it was easy for me to use. Win-Win.

Caveat
The only difficult part of using the Page Pen was breaking myself of the habit of saying, "Hey. Take a look at page 6." That's not as easy to do as it may seem. After all, I've been announcing page numbers for as long as I've been teaching. Switching over to a new method always takes a bit of time.

In fact, one of the most difficult, but often overlooked, obstacles to incorporating a new idea into our classroom routine is the time it takes for the new idea to become automatic. Once that occurs--and it took me several seminars to develop the Page Pen habit--it's a piece of cake.

Kaizen
The Japanese word for "continuous improvement" was actualized when I was using the Page Pen a week after its creation. There were some middle school teachers in the group that day and one of them said, "The pen is a nice idea but it's not always a page number I want my students to look at. Sometimes I just want them to take out their planners."

Me
Visualizing the problem for a moment:
I don't see why you couldn't make some small signs and tape them to the whiteboard near where you write the page number. Each sign would indicate an item you want your students to retrieve. Then, when you wanted them to get their hands on something, you could use the pen and place a check mark next to the appropriate sign.

It's like I'm back in the classroom. And that's a sweet thought.

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