Tablet Computers Find A HomeIn The Classroom (NAPSA)—One of the latest developments in the computer field is already benefiting many students and teachers. Tablet computers seem to be finding a home in both the traditional and the electronic classroom. Students say that by using tablets they can collaborate easily with their peers. Teachers find they can use tablets to monitor students’ grasp of the material that has been covered. For example, with software such as DyKnowVision, teachers can send a “status request” during a lesson to gauge each student’s level of understanding, without the embarrassing raise of hands. “I’m not using canned examples from a textbook anymore. I’m using real examples immediately pulled from the student’s tablet,” says computer science professor Roy Pargas at Clemson University. Like many smartphones, tablets have touch capabilities built into the screen. Students can touch the screen on tablets to manipulate, interact and share content with one another inside and outside the classroom, which can foster an interactive environment. With pen-based tablets, such as the HP EliteBook 2740p, students can take digital notes in their own handwriting as well as download and annotateslide presentations during lectures. Once outside the classroom, students can revisit their notes to study alone or share their notes with classmates. Be Both students and teachers report that tablet computers may help to make a classroom environment moreinteractive. Professor Dave Berque of DePauw University and his students use HP tablets with Intel Core Duo processors and DyKnowVision software to take notes, solve problems and share solutions in his computerscience class. They can also replay notes after class. As a result, he saw failure rates drop from 14 percent to 1 percent. Said Berque, “Tablet PCs makethe classroom an interactive environment, and that tends to give a lot of feedback to everyone involved.” Tablets are more than an interactive tool; they can also save time. Instead of spending hours after class grading papers, teachers can mark papers electronically and then transfer the scores into an electronic gradetracking system. Many believe that with tablet PCs, the classroom can become a more interactive environment. Teachers and students alike can find success in all the touch capabilities that tablets haveto offer. To learn more, visit www.hp.com/go/hied or call (800) 888-0262.
