Search results matching tag 'Tablet PC'

Making Live (Synchronous) Distance Learning Come Alive - Georgia Tech and DyKnow

jgvanides — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:08:00 GMT

Ask anyone who has attended an online webinar presentation, a live "broadcast lecture", or viewed a lecture that has been video podcast, and chances are they were multitasking - big time. Let's face it: Without actually engaging the audience, a lecture is highly ineffective - and if it's an online, non-interactive lecture, it's like watching a television show - minus the entertainment value of advertising.

Thankfully, innovation in instruction and technology is changing the equation, as is the case at Georgia Tech Savannah...

With support from an HP Technology for Teaching grant in 2006, and a follow-on HP Leadership Grant in 2008, Elliot Moore and Monson Hayes, co-PI's and faculty in engineering, used HP tablet pcs and DyKnow software to make their synchronous, distributed learning courses come alive.

From their project website:

Currently, Georgia Tech Savannah (GTS) provides engineering education to students located across 4 different universities. One of the primary initiatives at GTS is to develop a blueprint for building a campus that utilizes computer-based technology to enhance the effectiveness of education in synchronous distributed learning (DL) environments. In this scenario, the professor and students engage in a live classroom session via videoconferencing equipment that allows the students and professors to be at different geographical locations. This type of DL environment typically suffers from several challenges that create significant barriers in effective student learning and teacher instruction including:

1. Poor transmission of live lecture content
2. Limitations on basic classroom interaction among the instructor and students
3. Challenges in class administration of basic assessment activities (e.g., in class examples, exams, etc.)

These problems have contributed to a poor opinion overall of DL courses by students and instructors. The results of this project have shown the following measured improvements in student attitudes and opinions regarding the learning environments created in the DL courses for this project as opposed to traditional DL courses:

1. Students felt the presentation of the lecture content was more clear and easy to follow than in traditional DL courses
2. Students preferred the use of the Tablet PC for taking and receiving notes
3. Students felt more involved in class discussions and learning activities
4. Students felt the in-class interaction through the Tablet PC helped them learn the material better and pay more attention in class

The comments from the students support these findings:

"I liked that the professor could ask questions and have us submit answers. It caused me to pay more attention than I normally would. I think I also grasped the concepts better by actually doing them during class." (Spring 2007 Student)

"The Dyknow interface allows students to actually LISTEN to what the instructor is saying without scrambling madly to write stuff down and missing important point in the process. I would highly recommend it!" (Spring 2007 Student)

"LOBBY TO MAKE OTHER CLASSES USE TABLET PCs!! It worked very well. Not only was having all the notes readily available great, but working problems in class with you giving feedback and showing popular incorrect answers was nice too. I'm actually getting a tablet pc for Christmas because of this class, no joke." (Fall 2007 student)

Keep up the great work, Georgia Tech Savannah!

PS:

This experience at Georgia Tech is only one of many. Richard Anderson, creator of Classroom Presenter software, has created a similar synchronous distance learning interaction in his computer science course (see my previous blog posting, "Enhancing "Live" Distance Learning with Classroom Presenter").

Also, check out the Virginia Tech video posted on the DyKnow site "...I can take an auditorium, a theater, and turn it into an active learning place..." (Tom Walker, Associate Professor of Engineering).

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Programs
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard
Twitter @jgvanides

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

First-time Tablet PC User? Try My Favorite "5 First Steps"

jgvanides — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:30:00 GMT

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I recently had the privilege of introducing 50 middle school teachers to their new tablet pcs. It was great fun, and everyone left with something simple they could try the first time they fired up their tablet in class. If you've just acquired a tablet pc to enhance your teaching, or if you're still thinking about it, below are my favorite, simple, "5 First Steps" that I shared during my workshops...

First, I have to say "thank you" to the educators I've met in Twitter who were kind enough to answer my question, "What would YOU show teachers who are new to tablet pcs?" I received some great suggestions, one of which was from @web20classroom. He STRONGLY encouraged me to give them time to play and NOT overwhelm them with too much information. So I purposely focused my 90 minute workshop on teaching-relevant tablet pc uses that are EASY first steps.

