Tablet PC Technology, Curriculum, and Higher Education 2005 RFP Awards
Microsoft Research announced the eleven recipients of the Tablet PC Technology,
Curriculum, and Higher Education 2005 RFP awards, totaling $500,000 (USD) in funding.
The objective of this RFP is to use it as a catalyst to encourage educators to apply
resources toward the revising, updating, and validating curriculum and pedagogy
in conjunction with tablet technology in higher education.
Tablet PC Technology, Curriculum, and Higher Education 2005 RFP Award Recipients
 A
Pen-Based Circuit Analysis Tutor
Thomas Stahovich, Robert Calfee
University of California at Riverside
This project is focused on the development and assessment of a pen-based tutoring
system to teach fundamental principles of analog circuit analysis. The tutor will
teach students how to apply Kirchhoff’s current and voltage laws for nodal and mesh
analysis, respectively. It will also teach students how to simply circuits by identifying
parallel and series components, and by replacing current sources with equivalent
voltage sources, and vice versa. To solve a problem, the student will begin by sketching
a circuit and labeling the components. For mesh analysis, for example, the student
will then write a voltage law equation for each distinct mesh. The tutor will compare
the sketched circuit to the handwritten equations and provide feedback if there
are errors. If the student has difficulty performing the various steps of the analysis,
such as identifying mesh currents, the program will provide guidance. The tutor
will be used in EE 001A, a required, introductory circuits course for computer engineering
students at the University of California, Riverside. The educational benefits of
the tutor will be assessed by examining improvement in student performance on exam
questions.
 Ink-a-Sketch:
Combining Model-Based and Sketch-Based Design of User Interfaces in the Classroom
Simone Barbosa
Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro
We will investigate the usage of Tablet PCs in a combination of structured (shape-driven)
and unstructured (ink-driven) applications for teaching user interface design in
a Human-Computer Interaction class within a Computer Science course. The Tablet
PCs will allow students to record design representations and collaborate with other
students, discussing the underlying design rationale and formative evaluation issues
in various phases of the design process. We aim to address some challenges involved
in using desktop PCs and paper for different user interface representations, ranging
from groups losing track of their own design decisions to the lack of collaboration
between student groups. Students will be encouraged to keep track of the intermediate
(“rejected” or “to be refined”) material, together with the comments and reflections
on what should or shouldn’t be included in the final design, and why. Initially,
Microsoft Visio will be used for building interaction diagrams and Microsoft OneNote
as an annotation and sketching tool. We will analyze which tasks are well supported
by ink and sketching, and then elicit the requirements for a tool that will be developed
later in the project, to support the integration of structured and unstructured
(ink-based) representations for user interface design.
 Developing
Tablet-Based Tools for Teaching Concurrent Programming
Lin Qiu
State University of New York at Oswego
Concurrent programming is an important and difficult topic in computer science
education. It requires a way of thinking that is different from the one that students
are taught in the ordinary sequential programming model. This project will develop
a tablet-based software tool that allows users to easily sketch a thread interaction
diagram and correlate it with runtime visualization. Users can move multiple styluses
simultaneously along thread lines in the diagram to control thread execution. This
tool can be used by instructors to illustrate problematic runtime situations caused
by unlucky event timing. It can also be used by students to depict thread interaction
by creating diagrams that can playback a visualization of concurrent execution.
We will further extend the tool to support participatory simulation activities where
students role-play threads in concurrent execution and observe the behavior of the
multithreaded program. We believe the software tool, curricular materials, and pedagogical
strategies developed in this project will make the hidden behaviors of concurrent
programs visible and improve the teaching and learning of concurrent programming.
