Development Of A Multi Level Assessment For A Cross Disciplinary Project Evaluating The Symbiosis Of Tablet Pc's And Collaboration Facilitating Software In The Classroom
- Conference
- Location
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Honolulu, Hawaii
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2007
- Start Date
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June 24, 2007
- End Date
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June 27, 2007
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Educational Research and Methods
- Page Count
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19
- Page Numbers
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12.514.1 - 12.514.19
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--2414
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/2414
- Download Count
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431
Paper Authors
rebecca devasher Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rebecca B. DeVasher received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL (the main campus) in 2000, and her Ph.D. from the same university in 2004 under the guidance of Kevin Shaughnessy. Rebecca was an instructor at the University of Alabama while she was working on her Ph.D. Upon completion of her doctoral degree, she accepted a visiting faculty position at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for the academic year 2004-2005. In March of 2005, she was offered a tenure-track position based on her success as an instructor and research mentor. This will be her third year at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and in addition to the new classes she has taught and developed, she has had 8 research students, a funded proposal, and many student presentations at various regional conferences.
Patrick Ferro Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Pat Ferro holds BS, MS and PhD degrees in Materials Engineering from Cornell, Oregon and the Colorado School of Mines respectively. He has had Process Engineering assignments in the foundry and alternative energy industries. Prior to joining the Rose faculty, Pat was a Test Engineer for Ovonic Hydrogen Systems, a hydrogen storage and fuel cell startup company in Michigan. Pat has been on the Rose faculty since 2005 and teaches in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
Sudipa Mitra-Kirtley
David Mutchler Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
David Mutchler received his B.A. and M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Duke University. He has published in the fields of artificial intelligence, databases, cryptography and education. He has over 24 years experience teaching and is especially interested in using robotics, tablet PCs and DyKnow Vision software in K-12 and higher education.
shannon sexton Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Shannon M. Sexton is currently the Director of Assessment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology where she designs and implements assessment activities for both small and large scale projects. She has presented her work in assessment and psychology at national and regional conferences and has published in the areas of political and social psychology. Shannon holds an MA degree in General Experimental Psychology.
Anneliese Watt Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Anneliese Watt, Associate Professor of English at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, currently serves as Technical Communication Course Coordinator. She teaches writing, public speaking, and humanities elective courses to engineering and science students. Her graduate work in rhetoric and literature was completed at Penn State, and her recent research often focuses on engineering and workplace communication.
Julia Williams Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Julia M. Williams is the Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment & Professor of English at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Her articles on writing assessment, electronic portfolios, and ABET have appeared in the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Technical Communication Quarterly, Technical Communication: Journal of the Society for Technical Communication, and the International Journal of Engineering Education. She is also the recipient of a Tablet PC Technology, Curriculum, and Higher Education 2005 award from Microsoft Research to assess the impact of tablet PCs and collaboration-facilitating software on student learning.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Development of a Multi-level Assessment for a Cross-Disciplinary Project Evaluating the Symbiosis of Tablet PCs and Collaboration-Facilitating Software in the Classroom
Introduction Pen-based technologies like tablet PCs provide engineering educators the opportunity to increase the visual dimension of many different types of courses. At our institution we have developed curricula that deploy tablet PCs in five courses drawn from different disciplines: Introductory Physics; Technical Communication; Software Requirements and Specifications; Design for Manufacturing (mechanical engineering); and General Chemistry for Engineering Students. While pen-based technologies allow us to enhance the visual dimension of a course (an inherently laudable goal), these technologies are their most powerful when they simultaneously facilitate collaboration—between faculty and students, between students, and between one class and another. For this reason, our project work focuses on the assessment and evaluation of the impact of a symbiosis of hardware (Tablet PCs) and software (DyKnow Vision)1 on teaching and learning.
Assessment has been developed at two levels for this project. One level of assessment is the development of classroom assessment techniques, or CATs. Basing our project on the work of Angelo and Cross (1993), we have identified CATs appropriate to each course and then adapted them into the tablet PC/DyKnow environment.2 We have also made use of CATs that are already features within DyKnow, like the participant status and polling features. Each instructor can use CATs to gauge student learning in real time and make pedagogical adjustments as needed. The focus of this paper is, however, the second level of assessment, particularly the summative assessment components.
Summative assessment is used to measure success in implementing pen-based technology in classes in various disciplines, and the data collected are both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data are collected through self-report surveys, while qualitative data are collected through focus groups and open-ended items on self-report surveys. During the 2006-07 academic year, we are collecting data in five targeted courses. From these data, we can draw preliminary conclusions regarding the impact of tablet PCs and collaboration-facilitating software on student learning.
Context for the Project Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is a private, primarily undergraduate institution of roughly 1850 students offering majors in engineering, mathematics, and science only. Since 1995, students have been required to purchase an institute-specified laptop computer with an installed suite of powerful software (e.g., Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, Maple). The Laptop Computer program has meant that students can use modern computing tools in their classes and for their projects while still maintaining the portability inherent in laptop devices. At present, all classrooms are wired for high-speed network connections, and there are wireless nodes strategically placed around the entire campus. Students use their laptops in classrooms on a daily basis in most first-year courses and in many upper-division courses.
devasher, R., & Ferro, P., & Mitra-Kirtley, S., & Mutchler, D., & sexton, S., & Watt, A., & Williams, J. (2007, June), Development Of A Multi Level Assessment For A Cross Disciplinary Project Evaluating The Symbiosis Of Tablet Pc's And Collaboration Facilitating Software In The Classroom Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2414
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