Are your students tired of cookbook labs that bear little resemblance to real science? Brent Eldridge at Bluegrass Community & Technical College (Lexington, Kentucky) and his colleagues are using tablet pcs to revamp the lab experience to be field-based, dynamic, and highly collaborative...

Eldridge's project, funded by an HP Technology for Teaching grant, was just featured in an article appearing in EdTech, entitled "Real Science -Tablet PCs bring lab research to life for professors and students." (by Vanessa Jo Roberts)

..."I wanted to take that experience outside - where chemistry happens," Eldridge says.

So what leads to making lab use of tablets a success? A few simple steps, say Eldridge and others who've begun similar programs: Create a detailed plan in advance, make necessary infrastructure changes, overhaul your curriculum, prepare your students and be ready to deliver support services.

I particularly enjoyed the quotes from student Alan Webb:

The dynamic nature of the lab at Bluegrass appealed to Alan Webb, who was among the initial group of students to use the tablet PCs and is now in the pharmacy program at the University of Kentucky. "Most lab assignments are: Go in, do it, get it done, forget about it. But I didn't forget about this one," Webb says.

Plus, in what Eldridge considers the chief achievement, students work much more collaboratively, which will serve those who pursue science and research careers, he says, noting that few discoveries result from someone toiling away alone with no input from other scientists.

Webb agrees, noting that he is still in touch with a student from that fall 2005 course, who still corresponds regularly with her lab partner, too.

The labs have become much more interactive - they create bonds among the students that simply did not occur previously, Eldridge notes.

But perhaps the most telling statement comes from Webb: "It's an absolutely true statement that it will draw people into the sciences because it makes it applicable to the real world."

For more information about the project at Bluegrass Community & Technical College, visit their project webpage, http://www.bluegrass.kctcs.edu/natural_sciences/hpgrant/

Nice job, Bluegrass!

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Grant Strategy
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard

For information about the HP Global Social Investments, visit www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/