Evaluation of Tablet PC
Supported Pedagogy
Richard Anderson
University of Washington
This project is to conduct a two year classroom evaluation of Tablet PC supported
pedagogy. We will be using Classroom Presenter, a Tablet PC–based classroom interaction
system that we have been developing at University of Washington. This study will
concentrate on assessing the classroom impact of a style of teaching that augments
the traditional lecture by allowing ink-based communication between the students
and the instructor. We will build upon our pilot offerings of courses using the
technology, which gave us an opportunity to develop both curricula and a pedagogy
which incorporates students’ ink annotation into the lecture. The evaluation will
take place in regularly scheduled courses at University of Washington. Inside of
computer science, we will continue deployments in Data Structures, Algorithms, and
Digital Design courses. In the College of Forestry, we will use Classroom Presenter
in a junior-level sequence on Environmental Science and Resource Management. In
the two-year project, we will deploy Classroom Presenter in at least 12 courses,
evaluate and assess the classroom impact, and publish detailed findings on the pedagogy
and the technology.
 An
Interdisciplinary Approach to Assess the Educational Value of the One-Tablet Classroom
James Ricky Cox, James Rogers, Ted Thiede, Terry Derting, Renee Fister, Maeve McCarthy
Murray State University
This proposal addresses the need to develop and validate the educational value
of the one-tablet classroom in higher education. An interdisciplinary team of faculty
members at Murray State University, across and beyond Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics will be involved in a variety of assessment activities to measure
learning and course gains, student attitudes toward tablet instruction, and student
self-efficacy as a result of the one-tablet model developed at Murray State University.
In addition to assessment, an aggressive plan of dissemination will be implemented
to promote the pedagogical aspects of the one-tablet model and to allow other institutions
to adopt and adapt this model to improve teaching and learning across disciplines.
A Regional Tablet PC and Wireless Showcase will also be hosted at Murray State to
bring together university faculty, regional industries, and health care professionals
to discuss and highlight practical and innovative uses of tablet and wireless technologies.
 Assessing
and Evaluating the Symbiosis of Tablet PCs and Collaboration-Facilitating Software
Julia Williams
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Our project leverages our previous award of Tablet PCs from Hewlett Packard with
our expertise and experience with DyKnow Vision software that facilitates collaboration
in the classroom. At Rose-Hulman we have developed curricula that use Tablet PCs
and DyKnow in five courses drawn from three disciplines. What we have observed is
that Tablet PCs and their pen-based capability cannot be exploited completely without
software like DyKnow that encourages many types of collaboration — between faculty
and students, between students, and between one class and another. Thus, our project
will assess and evaluate the impact of a symbiosis of hardware (Tablet PCs) and
software (DyKnow) on teaching and learning. In year 1, we will focus largely on
the two courses where we draw upon the most experience: Introductory Physics and
Technical Communication. In year 2, we will extend the assessment and evaluation
to include aspects of the entire curricula at Rose-Hulman. By the end of year 2,
this interdisciplinary project will involve faculty and undergraduate students in
most if not all departments at Rose-Hulman. The unifying principle throughout the
project will be our reliance on the assessment expertise of the Rose-Hulman Office
of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment (IRPA), a nationally recognized
leader in the field of teaching and learning assessment.
    Educational
Value and Validity — Student Adaptation to Tablet PC Technology in Business
James Kraushaar, David Novak, Jeff Frolik, Thomas Chittenden
The University of Vermont
The project will team faculty from BSAD and SoE to revise curriculum in several
courses and create a multi-prong assessment plan. The plan will enhance a survey
that has been given by BSAD to serve multiple disciplines. In addition, focus groups
will be conducted in BSAD and SoE to ascertain what about the tablets is effective
and why. These results will be disseminated within UVM through workshops and nationally
through conferences and journals in both disciplines. This work will also develop
training seminars on Tablet PCs and associated software. Both schools expect to
gather a better understanding of methodologies for using Tablet PC technology. They
will build on their experiences to further integrate tablets within business and
engineering curriculums and continue to disseminate the results of their work. The
schools will develop an assessment plan to specifically ascertain the benefits of
tablets to student learning and student adaptation throughout their academic experiences.
They hope to show the benefits of mobility provided by this tool as well as the
pen technology. We are confident this technology will continue to improve and have
a lasting impact on business and engineering processes which will benefit the “real
world” business and engineering communities.
