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Using Tablet PC's in allows
teachers to go beyond conventional teaching methods, said Barbara Murphy,
co-chair of the school's technology committee and a 10th-grade chemistry
teacher. Instead of standing at the front of the classroom and talking, Ms.
Murphy said, teachers can oversee students' work on projects. "We want students
to be actively involved," she said. "The tablet PC seems to really facilitate
that."
For example, using one piece of software, a peer-to-peer program called Groove
Virtual Office from Groove Networks, students and teachers can collaborate on
projects in the classroom from home or anywhere there is an Internet connection.
The program, geared mainly for businesses, also has features designed for tablet
PC's.
Using Groove in a math class, for example, a teacher could write out
an equation in a shared workspace that is displayed on the classroom's
whiteboard, and students seated at their desks can use their tablet pens to take
turns adding steps to it. "It's like having 20 kids standing at a blackboard,
each with chalk in their hands," said Ken Didsbury, academic dean and an English
teacher at the Benjamin School.
Students who tested the devices last year
said the pen capabilities were sufficient for note-taking. "It writes just like
a pen and paper," said Shohan Shetty, 14, who is entering the ninth grade this
year. "It's fast."
William Fraser, 14, also used the device last year. He
said a strong feature was having Internet access at his desk for fast research.
William also said he found the pen to be useful. "About half the class wrote
with the pen because they weren't completely used to typing," he said. "And if
you want to make a diagram, you just draw with it."
Classroom management
software also figures in the Benjamin plan. Using a program called SynchronEyes,
from Smart Technologies, teachers can poll students anonymously to determine if
subject matter is being understood. Teachers can also view the students' screens
to catch instant messaging or to administer electronic testing. "It's a little
Big Brotherish, but it allows us to be sure that when we give a test
electronically, the kids can't cheat," Mr. Didsbury added.
Students were
required to purchase the tablets before the start of the school year; the cost
was $1,925 plus $167 for insurance, school officials said. The price, which the
school negotiated with Gateway after comparing three manufacturers' offerings,
included bundled software like Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft OneNote and an
antivirus program.
Teachers say they feel energized by the challenges and
opportunities presented by tablet PC's. Linda Willich, a social studies teacher
at the Benjamin School, is preparing a new system for students to organize their
work. She says she is looking forward to the collaboration tools and pen
capabilities for drawing graphs.
"I can see huge possibilities for it,
especially in economics," she said. "There are all kinds of things we haven't
even anticipated that will not only be challenges, but will be exciting."