Try This #1: Use Windows Journal as a replacement for your chalkboard, whiteboard, and/or overhead projector

Windows Journal is marvelous in its simplicity. It's basically an infinite pad of digital paper - with some features that have many educators tossing out PowerPoint and using Journal instead. Here's why:

Unlike PowerPoint, with Journal your annotations, drawings, scribbles, text and pasted images can all be REPOSITIONED afterward. Just use the lasso tool to grab and move an object.

Instructional Use: Journal is great for facilitating a brainstorm discussion. Write a list of ideas as step 1 of a brainstorm, and then (step 2 of a brainstorm) discuss ways to organize all the ideas - and move the list items being discussed. You can't do this on a white board unless you erase and rewrite everything. Yes, you can brainstorm with stickies - but those tend to be hard to read from far away. With a digital projector located toward the back of the classroom, the projected image can be ENORMOUS.
Unlike PowerPoint, if you want to spontaneously add a blank page because you've run out of space for more annotations, you can easily add a new page and keep going. With PowerPoint, you'd have to stop your presentation, save your annotations, insert a slide, and then restart the presentation. Ugh.

Instructional Use: You can prepare your lesson plan ahead of time, pre-populating your Journal file with curricular materials you want to share. Invariably you'll be asked a question which requires more space for drawing as you discuss the question. Journal helps you shift from "presenter" to "discussion facilitator".
Unlike PowerPoint, you can STRETCH (or unStretch) the digital canvas as needed. Want to insert some space between diagrams? No problem - just activate the "stretch" icon and tap/drag the pen DOWN to add more room (or tap/drag UP to unstretch).

Instructional Use: Have two drawings or photos, one on top of another, but now you need some room to label key features? Just STRETCH the paper and make some room for your annotations.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Try This #2: Customize Windows Journal backgrounds

Teach mathematics? Easily create grid paper for plotting data

Teach music? Easily create staff paper that you can notate on top of

Teach language arts? Create a graphic organizer background to facilitate discussions and scaffold student thinking

Try This #3: Use the Snipping Tool to grab and discuss images

Many instructors find themselves using their tablet pcs in "laptop mode", which is to say the display is open but not swiveled down on top of the keyboard. This makes it easy to draw AND "alt-tab" to any other open application being discussed. So let's say you have a webpage open and you want to point, draw, or otherwise annotate on top of a portion of it (e.g., "Look at this suspension bridge - what kind of mathematical expression might be used to characterize the shape of the suspension cable?"). With the snipping tool, you can "grab" an area (rectangular or free form), copy it, and paste it into Journal - in real-time, while you're discussing things in class.

The snipping tool was originally a free utility included in the Microsoft Tablet PC Experience Pack (a free download for MS Windows XP Tablet PC edition users). I suspect it was so popular that it now is included in MS Vista operating system. I can see why - it's so handy, I've copied a shortcut to the snipping tool and placed it on my toolbar (lower left hand corner, down by the Windows "start" blob).

Here's how to use it during a class discussion:

1) With Windows Journal open, make some space to add a "snip"

2) Open the other program you want to talk about (a browser window, a spreadsheet, anything that runs on your computer!)

3) Launch the snipping tool; use your pen to draw a box or freehand "snip"; in Vista, this action will automatically copy the snip to your clipboard

4) ALT-TAB back to Journal

5) EDIT > Paste your snip into Journal, and annotate away!

Try This #4: Markup Word Docs with Digital Ink

Looking for ways to be more efficient? Try paperless homework! If you're already having students use MS Word to write assignments, you can mark them up and send them back without ever having to print (and carry around) the originals. Here's how:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Try This #5: Annotate your PowerPoint - and throw away your laser pointer

Finally, because PowerPoint is so prevalent, you've GOT to see how easy it is to draw on top of your slides during your presentation. This short video will show you how:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Instructors who are doing this have basically thrown out their laser pointers - after all, laser pointers are now pointless. Digital annotations are easier to see and can be saved for later distribution to students.