     Measuring
Effectiveness of Tablet PCs in Teaching and Learning Using AB/C-IT
Vincent DiStasi, Ananda Dushmantha Gunawardena, William P. Birmingham, Gary L. Welton,
David J. Ayers
Grove City College
Tablet PCs are expected to significantly increase the effectiveness of technology
in the classroom. The promise of the Tablet PC is allowing students to interact
with the computer using multiple input modalities such as ink, text, audio, and
gestures. Each of these modalities brings a unique advantage compared to laptops.
However, no significant study has been performed to date which measures the Tablet
PCs effectiveness in both teaching and learning with a significant number of faculty
and students. Although anecdotal data suggest that positive learning outcomes are
possible as a result of using Tablet PCs, rigorous data collection and analysis
need to be performed to demonstrate this. The proposed project will measure the
effectiveness of Tablet PCs in education at an institution with a mandatory Tablet
PC program, deploying approximately 625 Tablet PCs to every incoming freshman class.
We will employ specific pedagogical approaches exploiting the advantages of both
the Tablet PC hardware and Tablet PC–based software. We propose to use two complementary
adaptive technologies: Adaptive Book for Pre-Lecture Preparation and Post-Lecture
Analysis and a Collaborative-Immersive Technology (C-IT), such as DyKnow and Classroom
Presenter for activities that are designed for effective delivery and interaction
of content in the classroom.
  Real-Time
Collaboration: Tablet PC–Enabled Pedagogical Strategies to Enhance Nursing Education
Phillip Olla, Phyllis Brenner
Madonna University
The project is a joint venture between the Departments of Nursing and Computer
Information Systems. This project will address the impact of technology on nurse
educators, students, and the nature of the interaction between the two. The overall
project aim is to investigate the adoption of Tablet PCs, utilizing various technologies
to enhance the learning environment for nursing students in the classroom, clinical,
and community settings. The overall aims of the project are to establish if the
use of Tablet PC technology by the faculty enhances active and collaborative learning
among students and timeliness of response to changing patient care scenarios, project
workflow by students in collaborative groups in addressing needs of vulnerable and
underserved populations in the community, and faculty and student confidence in
utilizing various application software encountered in nursing practice. An open
source content management system accessible from the Web will be used to store and
share teaching materials created for this project. Interested parties will be able
to download and upload materials such as syllabi, forms, freeware software utilities,
image databases, case studies, and templates for nursing informatics education.
Multimedia presentations tailored to Tablet PCs use for community-based education
will also be made available.
Evaluation of the Tablet PC in Undergraduate Engineering Courses at Howard University
Veronica Thomas, Mohamed Chouikha, Velma LaPoint
Howard University
This project will evaluate the use of the Tablet PCs on teaching and learning
in undergraduate engineering courses at Howard University. The formative and summative
evaluation will examine how Tablet PC are being utilized in these courses, their
influence on students’ attitudes, behaviors, and learning outcomes, and their influence
on instructors’ attitudes and teaching practices. Based upon the findings of this
study, recommendations will be made for using and improving the use of Tablet PCs
in undergraduate engineering courses as well as other courses across the University.
It is expected that the results of this evaluation study will yield empirical data
that will contribute to the limited scholarship on the use and effectiveness of
Tablet PCs in undergraduate engineering courses. These results of this evaluation
will also add to the extreme paucity of empirical in this area with special focus
on engineering students from underrepresented groups. Several deliverables will
emerge from this project, including instruments for use in other technology utility
studies targeting diverse undergraduate student populations, a written report of
the study’s findings, presentations at professional meetings, and a manuscript submission
for publication in a relevant refereed journal.
 Assessing
the Effectiveness of Tablet PCs in a Basic Computer Architecture Course
Joseph Tront
Virginia Tech
In this study we will attempt to determine the efficacy of using Tablet PCs to
enhance the teaching and learning in a very basic course in computer architecture.
