Transcript The Benefits of Tablet PC’s for Educators

The Benefits of Tablet PC’s for
Educators
February 13, 2004
Kenrick Mock
Computer Science
University of Alaska Anchorage
[email protected]
One Motivating Factor
• Hoarding Erasers, Fall 2003
– From: Alicia Howe
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 8:57 AM
Subject: 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
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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 TC1100
P-M, 1Ghz, 512 MB,
40 Gb, 10.4” XGA
3-4 lbs, detachable keyboard
Electrovaya SC2010
P-M, 1.2Ghz, 512 MB,
60 Gb, 12” XGA
3-4 lbs, detachable keyboard
9 hour battery life
Fujitsu T3010
P-M, 1.4Ghz, 512 MB,
60 Gb, 12” XGA
4 lbs
Gateway M275
1.6Ghz, 60 Gb, 512 MB,
14” XGA
6 lbs, DVD
Toshiba Portege M200
P-M, 1.5Ghz, 512 MB,
40 Gb, 12” SXGA (1400x1050)
4.6 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 ink
– Handwriting recognition
– Speech recognition
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Office Apps
• Microsoft Office XP (with
extensions) and 2003 enabled for
ink
• Outlook
– Handwrite email messages
• Word & Adobe Acrobat
• PowerPoint
– Annotate presentation, content
creation
• OneNote & Journal
– Note-taking application tailored for
the Tablet PC
– Annotate documents with ink
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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
enough
– Can be unintelligible without real-time information, audio
– My CS A201 lecture
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Screen Capture
• One solution is to capture the screen and audio into a movie file
– I used Camtasia Studio to capture the screen, audio, and convert the
resulting movie into Flash format
– Viewable on all modern browsers
• Disadvantages
– Large file size; about 20Mb for one hour at 1024x768
• Can trade-off with lossy encoding schemes, e.g. Windows Media Encoder
– Built-in microphones generally of poor quality
– Must remember to provide all gestures, interactions, on screen
– As an example, this presentation will be captured and made available at
http://www.math.uaa.alaska.edu/~afkjm/tablet
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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 networking
– Classroom 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 content
– Groove 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 calculator
– Upcoming Math Journal product
• Physics
– MagicPaper
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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 applications
– Math
– Art, painting
– Learning 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 TabletPlanner
– Organize handwritten or electronic notes, tasks, calendar, contacts, Word,
Powerpoint, etc.
• Microsoft OneNote
– Tool to organize handwritten notes
– Less intrusive than typing
in meetings or conferences
– Store meeting notes in one place
instead of on paper in file folders
everywhere
– Notes are searchable
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Sounds Great, But…
• Some disadvantages of Tablet Technology
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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 administrators
– Digital Ink more powerful than a blackboard
• Don’t need erasers, pens, or chalk
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Collaboration possible
Some content more easily created
Content can be archived and broadcast
Discipline-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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Questions
• Grant possibilities?
• Feel free to contact me if you have any questions:
Kenrick Mock
[email protected]
786-1956
• This presentation will be available at
– http://www.math.uaa.alaska.edu/~afkjm/tablet/
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