Instructors who are doing this are also finding it valuable to leave more whitespace on their slides so there's room to write. The secondary benefit of doing this is that you're less likely to commit the crime of "too much stuff on your powerpoints"; with more whitespace, your presentation can slow down to match the speed of thought - and your students' fingers won't cramp up so often.

TIP: Use "save as" to make a copy of your master file before you start each class

If you never annotate on your master file, then you will always have a fresh copy that is free of all annotations. If you teach the more than one section of the same class, then you can avoid having to erase all your annotations from the previous session. Likewise, you retain a clean master for next year! So, whether you're using PowerPoints or Journal files, open the master file, then immediately "Save As" and give it a new name. This retains the master intact, and gives you a copy that you can mark up and share with your students.

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If anyone else has a "favorite first step" recommendation for new Tablet PC users, please post a comment and share it with me!

What's "WIPTE"? A great conference for tablet pc educators - Register before Sept 14 and save!

jgvanides — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:54:00 GMT

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The "Workshop on the Impact of Pen-based Technology on Education" (WIPTE, usually pronounced "WHIPPED-tee" by attendees) is a great event for anyone looking for innovations in education through the use of pen technologies such as tablet pcs. This year, the conference is going to be held at Virginia Tech, and it's not too late for early registration...

From the organizing committee:

Subject: WIPTE Early Registration Deadline September 14

If you are interested in the use of Tablet PCs or other types of pen-based technology to support teaching and learning in varied disciplines, please visit www.wipte.org to learn more about WIPTE (the Workshop on the Impact of Pen-based Technology on Education).

WIPTE 2009 will be held October 12-13, 2009 at Virginia Tech. The workshop covers multiple subject areas and is intended to identify and share best practices related to the use of Tablet PCs and pen-based computing in both K-12 and higher education. Each WIPTE paper presentation includes an assessment component as an important part of the presentation. The WIPTE program also includes keynote talks, poster presentations, hands-on sessions and vendor booths. Corporate sponsors will be providing giveaways including two HP 2730p Tablets, an HP iPaq 910 Business Messenger cell phone and more.

Additional information including the workshop schedule, travel information and links to an online registration form are available at www.wipte.org. An early registration fee of $50 is in effect through September 14^th. After that date the fee increases to $100.

We hope to see you in October!

Tablet PC Tips - Online and F2F @ Virginia Western Community College

jgvanides — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:49:00 GMT

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In their project, "Enhance Project-Based Team Learning in the Mobile Computing Curriculum with Tablet PC's", the faculty at Virginia Western Community College are using tablet pc's in their college level programming courses taught ONLINE, and for face-to-face robot control projects for local middle school students. Not surprisingly, the tablet pcs are making the learning experiences more engaging AND more efficient for the instructors...

Dr. Diane Wolff and colleagues received an HP Technology for Teaching grant in 2007. Not surprisingly, they are finding great benefits from using the "digital ink" capability of their tablets to support their online course discussions. Specifically, they are using:

Techsmith's Camtasia software to generate audio-annotated screen-capture movies
PowerPoint's built-in audio recording capability (Instead of running the "show" directly, launch it via "record narration"; as you talk and advance slides, your audio is linke to each slide for later reply)
OneNote for note-taking and feedback
Macromedia Breeze (now an Adobe webcast solution) for live online sessions with students

According to Dr. Wolff, "The ability to draw out ideas and brain storm in online meetings has been a real plus for numerous classes."

Their project also includes an outreach component designed to raise the awareness and interest of Middle School students in the field of computer programming. By programming Lego robots in JAVA via the tablet pcs, the effort appears to be exciting the students. "In the short time that we have done this in pilot projects, I see the light go on for many of the students, and the excitement is very rewarding", says Dr. Wolff.

