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The Tablet PC Project at The University of Virginia. Charles M. Grisham Chief Technology Officer Professor of Chemistry University of Virginia. A Partnership to Explore Classroom Transformation. Partners: Thomson Learning Microsoft Corporation Hewlett Packard Corporation
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The Tablet PC Project at The University of Virginia Charles M. Grisham Chief Technology Officer Professor of Chemistry University of Virginia
A Partnership to Explore Classroom Transformation • Partners: • Thomson Learning • Microsoft Corporation • Hewlett Packard Corporation • University of Virginia
What’s in it for each? • Thomson – what will textbooks become? • Microsoft – software to serve higher ed • Hewlett Packard – computing form factor • UVa – can we improve teaching/learning?
Student profile • At Uva, last year – 80% brought laptops to college • 0% brought them to class…. • ~0% learn actively
The Tablet Project • 400 HP Tablet PCs deployed in three courses: • Cognitive Psychology • Introductory Statistics • Biochemistry
Statistics • Lecture – 3 hrs/wk • Discussions – 50 minutes twice/wk • Lectures – content provided in OneNote with students taking their own notes within a OneNote chapter template • In-class simulations and software demonstrations on Tablet
Statistics Discussions • Students work in small groups on application problems related to current lecture topics • Students do computations on their tablets, write up solutions as a team, and submit their work electronically
Cognitive Psychology • Exploiting the Tablet’s unique ability to bring lectures and textbook together • Students take notes on Tablets, and add figures (online from textbook) in appropriate places • Much of the course involves special drawings that are compared with text figures – neither paper nor laptops can do this
Biochemistry • Lecture slides in OneNote allow students to annotate as they go • OneNote assignments – UDo files – challenge students to draw structures, reactions, chemical mechanisms, graphical relationships, calculations
Biochem Online - iLrn • Thomson’s iLrn site provides: • 3D protein modeling exercises • Flash animations of text figures • Java applets explaining complex concepts • Pre- and Post-tests to assess learning • Grade data transfer seamlessly between Thomson iLrn site and UVa Instructional Toolkit Gradebook
Biochemistry assets • Flash animations: http://www.web.virginia.edu/jpj3g/html/links.html#MN001 • Thomson iLrn site from Toolkit: www.toolkit.virginia.edu • Many of the media assets (protein modeling, Flash, Java applets, etc.) provided by two grants from the National Science Foundation
Project Logistics • UVa’s Office of Information Technology and Communications provided: • Multi-frequency wireless in our classrooms • Authenticated linkage to Thomson iLrn site via Instructional Toolkit • Collaboration to establish secure log-on • Access to UVa-licensed software for Tablets
Assessment • Thomson Learning, Microsoft, and HP are sharing the cost of research on impact of the Tablets on teaching and learning • Reed Haldy McIntosh • NCHEMS (National Center for Higher Education Management Systems)
Results? • Too soon to tell, but… • Very positive student response • Growing wave of Tablet interest at UVa