4 Stripes structure pad:
the revolutionary writing paper.
Writing paper for taking structured notes invented!
The "school stationery" segment (among other things, refill pads for ringbinders, notebooks, exercise books, ...) is a branch of industry in which it is rare for something new to come on the market, even over a time span of several decades. Right now, this market segment has been startled by a new, revolutionary series of products under the brand name 4 Stripes: the first invention to radically change the appearance of these writing-materials since ruled paper and graph paper came into use some 50 to 100 years ago.
Every day, teachers and parents have to conclude, time and time again, that most pupils and students take notes badly or very badly: notes that look sloppy and cluttered. A sizeable part of the subject matter has to be studied on the basis of these notes. It is therefore of the utmost importance to a pupil, that these notes are easy to read. Most pupils'notes, however, are an utter disaster. In class, things have to be jotted down fast and the average pupils have all the difficulty in the world to keep up with their writing. Consequently they have little or no time to be concerned about the appearance of the work. The result is that later, when it's time for revision, they do not know how the different subdivisions follow one another. What belongs under what? They can't make head nor tail of it any more, so pupils must learn everything tediously by heart.
Belgian teacher, Luc Vandebroek, who has published several educational manuals, set himself thinking about this problem. Eventually he discovered the obvious - 4 Stripes.
4 Stripes has the distinctive feature of having, on the left-hand side of the page, four half-tone vertical columns, printed from dark to light. The numbering or headings of the various subdivisions of the subject matter are written on these columns. Pupils are able to structure their notes with a distinct hierarchy. Thanks to the different shades of colour between adjacent columns, pupils know, without thinking, at what position on the page to write a certain subdivision (and on the following pages too). In this way well structured jottings are obtained automatically. Anyone can do it.
Revising with notes that were made on 4 Stripes is much easier too. The structure of the matter is immediately apparent. By looking to see which subdivisions begin in the same column, pupils see at a glance which subdivisions belong together. They can thus try to grasp the structure of the subject matter, before going more deeply into each section. 4 Stripes helps pupils to study, by providing an insight into the material, instead of learning things, which they don't understand, by heart. This speeds up revision work and what is read will be remembered longer.
4 Stripes is an additional mnemonic aid for pupils with an above-average photographic memory. A well-structured text is easier to call to mind and the 4 columns provide a vivid contrast across the page.
4 Stripes is a patented invention that enables pupils to take down clearly-written and well-structured notes in next to no time, so that revising and committing to memory are much easier. 4 Stripes is simple but effective. In business too 4 Stripes can be a useful tool. Think, for example, of taking minutes at meetings, telephone calls, etc., ...
The company currently marketing these products, the limited company, N.V. Pandava from Antwerp, has been known in the paper industry for some 17 years now as the "maverick eco-freak", because of its unremitting efforts to promote the use of recycled paper. 4 Stripes is therefore made from white, eco-friendly recycled paper. The result: a 100 % recycled paper which, were the recycling logo not there, would be indistinguishable from non-recycled paper.
Also on each product is quoted the composition of all contents of the product with the ABCD-Classification.
At this moment 4 Stripes is distributed in Belgium, The Netherlands, United Kingdom,
France and Portugal. For more information about each country, go to the Visual Site.
4 Stripes is a pedagogical and didactically justified product, and moreover is eco-friendly. Good news then for parents, teachers, pupils, students ... and companies! And for the environment!
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