The team at Virginia Western Community College has gone one step further - they have created a fantastic set of guide "booklets" (online pdf documents) that contain very helpful, illustrated tips for using tablet pcs in various ways, which they offer for free: http://virginiawestern.edu/istgrants/tablettips.html. You can read more about their "mobile programming" grants and projects at http://virginiawestern.edu/istgrants/

Thanks for sharing, Dr. Wolff and team!

Making Calculus Engaging and Relevant at Diablo Valley College

jgvanides — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:07:00 GMT

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Calculus is a "gatekeeper" course for many technical degrees, and failing calculus often results in dreams denied. Thankfully, many of the HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients have redesigned the calculus learning experience, with measurable improvements in student academic success. Professor Despina Prapavessi at Diablo Valley College is among the innovators who are changing the "calculus" of learning ...

Diablo Valley College is a community college in Northern California. Like most community colleges in the US, a large number of students are "non-traditional", often working full or part-time while attending school. Some are attending community college as a lower cost alternative to the first few years of university; some are returning to college to open new career opportunities.

Dr. Prapavessi took on the challenge of improving her Calculus class as part of her original 2005 HP Technology for Teaching grant. A subsequent HP Technology for Teaching Leadership grant, along with additional federal grants, have allowed the project to expand.

The project is called "Calculus with Tablet PCs", and as described on their website, the experience includes the following elements:

Students record data in science labs and analyze it using Calculus techniques.
The wireless network allows the use of Mathematica notebooks and Java applets in class.
A class website is used for collaboration and communication.
Students give cutting edge presentations using the free handwriting features of the Tablets.
Classroom Presenter allows students to send their input instantly, thus facilitating communication of ideas, enhancing team learning and easing the barriers of traditional student-teacher interactions.

When I visited Dr. Prapavessi early on in the implementation of the project, she explained some of the emerging evidence. Apparently the first effect that was noticeable was that when the bell rang and class was over, no one would leave. Now THAT is evidence of student engagement!

The net result of the work in her calculus class is described on their website. Not surprisingly, the lowest performing students benefitted the most:

The 2005 implementation of the project showed significant results and impact on student learning. Repeatedly in the classes taught with the redesign, the PI observed a 98% attendance rate, along with an 86% retention (up from~75%) and a 78% success rate (up from ~69%). Student involvement increased significantly and at least 17% of the students improved their performance by 1-2 letter grades once technology was introduced.

Four years later, the story continues to unfold. As I mentioned in an earlier blog posting about shifts in the Culture of Teaching, faculty at Diablo Valley College who are joining the project are also experiencing a new wave of collaboration. Again, from their website:

As instructors become aware of the many alternate possibilities to deliver the course content and begin to experiment and implement new strategies and activities, the dynamics in the classroom change markedly. Students become more involved with their learning and develop a deeper understanding for the concepts and theory taught; they experience the satisfaction of inquiry and scientific discovery and learn to work successfully in teams and form strong bonds with their peers. Instructors collaborate in finding and developing resources that help support the dynamic delivery of the course content. Tablet technology has empowered a collaboration between four mathematics departments to promote improvements in teaching and learning.

So we see yet again, that student success and faculty collaboration are intertwined. I suspect it is more than just a correlation.

More information is available on their website. If you teach mathematics and are interested in using Mathematica software, be sure to check out their page of resources that includes class activities, Mathematica notebooks, and links to applets - all freely available for you to leverage:

http://voyager.dvc.edu/Tablets/CourseMaterials/index.htm

Congratulations to Despina Prapavessi and her colleagues at Diablo Valley College! Keep up the great work - and thanks for sharing...

Engineering Design for Secondary School Teachers - CAD and CNC Milling on a Tablet PC? How fun!

jgvanides — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:17:00 GMT

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There's nothing like making physics and math real by giving students a design challenge that's engaging and exciting - and you know you're making progress when you have students saying, "The best part about this is you are learning - but you don't even realize you are learning 'till the whole thing's over with... you're having fun while you're doing it." Check out their video...!