The course will be taught as a large lecture section (about 100 students) coupled
with small recitations (about 25 students). Students from one recitations section
will be loaned tablet PCs for the semester for use in taking notes in class as well
as interactively participating during in-class exercises. These same students will
also use their Tablet PCs in the “tablet” recitation section. This approach will
allow us to carefully monitor the difference in behavior and performance of those
having tablets. The common lecture allows us to subtract out the effect different
instructors may have on the amount of information absorbed. We expect to make reasonably
valid and highly focused observations about the advantages or disadvantages of the
use of tablet PCs. Similarly, we can also more easily observe the methods of student
usage of these devices and develop a list of methodology that can improve the effectiveness
of tablet use. Our deliverable items will include a report on tablet-based teaching
and learning efficacy as well as any observations on student or teacher best practices.
  Student and Instructor Adoption: Maximizing the Impact of Tablet PCs in the Classroom
Beth Simon, William Griswold
University of California at San Diego
We will explore the key obstacles to broad-scale student and instructor adoption
of Tablet PCs in the classroom using our previous work and experience with Ubiquitous
Presenter (UP) as a launching pad. Recognizing that the best instructors have well
established and valuable teaching techniques, we seek to increase the base of tablet-based
teachers by exploring and then developing support for a broad range of pedagogical
styles within UP. We will augment this process via outreach to and support of non-computing
faculty in exploring and analyzing novel ink-based pedagogies. Student adoption
will hinge upon the lecture-based integration of a number of tablet-engaging activities,
including active learning and electronic question asking — but integrated note taking
will be key. We will develop the potential of UP’s Web-based repository and support
for classroom interaction to enable student-centric, tablet-focused learning. We
will develop interfaces for note taking and review of course materials spanning
personal notes, instructor notes, classroom activities, and student-generated questions
and comments. Finally, we seek to engage other educators — in all disciplines —
to work with us in exploring the potential of the tablet in the classroom. We invite
those interested in sponsoring workshops for faculty training to contact us at
http://up.ucsd.edu.
Using
Tablet PCs to Support a Studio Course in Programming
Samuel Kamin
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Programming Studio in the University of Illinois Computer Science
Department (CS 242) is an unusual course recently introduced as a capstone to
our core freshman and sophomore courses. Its purpose is to boost students’
programming skills, in preparation for higher-level courses. It has the unique
feature of being organized around weekly discussion sections with no more than
five students, plus an instructor, in which students present and discuss their
programs. In this project, we will develop two Tablet PC applications to support
these discussion sections. We have found that the biggest challenge in running
this course is ensuring that the discussions remain focused, engaging, and
helpful. One of the applications will directly facilitate the discussions, while
the other will help instructors grade, thereby allowing them to keep their
attention on the discussion. The first application will facilitate code
walkthroughs by allowing for annotations, shared comments, and the like; it will
have a special role for the instructor, but will otherwise be a general
code-review application, and may be usable outside the domain of our course. The
second application will enable the instructor to make quick annotations about
student participation, to field anonymous questions, and keep track of student
commitments.
Comparative Evaluation of Four Modes of Tablet PC Use in
Undergraduate Education
Eric Hamilton
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching/IITA
A team of faculty members from the US Air Force Academy (USAFA) is conducting
a systematic evaluation of Tablet PCs in mathematics, physics, and engineering
mechanics courses. The project involves four modes of Tablet PC–mediated
learning and uses a mixed portfolio of four evaluation methods. Project
deliverables include publications and presentations at international conferences
in learning sciences and in educational innovation. One important deliverable
includes a “turnkey toolkit” that outlines human-computer interaction issues in
tablet use and the steps faculty elsewhere can follow to implement and evaluate
tablets from a learner-centered vantage. The intention of this project is both
to inform practice and build theory. The implementation modes range from use in
problem-solving sessions to integration in pedagogical agent networks over
collaborative workspaces. This evaluation is part of a set of projects supported
by USAFA, the National Science Foundation, and the Air Force Office of
Scientific Research. It is intended to fill a need for systematic evaluative
research for practitioner and learning science research communities
internationally. The USAFA team recognizes deeply the profound human form-factor
advantages that Tablet PCs offer and it is determined to find and share the
conditions under which these advantages can translate to authentic learning
gains.
Tablet PC Technology, Curriculum, and Higher
Education 2005 RFP
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