Tablet PC Talk Forums

[kbenson]

I have been reading alot about Tablet PCs and I am impressed. I am hopeful that the writing surface and portability has alot to offer especially younger students. I find that most of what I have found to read involves use with High School or Higher Education students (with the exception of the East Manchaster, UK project). Are there other elementary schools using this technology? If so, I have a lot of questions:
Are you having problems with equipment breaking after being dropped? Does the immature handwriting of younger students inhibit their effective use? Does the battery last long enough for use during an entire school day? Do major elementary software programs (Kidpix, Kidspiration, Clicker4) work? Can you highlight and annotate on a web page? Can youngsters share the equipment appropriately in small group instruction? Is the wireless coverage reliable in schools?

Thanks

[Gbeg]

[quote]Does the immature handwriting of younger students inhibit their effective use? [/quote]
I would think that a tablet pc would be the ideal platform for improving our student's printing/handwritting; if our school could afford just one.

[Guest]

Hi,
I am about to deliver a software that helps children to learn their handwriting. It allows them to communicate by handwriting and even publish their handwriting in the Internet.

The software has already earned the Innovation Price in the Tablet PC Challenge from Microsoft Germany. It will be available in German and English.

Find more Information later on www.marlonlernt.de and www.marlonlearns.com.

[Champagnedrinker]

Has anyone tried that power toy that's designed to help children write?

[Jaymz]

I think a tablet would be cool for kids to work on, but mostly because it would up computer comprehension at a younger age. Personally as for handwriting I dont see where it will be any more useful than pen and paper in areas aside from the advantage such as for communication or publishing to the internet. If anything I think the pen and paper step is an important one, tablets still aren't perfect. You get annoying digitizer lag where the pen jumps and you get crazy lines (very rare), occasionally pixelated curves/etc, personally its harder to draw accurate lines etc, and other minor issues.

While most these issues are minor they are pretty much fixed by using pen and paper. I think it is cool that we up computer awarness at such an early age, but it will be sad when we lose things that are so little on the outside, but are so important on the inside. But thats the ups and downs of technology I guess.
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[b]James Volodymyr R.[/b]
[url=http://www.GoDivine.net]Divine Business Solutions[/url]
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[forelise]

I use a TC1100 in my fifth grade classroom and it is just great. Students work through problems in all content areas and handwriting is not an issue. Changing pen colors, however, is another story! Combined with a digital projector the tablet has made my whiteboard unnecessary and obsolete. Using the projector I can display anything on my tablet. The tablet allows students who were absent to catch up on all of the work they missed simply by reading through the journal notes from the day before. If the work had been done on the whiteboard it would have been erased at the end of the day. My students have never dropped the tablet and are very respectful of all of the equipment in the classroom. Every teacher should have a tablet and a projector. I can't imagine going back teaching without them.
Elise

[jonathan7007]

Dear Forelise,

That's a great combination. I'll be switching up to fifth from third for our July start and I have my tablet on order. I like the idea of one place all projected images or projected ink will go every day. I have been storing homework assignment info in one place -- well, really two places if you count the blog where it's posted in the afternoon. This goes way beyond that. You can re-capture the exact layout of a math solution or a word list on the board from weeks or months before.

You said you use Journal. Is that the TabletPC bundled app or OneNote's journaling capability? Do you index this with keywords to make searching easier? Is the searching in OneNote or Journal operate fast enough to look up the pages on the fly or in response to a kid's question? I know that what I can't get out of the computer in two sends flat will have to wait until the end of the day (at best.)

I take it you let the fifth graders write on your tablet as part of their work. A reward?

Is there a way to clip items off a screen when the projector is attached and running? In some machines the shared graphics might mean the "slides" in Powerpoint are selected will not be changable.

Tell us more about your uses, please!

Thabks, Jonathan

[Jaymz]

Journal is a packaged writing software, it's kind of like "Notepad" if Word was equal to OneNote. It's a stretch but it is a good program with many features. Basically think one note without the built-in organization.
_________________
[b]James Volodymyr R.[/b]
[url=http://www.GoDivine.net]Divine Business Solutions[/url]
IC XC NIKA

[Jackie]

Windows Journal is the most popular software used in our elementary schools. I like to think of this as electronic paper. Students as young as first grade are using this program for writing. The program makes it easy for revision since you can add and remove space to add more details or clarification. The search feature is helpful as students evaluate their papers for word choice. Research notes taken in Journal make it easy for students to keep track of and better organize their notes.

Older students like to use the Ink Comments feature in Word to peer conference in writing. They find it easier to use than track changes.

[charactereducation]

Well i am totally agree with the jackie's opinion. I also think that windows journal is the best software for younger kids.