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Tablet Computers and InkSurvey Software in a College Engineering Statistics Course: How are Students’ Learning and Attitudes Impacted?

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Conference

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Publication Date

June 10, 2012

Start Date

June 10, 2012

End Date

June 13, 2012

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Tablets Large and Small

Tagged Division

Computers in Education

Page Count

11

Page Numbers

25.1232.1 - 25.1232.11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--21989

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/21989

Download Count

459

Paper Authors

biography

Tonya Lynn Lauriski-Karriker Colorado School of Mines

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Tonya Lauriski-Karriker received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from Montana State University. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in statistics at Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests include statistical methods in epidemiology and educational evaluation and assessment.

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biography

Emma Nicoletti Colorado School of Mines

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Emma Nicoletti received her B.S. in metallurgical engineering and is currently a master's candidate in statistics at Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests include statistical methods in manufacturing and education.

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Barbara M. Moskal Colorado School of Mines

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Barbatra M. Moskal, Ed.D., is a professor of applied mathematics and statistics and the Director of the Trefny Institute of Educational Innovation at the Colorado School of Mines. Her research interests include measurement, evaluation, increasing diversity, and K-12 outreach in science, technology, rngineering and mathematics.

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Abstract

Tablet PCs in the College Classroom: Impact and IssuesAbstract: The proposed paper will present the results of the first semester implementation of usingtablet PCs and the Inksurvey software in a statistics course at the university. Inksurvey was designed inthe physics department at the university for use with tablet PCs and has the benefit of supportinganonymous student-teacher interaction during instruction. Using InkSurvey, an instructor can ask aquestion to which students may electronically respond. The instructor can then view the anonymousresponses and provide formative feedback during class. Prior researchers have found that colleges thatincorporate technology, such as tablet PCs in engineering and mathematics courses, have positiveresults in terms of student attitudes and learning. In the current investigation, the opposite was found.In this investigation, a pre and post attitude survey and a pre and post statistics concept inventory wasadministered to students in six sections of a probability and statistics course for engineers. Fiveinstructors taught the various sections using different approaches, all which included the tablet PCs andInksurvey. The various approaches will be described and compared in detail in the proposed paper.Across sections, the students’ attitudes became more negative towards statistics over the course of thesemester and, based on a statistics concept inventory, there was no evidence to support that theirunderstanding of the subject had improved. This paper will explore the many potential explanations forthese bleak results. These explanations include the nature of the content presented, a general negativeopinion of students’ with respect to statistics, an inadequate preparation in the use of the tablets andthe software itself for both the students and the instructors, and a general inexperience of theinstructors in using technology for instruction. Each of these factors is being considered and addressedin the implementation of a follow-up investigation which is currently underway.

Lauriski-Karriker, T. L., & Nicoletti, E., & Moskal, B. M. (2012, June), Tablet Computers and InkSurvey Software in a College Engineering Statistics Course: How are Students’ Learning and Attitudes Impacted? Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21989

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