One Step Beyond: Lecturing With A Tablet Pc

Abstract

is an instructional designer and e-Learning Support Specialist for Engineering Instructional Services at the Pennsylvania State University. In this capacity she supports faculty, teaching assistants and staff in developing technology skills and integrating those skills into courses and provides assistance in the areas of teaching, learning, instructional technology, and assessment. She received her B.

Survey of Three Different Methods of Delivering Engineering Content in Lectures

“…Carter (2002) provides a framework that considers the needs of users (educators and learners) and provides suggestions on how multimedia systems can facilitate learning for each level of Bloom's taxonomy. Davies (2002) found that incorporating simulations into an engineering heat Ambikairajah et al, 2005;Anderson et al, 2004;Biswas, 2007;Derting & Cox, 2008;Frolik & Zum, 2004;James et al, 2006;Kamin et al, 2008;Mock, 2004;Sneller, 2007;Timmons, 2004Ambikairajah et al, 2005Lord & Perry, 2006;Pomales-Garcia & Liu, 2007;Stickel, 2008aStickel, , 2008bTimmons, 2004Ambikairajah et al, 2005Frolik & Zum, 2004;Lord & Perry, 2006;Mock, 2004Frolik & Zum, 2004Pomales-Garcia & Liu, 2007;Stickel, 2008a, 2008bDerting & Cox, 2008James et al, 2006;Timmons, 2004;Toto et al, 2007Biswas, 2007Gill, 2007;Mock, 2004Biswas, 2007Lord & Perry, 2006;Mock, 2004;Pomales-Garcia & Liu, 2007Biswas, 2007Mock, 2004Biswas, 2007Stickel, 2008a…”

“…To achieve wireless connectivity with the projector, a wireless video device was located on the podium and connects to the projector via the video cable and to the tablet PC using Wi-Fi. There are several manufacturers of these devices and some recent projectors have a Wi-Fi link integrated into the unit, allowing a direct wireless connection from the tablet PC to the projector (Derting & Cox, 2008;Timmons, 2004;Toto et al, 2007).…”

“…There are many studies documenting the positive influence that using tablet PCs in the classroom can have on students' perceptions. In general, students reported favorably on the ability to use different colors to highlight material during the lecture (Ambikairajah et al, 2005;Anderson et al, 2004;Toto et al, 2007), incorporating multimedia (Stickel, 2008b;Toto et al, 2007), better student interaction during the lecture (Ambikairajah et al, 2005;Anderson et al, 2004;Derting & Cox, 2008), capturing lecture notes, video, or audio for later online posting (Ambikairajah et al, 2005;Derting & Cox, 2008;Mock, 2004), having the notes in advance and seeing their progression during lecture (Frolik & Zum, 2004;Perry, 2007;Walker et al, 2008), and enhancing their ability to learn (Sneller, 2007;Stickel, 2008a;Toto et al, 2007). Students reported in several studies that they wished other instructors would also adopt these methods (Anderson et al, 2004;Biswas, 2007).…”

“…Instructors reporting about their first time experiences when using the tablet PC reported that tablet PCs must be effectively, not necessarily exclusively, used, skeleton notes can be beneficial, and that it takes a dedicated effort to "tabletize" lectures (Stickel, 2008b). Both electrical and mechanical engineering instructors provided positive feedback after using tablet PCs, noting the ability to face the class, walking around the room, and clearly displaying complex graphics (Toto et al, 2007).…”

“…Derting and Cox (2008) reported similar results for a second semester chemistry course, where students also enjoyed having access to archived lecture notes and there was again no discernable loss in attendance. While additional studies also reported that students preferred having lecture notes available online following class (Mock, 2004;Toto, Wharton, Cimbala, & Wise, 2007), a separate study found that although students prefer having them posted and self reported improved learning, there was no quantitative evidence to support this and students' performance between the control and test groups were not statistically significant (Perry, 2007). Since instructors using tablet PCs also have a choice to make regarding the extent of material to use on handouts, it is also of interest to study this impact on student learning.…”