Helping Teachers Create a Dynamic Learning Environment Using Pen-Based Technology

[EN] There is evidence that Pen-based Technologies (PBTs) can facilitate radical changes that would make it possible to address problems typically associated with lecture-based pedagogical models. In the context of universitylevel Computer Science studies, there is widespread consensus that PBTs—and tablet PCs, in particular—are tools that have great potential for encouraging interaction in the classroom and promoting a far more dynamic learning environment. In view off the complexity of these types of technology and their explosive evolution, it would be advisable to assist teachers who wish to utilize them by developing strategies based on a conceptualization of their educational capabilities. With this objective in mind, this article analyzes the use of concept maps as tools for modeling both the instructional domain and the PBTs domain. To validate the proposed approach, a number of workshops were conducted, in which professors of Engineering were given a presentation on the educational capabilities of these technologies and then had the opportunity to experiment with tablet PCs and other digital ink devices. Participants completed a prequestionnaire at the start of the workshop; its questions were generated from a generic concept map for the instructional domain, and its purpose was to list each professor’s instructional requirements. Next, recommendations for use were developed, based on the PBTs concept map, and converted to the questions on a post-questionnaire completed at the end of the workshop, on which the teachers indicated the degree to which they agreed with the recommendations. More than 70 professors from different departments participated in these workshops, and their overall evaluation was quite favorable.Benlloch-Dualde, JV.; Buendía García, F.; Cano Escribá, JC.; Blanc Clavero, S.; Lemus Zúñiga, LG. (2013). Helping Teachers Create a Dynamic Learning Environment Using Pen-Based Technology. International Journal of Technologies in Learning. 19(2):107-120. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/53173S10712019

Exploring tablet PC lectures: lecturer experiences and student perceptions in biomedicine

Lecturers using tablet PCs with specialised pens can utilise real-time changes in lecture delivery via digital inking. We investigated student perceptions and lecturer experiences of tablet PC lectures in large-enrolment biomedicine subjects. Lecturers used PowerPoint or Classroom Presenter software for lecture preparation and in-lecture pen-based inking. Using surveys and lecturer interviews, students and lecturers were asked to reflect on their tablet PC lectures in comparison to non-tablet lectures that used prepared images and a laser pointer. Quantitative survey responses suggested that students felt that the tablet lectures were more interesting, that they were more capable of keeping up with the lecturer, and they enhanced their understanding of the lecture content. Qualitative analysis of written comments indicated that students appreciated the real-time writing and drawings, particularly because these were visible on lecture recordings. When reflecting on their non-tablet lectures, most lecturers used the pen-based writing, drawing and highlighting tablet functions and reduced lecture pace and content for their tablet lectures. Long-term tablet use led to lecturers making more use of digital inking, with less use of prepared images. Our results support the idea that tablet PC-supported lectures are conducive to improved management of cognitive load via reduced lecture pace and content

Interactive student engagement using wireless handheld devices

This paper presents an initial design of a pilot wireless Classroom Communication System (CCS) used for continuous and interactive engagement of students aiming at enhancing student critical thinking, extending attention span and enabling better student assessment. The system was designed mostly for engineering students and is intended to be used in lectures, tutorials or laboratories. The design should ultimately enable students to use, amongst other software, standard engineering packages such as MATLAB, PSpice, or Electronic WorkBench to construct designs, perform simulations and obtain answers to design problems using just wireless handheld pocket PCs. The system is based upon a CSCW system originally designed to be used anytime during lectures or tutorials and may involve the guidance and personal intervention of a lecturer or tutor. It is intended to support several modes and allows group or one-to-one personal tutoring. The system may also serve as a means of assessing individual student performance and in assisting lecturing staff with other task