The teacher education team at Red River College of Applied Arts, Sciences, and Technology (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) received an HP Technology for Teaching grant in 2008. Their project, "Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing Across the Curriculum" trains teachers to use CAD 3-D design tools and a CNC mill to design, build - and ultimately race -model cars (little balsawood "F1" racers). As one instructor explains, "The students were pushed to apply their theoretical knowledge in a practical activity - bringing a reality to theory."

The video is terrific (4 minutes):

Thanks for sharing, Red River!

11 Reasons Why a Tablet PC is Better

jgvanides — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:19:00 GMT

...better than what? OK, the full title should have been "Eleven Reasons Why a Tablet PC + Digital Projector is Better Than a Whiteboard or Overhead Projector... and Sometimes Smarter Than a Smartboard". I'm still frequently asked what a Tablet PC can do. Once I explain that they do everything a laptop does PLUS you can draw in the screen, then the next obvious question becomes, "How does this help me in class?" Below are 11 reasons to consider a tablet pc, based on the experiences of our HP grant recipients...

While many of the examples I blog about are 1-to-1 settings where all the students and the teacher are interacting through their own tablet pc, there are many examples of what can be done with ONE tablet in a classroom. In fact, most of the original HP Technology for Teaching grants (2004-2008) supported teams of teachers, each with one tablet pc. I even heard the descriptor, "The One Tablet Classroom" first from Dr. Ricky Cox at Murray State, the site of another HP Technology for Teaching grant.

So why all the excitement about one tablet pc in a classroom?

Below is my list of 11 examples, gathered from the innovations and comments from HP grant recipients. These are not ideas - these are real examples from real classrooms where real differences in student learning are being reported.

Why a Tablet PC + Digital Projector is Better Than a Whiteboard or Overhead Projector

I don't need to erase to keep going - With a whiteboard, when it fills up, out comes the eraser. If you're a student who is not a fast note taker, game over. Infinite digital space is so much nicer, because you don't interrupt the train of thought.
I can go BACKWARD and answer dangling questions - This example came from a high school geometry teacher in Georgia who uses the infinite pad of digital "paper" in MS Journal to present from. She used to use an overhead projector with a somewhat infinite roll of acetate. She explained that because her presentation annotations were easily accessible, she had a student (for the first time ever) ask her to go BACK 3 pages to where she was five minutes ago. Students don't stop thinking after you erase your whiteboard!
I can archive and share my presentation after class - Many teachers report that they create a "master file" of their lesson plans, and present from a copy so they can annotate and save it for post-class distribution. This has an interesting effect of changing student note-taking - they start to shift from "transcribers" to "thinkers".
I can easily incorporate rich media into my classroom - Why limit our teaching to words scrawled on a whiteboard? Back in the day, videos (or even farther back in the dark ages with movies and film strips!) were run on a separate system requiring more equipment, more hassle, and sometimes a "film monitor" (am I dating myself?). Today, with a tablet pc and an internet connection, we can bring video, audio, web-content, even live polling and videoconferencing with guest speakers, into our classrooms to support presentations - and more importantly - the discussions and questions that follow.
I can more easily overlay annotations on images - This is nearly impossible on a whiteboard, and only possible-but-a-hassle on an overhead projector. Heaven forbid you should want to ERASE an annotation to make another point. What a mess!
I have a million colors at my fingertips - not ON my fingertips. I don't miss the days of chalk (three colors, if you can find them) and erasable pens (a packet of 6 colors, if you were really hip)

But there are more reasons to consider a Tablet PC. The following examples are specific to why a Tablet PC + Digital Projector is smarter than a SmartBoard:

