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The Benefits of Tablet PC’s for Educators
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One Motivating Factor
Hoarding Erasers, Fall 2003From: Alicia Howe
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 8:57 AMSubject: Erasers in classrooms!
We have just been informed by facilities that instructors are responsible for bringing erasers with them to their classrooms. If you bring an eraser with you to class, please remember to take it with you when you leave. The department just bought some small erasers yesterday and we are ordering some of the big ones today. We have 1 big one and 5 small ones in the supply cabinet. Thanks!
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Overview
Describe what a Tablet PC is, current technology Tablet PC features in Office How Tablet PC’s are being used in education
Lecturing Collaboration Discipline-specific applications
Other academic and general-purpose uses Note-taking Grading and reading documents Creating figures and diagrams Brainstorming
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What is a Tablet PC? Notebook running Windows XP Tablet Edition
Revival of pen-based computing idea; finally got it right? Built-in support for Ink
Draw with stylus, active digitizer Handwriting recognition Also support for speech recognition
Unlike a PDA, the Tablet PC runs everything on a normal Windows XP machine
Form Factors Slate Convertible
Currently entering second generation of devices All with built-in wireless capabilities Lonestar in Q2 of 2004
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Sample of Current Tablet PC Technology 10” to 14” screen, mostly 1024x768 Mostly 1.0-1.6 Ghz Pentium M $300+ more than non-tablet notebook
HP TC1100P-M, 1Ghz, 512 MB,40 Gb, 10.4” XGA3-4 lbs, detachable keyboard
Toshiba Portege M200P-M, 1.5Ghz, 512 MB,40 Gb, 12” SXGA (1400x1050)4.6 lbs
Fujitsu T3010P-M, 1.4Ghz, 512 MB,60 Gb, 12” XGA4 lbs
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Entering Data
Stylus serves as a mouse Ink - when application supports it Text Input Panel (TIP) when application does not
support inkHandwriting recognitionSpeech recognition
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Office Apps
Microsoft Office XP (with extensions) and 2003 enabled for ink
Outlook Handwrite email messages
Word & Adobe Acrobat Annotate documents with ink
PowerPoint Annotate presentation,
content creation OneNote & Journal
Note-taking application tailored for the Tablet PC
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Educational Use? How are instructors using Tablet PC’s today? Many are using tablets with a projector & Journal or
OneNote to replace the traditional whiteboard/blackboard
Benefits Supports real-time writing; everything does not need to be
done in advance, as in PowerPoint Some material difficult to do in PowerPoint (e.g. equations,
Chinese) Material can still be prepared in advance
Can archive lecture content, don’t need tablet PC to view Face toward class instead of toward the board No messy chalk, markers, or erasers needed
Can return to material that would be erased on a board But do need a projector
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Tablet-Enabled Lectures
Example: Dr. Rafael Lopez-Mobilia’s lecture notes in Physics
from UTSA
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Tablet-Based Lecture
Nice, but sometimes the final static lecture file is not enoughCan be unintelligible without real-time information,
audioMy CS A201 lecture
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Screen Capture One solution is to capture the screen and audio into a
movie fileI used Camtasia Studio to capture the screen, audio,
and convert the resulting movie into Flash formatViewable on all modern browsers
DisadvantagesLarge file size; about 20Mb for one hour at
1024x768 Can trade-off with lossy encoding schemes, e.g. Windows Media
EncoderBuilt-in microphones generally of poor qualityMust remember to provide all gestures, interactions,
on screen
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Classroom Presenter System developed at the University of Washington Components
Instructor uses Tablet PC wirelessly to communicate with server
Server hooked up to projector Students also have Tablet PC’s to view and annotate
instructor’s slide
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Collaboration Possibilities If all students in the class have Tablet PC’s then
interesting collaboration opportunities are possible with the wireless networkingClassroom Presenter
Students submit answers to questions, instructor can select submissions to display to the class
Collaboration via Synchronous Course Management System E.g. Shared Whiteboard in Blackboard Possible over distance with systems such as Centra or
Elluminate that share audio as well as whiteboard/slide contentGroove Workspace
Shared files, instant messaging, project management, Office integration
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Other Classroom Uses Real-Time Grading?
Could feasibly complete exams on the computer (both multiple choice and essay) and upload to instructor
Brainstorming and Design Note Sharing
Various applications developed Instructor feedback?
Could provide instant feedback to gauge audience’s comprehension
Distance Education? Possibilities for distance education, can share data across
a network with tools such as Media Encoder or NetMeeting
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Discipline-Specific Applications Tablet PC applications for specific disciplines are
just emerging Mathematics
xThink calculatorUpcoming Math Journal product
PhysicsMagicPaper
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Art Pen is pressure-sensitive on most models Alias Sketchbook Pro
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Music Composition Tool, Brown University
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Software Development Tablet UML – Unified Modeling Language
Graphical language used to specify the requirements and design of software systems
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GIS & Mapping
GIS and Mapping Ruggedized Tablet PC for Military uses
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Health Care
Tablet PC’s increasingly popular among physicians
Access to EMR (Electronic Medical Records) over the Tablet and wireless LAN View, update chart, digital
images, write Rx, send to billing all while with the patient
“Replacement of handwritten charts and scattered medical files with a unified system of computer records.” www.MedicalTabletPC.com
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Applications for Children
Lots of child-oriented applicationsMathArt, paintingLearning to write in cursive
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Uses Outside the Classroom Preparing figures and diagrams
Often easier to draw with the pen than a mouse Grading papers
If submitted electronically, can mark-up with the Tablet and avoid a big stack of papers
eBooks Easier reading of electronic books, magazines
Web New applications such as TabletBlogger, incorporate
ink with blog Instant Messaging
Communicate with students or colleagues in ink with MSN Messenger
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General Applications Planning, Contacts, Calendaring
Franklin Covey TabletPlannerOrganize handwritten or electronic notes, tasks,
calendar, contacts, Word, Powerpoint, etc. Microsoft OneNote
Tool to organize handwritten notesLess intrusive than typing in meetings or conferencesStore meeting notes in one place instead of on paper in file folders everywhereNotes are searchable
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Sounds Great, But… Some disadvantages of Tablet Technology
Keyboards mostly small Screen resolution limited on most models to 1024x768 Software applications limited, but growing Handwriting recognition average Clicking a little tricky More expensive Requires projector in classroom, may have difficulty
using, setting up, smaller writing area than large black/whiteboard
Learning curve, around four days Most require external CD-ROM Display viewing angles often poor
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Summary of Benefits Many benefits of Tablet PC technology for
educators and administratorsDigital Ink more powerful than a blackboard
Don’t need erasers, pens, or chalkCollaboration possibleSome content more easily createdContent can be archived and broadcastDiscipline-specific tools emerging (e.g. Math Journal)General tools already available (e.g. Outlook)Tablet PC just as capable as any notebook, plus more
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