Transcending the traditional: Using tablet PCs to enhance engineering and computer science instruction

Huettel, Lisa G.; Forbes, Jeffrey; Franzoni, Linda P.; Malkin, R.A.; Nadeau, J. C.; Nightingale, Kathryn R.; Ybarra, Gary

doi:10.1109/fie.2007.4417869

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…With this type of software, the students can engage with the material more closely, by annotating their own answer to a question posed by the instructor and electronically submitting this answer to the instructor. This method of using the TPC has demonstrated great benefits to the students, however, it requires all students to have a TPC [8][9][10]. At the University of Toronto, the vast majority of students to not have TPCs, so the focus of this paper will be on the instructor-only method of lecturing with the TPC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of lecturing with the tablet PC on students of different learning styles

Stickel

2009

2009 39th IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using the tablet PC as a lecturing device offers the instructor a new set of tools upon which their teaching can be based. Since the general student body consists of many different types of learning styles, these new tools can provide a means to reach a wider range of students than the traditional blackboard-based lectures. However, as a first step towards assessing the effectiveness of the tablet PC as a teaching tool, it is important to determine if it is well received by students of all learning styles. It is the purpose of this paper to report on the impact of the tablet PC on the students in four different courses, which were given over a period of three semesters. This impact was measured through a survey which was completed by the students at the end of each term. Overall, the students in all courses (a total sample size of 280) were quite positive about the use of the tablet, with 56% of the students stating that "The technology of the tablet…greatly improves my learning experience." It was found that there were no statistically significant differences in how the students of different learning styles responded to the use of the tablet PC. In fact, all learning style groups reacted quite positively to its introduction into the classroom. However, some results indicate that a large group of students have a preference towards a more active classroom. This shows that if the tablet PC is to be an effective means of teaching, its advantages must be leveraged to facilitate an active-learning environment.Index Terms -Tablet PC, learning styles, technology in the classroom, student perceptions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of lecturing with the tablet PC on students of different learning styles

Stickel

2009

2009 39th IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Using the features of a CLS, students may be actively engaged in learning during class meetings working individually or in groups to answer a specific question or solve a specific problem. Their work can also be collected and possibly discussed in real-time during class 14,3,15,8 .…”

Section: Background Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tablet PC survey data presented by Hieb and Ralston 2 , Huettel et al 3 and many others indicates the potential of tablet PCs to enhance the classroom experience. The positive attitude of students towards tablet PC note taking and DyKnow based lecture reported in Hieb and Ralston 2 support continued effort to encourage the use of tablet PCs (and DyKnow) in upper level courses at J.B.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Promoting Faculty Adoption of Tablet PCs in Upper Level Engineering Courses

Lewis¹,

Hieb²

2011 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The University of Louisville's J.B. Speed School of Engineering began a student Tablet PC initiative four years ago. As a result of this initiative, Speed School of Engineering classrooms now have a one to one Tablet PC deployment. Leveraging this environment to improve the teaching and learning in the classroom is the long-term goal of this and many other Tablet PC programs. Many challenges to achieving this goal exist, including: faculty adoption, infrastructure support, and student competency. Faculty members in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals have been early adopters and pioneers in using Tablet PCs in the classroom. Adoption of Tablet PC usage in upper level courses and in other departments has been mixed and slower to develop than in the entry level courses taught by the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. A similar trend has also been the case in other schools with Tablet PC programs. Some preliminary research and anecdotal evidence indicates that simple introductory seminars are not sufficient to provide faculty with knowledge and resources to effectively use Tablet PCs in the classroom. The authors, both members of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals, developed both a two hour introductory seminar for faculty on use of Tablet PCs, and a follow up summer workshop entitled: "Tablet Faculty Learning Community" (TFLC). Learning communities can be an effective means of promoting faculty development, and the TFLC was based on the authors' experiences in a different University Faculty Learning Community. The goal for both the seminar and TFLC were simple: provide faculty with technical and pedagogical information, and then offer support for their attempts to incorporate Tablet PCs into the classroom teaching. A major innovation developed for the seminar, and used in the workshop, was a multiple projector approach to help faculty see each of the following: (a) the instructor's Tablet PC screen with controls, (b) the classroom projected content, and (c) a sample student Tablet PC screen. As part of the TFLC, faculty participants were required to develop material for one of their courses using a Tablet PC and then present the material to the other TFLC participants in a practice classroom setting. There were only five participants in the TFLC, including two faculty members who had not previously utilized Tablet PCs in the classroom. Participants reported the practice setting was very effective. One participant used Tablet PCs in the classroom on a limited basis during the fall semester, and another participant has expressed serious interest in using them in future classes. Another participant is not using a tablet PC during this current semester. Approaches and techniques used in the seminar and in the TFLC are described in greater detail, as well as survey results from the TFLC participants.

show abstract

“…There are many papers detailing student use of tablet PCs in the classroom and some on using a tablet PC to present a class. 1,2,3,4,5 Some faculty adopted the use of tablets as a presentation medium sooner than others. As tablet PCs were adopted by faculty there have been some obstacles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two Techniques For Effectively Presenting Information In The Classroom With Multiple Tablet Pcs

Lewis¹

2010 Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There are many studies that show interactive learning is a better way to engage students. Different courses lend themselves to being taught with technology easier than others. Have you ever heard a faculty member say "I would use a tablet PC to teach my course, but I need more room" or "I need to refer back to a diagram (chart, table, etc) and don't like flipping back and forth. Some course topics are easy to cover necessary material on a slide by slide basis, while others do not fit into a nice 11x8.5" slide. The University of Louisville's J.B. Speed School of Engineering is in its second year of a tablet PC requirement of their students and as faculty have adopted the use of tablet PCs in their courses some of these issues have been confronted. This paper will discuss two techniques for handling classroom presentations using two tablet PCs, for when the data will not fit on a single slide. There are numerous courses that these techniques could be used and have, but the examples used will be from a course titled Numerical Analysis for Engineers. There are different ways to deliver course content using tablet PCs, this paper will discuss two different techniques. While modifying the Numerical course to be taught using a tablet, there are numerous problems when going through the steps to calculate the answer that take a lot of space. When this happens and the instructor is only using one tablet pc the instructor will be required to scroll backward and forward during the lecture. The backward scrolling can be to fill in a table or chart, or may be to refer to previous calculations as the problem builds. This backward scrolling sometimes causes confusion with the students. The students feel as though the material is jumping around. These cases are where using two tablet PCs and two projectors allow for a more seamless presentation. By using two tablet PCs and two projectors, it is possible to continuously project the table or previous calculations. This allows the instructor and students to refer to the intermediate steps on the other screen that is being controlled by the second tablet. The two course delivery techniques discussed here will use software that is available for tablet PCs. The first method uses Microsoft OneNote exclusively, and the second method uses DyKnow. This paper looks at course delivery methods and then describes in detail the process that is being used by a small number of faculty currently at the engineering school.

show abstract

Transcending the traditional: Using tablet PCs to enhance engineering and computer science instruction

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Impact of lecturing with the tablet PC on students of different learning styles

Impact of lecturing with the tablet PC on students of different learning styles

Promoting Faculty Adoption of Tablet PCs in Upper Level Engineering Courses

Two Techniques For Effectively Presenting Information In The Classroom With Multiple Tablet Pcs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About