I can make the image HUGE so everyone can see - In one classroom I visited, the projector was in the back of the classroom and the image took up the entire cinderblock wall up front. Needless to say, all the students could see just fine. In fact, they seemed to be GLUED to the content.
I can face my students - Teachers know that learning is social, and eye contact can tell you a LOT (and help you manage your classrooms). Besides, it's simply more friendly to have a face-to-face interaction with our students!
I can present from the BACK of the room so students focus more on the content - This turns out to be an advantage for students, too. One student I spoke to, when asked what's different in his "one tablet classroom", said, "I like to come up and work the problems". I asked him why that was different than coming up to the whiteboard, and he said, "No one is looking at me!" This turns out to be extremely important for many students, and it was made possible because his teacher had the tablet in the back of the classroom.
I can take it home or on a field trip - Who doesn't prepare lesson plans at home or at a local café? Plus, if your projector isn't mounted to the ceiling, you can bring your presentation system anywhere that learning is liable to be happening...
I can create video podcasts before (or during) class - A tablet pc and a Bluetooth microphone turn out to make a terrific podcast platform when combined with screencast software like Camtasia (see my Tablet PC Tip #5). I am particularly intrigued by the increasing interest in pre-recording presentations and assigning them as homework. This has two benefits: You never have to give that talk again (it's saved for posterity), and more importantly, you can use the time you save in class for more class discussion

I know that this is not a static list - there are many more great examples of tablet pc use. So if you've made the switch from overhead projector, whiteboard, or even SmartBoard to a Tablet PC, please post a comment and share your thoughts and experiences. I look forward to hearing from you...

Revolutionizing Instruction With Tablet PC's - Interview with Clemson U (in Second Life!)

jgvanides — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:50:00 GMT

The tablet pc project at Clemson University continues to grow. With grants provided from the HP Technology for Teaching initiative, teaching and learning is taking on new forms - with measurable improvements in student success. Marilyn Reba, Lisa Benton, and Barbara Weaver (all from Clemson) took the time to tell their story during a recent ISTE Eduverse Talks "show" in Second Life....

The archive footage (is this what we still call it? There's no "tape" to be measured in "feet" anymore!) is now available online. Host Kevin Jarrett (SL: KJ Hax) nimbly facilitates a discussion with the cross-disciplinary team of educators from Clemson University who successfully integrated Tablet PC's into their curriculum as part of the HP Technology for Teaching Grant program. Their successes cover disciplines such as math, engineering, and even English.

By the way, if you haven't attended an ISTE Eduverse Talk "live" from ISTE Island in Second Life, I highly recommend it - what a kick. It beats the socks off of most webinars I've been in, as you really feel like you're THERE. With many webinars, there's no "there" there - you just watch your screen, listen to someone speak, and fight the temptation to multitask with your email. Attending an event in Second Life is far more fun and attention grabbing.

In fact, as I post this message, there's a new talk about ready to start! See http://www.iste-eduverse.org/blog/ for more details!

Of course if you can't attend "live" and in-person (or would that be in-avatar?), then the archives are the next best thing...

Tablet PCs Make Science Real at Bluegrass Community & Technical College

jgvanides — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:00:00 GMT

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/

Enhancing "Live" Distance Learning with Classroom Presenter

jgvanides — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:03:00 GMT

Live classroom interaction is an instructional model that is often missing in synchronous online presentations. Richard Anderson, University of Washington, shows us how he brings graphical interaction into an online course that is broadcast synchronously to three sites - one of which is a world away...

If you don't already know, Richard Anderson is a past HP grant recipient and the creator of Classroom Presenter, which he describes as:

"...a Tablet PC-based interaction system that supports the sharing of digital ink on slides between instructors and students. When used as a presentation tool, Classroom Presenter allows the integration of digital ink and electronical slides, making it possible to combine the advantages of whiteboard style and slide based presentation. The ability to link the instructor and student devices, and to send information back and forth provides a mechanism for introducing active learning into the classroom and creates additional feedback channels."

Classroom Presenter is effective, easy, free (for non-commercial use) and is now being used by faculty around the world. Richard and his UW team have just released a video that shows how they are using CP in an online course that is simultaneously delivered to three locations: A classroom at the University of Washington, at Microsoft (about 30 minutes from UW, near Seattle), and to a classroom in Pakistan. Once again, the power of graphical response makes the learning experience truly interactive - a characteristic that is often missing from synchronous webinars.

(click here or on the image below to download the video)

Nice job, UW - thanks for sharing!

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/