Tablet Pc Is It Worth It? A Preliminary Comparison Of Several Approaches To Using Tablet Pc In An Engineering Classroom
- Conference
- Location
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Chicago, Illinois
- Publication Date
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June 18, 2006
- Start Date
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June 18, 2006
- End Date
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June 21, 2006
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Computers in Education
- Page Count
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12
- Page Numbers
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11.1190.1 - 11.1190.12
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--692
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/692
- Download Count
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368
Paper Authors
Susan Lord University of San Diego
Susan M. Lord received a B.S. from Cornell University and the M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University and is an Associate Professor of EE at the University of San Diego. Her teaching and research interests include electronics, optoelectronics, microwave photonics, materials science, & first year engineering courses. She and several colleagues won the 2004 Helen Plants award for Best Nontraditional Session at FIE2004 for Feminist Frontiers.
Leonard Perry University of San Diego
Leonard A. Perry, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of San Diego. His research interests are in the area of system improvement via quality improvement methods especially in
the area of applied statistics, statistical process control, and design of experiments. He is an instructor at the Six-Sigma Institute and is a Certified Six-Sigma Master Black-Belt and ASQ Certified Quality Engineer.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Tablet PC-Is it worth it? A preliminary comparison of several approaches to using Tablet PC in an engineering classroom
Abstract
Tablet PCs are the latest technology in portable computing, but is it worth it for engineering faculty to make the investment of their time to change their course content development and delivery method to include a Tablet PC? In this paper, we will address a range of options that faculty have for course development and utilization of the Tablet PC. We will compare various lecture methods of using the Tablet PC including writing on it directly, using PowerPoint, and using Classroom Presenter. Student assessment of the various presentation methods will be shared as well. Faculty might have a range of motivations for moving to incorporating a Tablet PC in their classrooms from capturing content for faculty review, providing handouts for students, increasing active learning, and even distributed learning. Course content development can be a daunting and time consuming task for many engineering faculty. Making a gradual change from their current mode of delivery might be most comfortable and beneficial. The authors will discuss their experiences and lessons learned in moving from using a blackboard, transparencies made using WORD, and computer projection of PowerPoint to using a Tablet PC. We hope that this work will be helpful to other engineering educators as they strive to improve their teaching effectiveness. A Tablet PC is not a substitute for effective teaching. However, it might serve as a useful tool for our current students who are comfortable with technology and expect it to be part of their daily lives.
Introduction
Tablet PCs are the latest technology in portable computing. Featuring pen-based entry where the user writes “digital ink” directly on the computer screen, Tablet PCs typically offer the functionality of a laptop or notebook with less weight and added benefits. They are gaining acceptance in K-121,2 as well as college classrooms both for faculty presentations and student note-taking.3,4 In this paper, we are interested in the use of the Tablet PC for instructors in their classroom lectures. Tablet PCs offer numerous attractive features for faculty such as capturing content for instructor review, providing handouts for students, ability to incorporate multimedia features such as simulations, websites, or images, generating excitement among students by using the latest technology, large-scale dynamic presentations, ability of instructor to face students and be mobile during lecture, increasing active learning, and even the possibility of distributed learning or ubiquitous computing. Engineering and computer science faculty have begun investigating their use in the classroom in a variety of ways.5,6,7 However, is it worth it for faculty to make the investment of their time to change their course content development and delivery method to include a Tablet PC? Course content development can be a daunting and time consuming task for many engineering faculty. Making a gradual change from their current mode of delivery might be most comfortable and beneficial.
In this paper, we will address the question of whether of not moving to a Tablet PC might be useful by presenting a range of options that engineering and computer science faculty have. First we will describe various “traditional” methods for presenting information in lecture including
Lord, S., & Perry, L. (2006, June), Tablet Pc Is It Worth It? A Preliminary Comparison Of Several Approaches To Using Tablet Pc In An Engineering Classroom Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--692
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