| Tablet PCs take their place in classrooms
 But perhaps the most promising area so far is in the classroom, a setting in which portable devices with handwriting capabilities would seem to make sense. Educators at a handful of American schools, many of them private high schools, are pressing ahead with plans to issue students tablet PCs for use in English, foreign language, math, science and social studies classes.
At some schools, the hope is to do away with paper notebooks, on the way to eliminating as much paper as possible. In that vision, students would take tests electronically, read textbooks online and submit homework by e-mail. Proponents say the devices can improve interaction among teachers and students and increase opportunities for critical thinking by cutting down on busywork.
One factor that favors educators is that students seem to like tablets, especially the pen-based interface that takes the place of a mouse and keyboard.
"That was undoubtedly the best and coolest part," said John Stanton, a senior last year at Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania, who took part in a program to test the devices.
Stanton, 18, was on the school's debating team, and he used a tablet PC to take notes and prepare responses during debates. He said the tablet kept pace with swift handwriting and was useful because he could quickly call up his writings from earlier rounds.
Administrators at Cathedral Prep had considered laptops but switched to tablet PCs after early testing by staff members.
"We did not want to get caught up with the novelty of this thing," said the school's headmaster, the Reverend Scott Jabo. "The more we were using it, we saw a lot of practical uses."
Cathedral Prep issued tablet PCs to 160 ninth-graders when they started classes this month with the goal of eliminating paper notebooks and centralizing study materials on a device linked to the school's wireless network. The device chosen by the school, a model from Acer, has a screen measuring 10 inches, about 25 centimeters, and weighs about three pounds, about 1.4 kilograms. Like most consumer tablets, it includes a keyboard and can function as a laptop.
School officials said they had paid $1,350 per device, a price that included volume and educational discounts. Students will be charged a technology fee, to be added to tuition over four years, to cover the device, warranties, software and a case.
Tablet PCs run essentially the same Windows-based programs as other computers. But instead of a mouse, there is a stylus, or pen, that can be used for navigation by touching the screen.
The pen can also take the place of the keyboard; users can handwrite directly in programs, using an on-screen input panel, or by tapping letters and numbers on an on-screen keyboard.
Programs designed specifically for the tablet PC, like Microsoft's Windows Journal, enable free-form handwriting that can be converted to text or saved in the original "digital ink" format.
Some schools have developed detailed plans to integrate tablet PCs into their curriculums. At the Benjamin School, a private day school in North Palm Beach, Florida, eighth graders tested the devices last year in history and English; teachers had their own tablets to explore ways to integrate them in all subjects. This year, all ninth graders at the school, about 100 students, will use tablets, a model from Gateway with a 14-inch screen, in all of their classes.
Tablet PCs allow teachers to go beyond conventional teaching methods, said Barbara Murphy, co-head of the school's technology committee. Instead of standing at the front of the classroom and talking, 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 the 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, intended mainly for businesses, also has features designed for tablet PCs.
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 white board, 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 at the Benjamin School.
Students who tested the devices last year said the pen capabilities were sufficient for taking notes.
"It writes just like a pen and paper," said Shohan Shetty, 14, a ninth grader 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. Fraser also said he found the pen useful, adding: "About half the class wrote with the pen because they weren't completely used to typing. 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 SmartTechnologies, teachers can poll students anonymously to determine if a given topic is understood. Teachers can also view 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," Didsbury added.
Students were required to buy 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.
The New York Times Tablet personal computers have been around for almost two years, and while they have not yet proved to be the revolutionary change agents that they were billed as in November 2002, they are starting to carve a niche for themselves in certain corners of the digital world.
Industries like health care and insurance have embraced tablet PCs, which enable users to write, type or draw directly on the screen, because they can speed the processing of records and forms. While tablets, which account for only about 1 percent of the market for notebook computers, are still generally more expensive than laptops with comparable specifications, prices have started to fall. And last month, Microsoft released an updated version of its Windows XP Tablet PC operating system that offers improved handwriting recognition, addressing one of the chief complaints about the earlier version.
But perhaps the most promising area so far is in the classroom, a setting in which portable devices with handwriting capabilities would seem to make sense. Educators at a handful of American schools, many of them private high schools, are pressing ahead with plans to issue students tablet PCs for use in English, foreign language, math, science and social studies classes. Tablet PCs take their place in classrooms |