For Tomorrow’s Technology (NAPSA)}—Tablet computers may not yet be the staples that laptops are on today’s college campuses, but that is quickly changing. Whyare tablets on the rise? Because tablets are like laptops flying first class—they work just like laptops, but you can also turn the screen around and write like you would on a pad of paper. The touch screen turnsto lie flat so you can quickly go from typing notes to sketching complex equations and diagramswith a digital pen. Tablets are also like all-in-one spiral notebooks—all your notes are in one spot and organized into folders for quick access. Digitally handwritten notes can even be turned into text without retyping them. Classmates and teachersalike will be wowed by your powerful presen- tations that combine handwritten and typed text, illustrations and Web pagesfrom the Internet. Instead of running back to your dorm room between classes or lugging multiple books around, you can download electronic textbooks on your tablet. Taking notes and highlighting directly on the tablet also prevent costly damage to textbooks. Many university students have jumped on the tablet bandwagon by using the mobile computersto: Collect, analyze and interpret data outside the classroom— Students use GPS and 3-D digital maps to immediately record observa- tions in the field. (University of Michigan) Collaborate as a group— Work is sent to everyone’s screens at the same time so students can compare, write on and save each other’s answers. Annotating on another student’s work and mapping out complicated concepts improve teamwork. (University of Richmond) Work in virtual laboratories—Students aren’t confined by stationary equipment and can conduct experiments wherever they are. (Tecnolgico de Monter- rey, Mexico) In the classroom, tablets have transformed how students and teachers interact. Students can record audio or video while taking notes and play it back to clarify anything confusing. They can also help their classmates by sending annotated notes or commenting directly on other students’ tablets. Class polls can be conducted on the tablets, and students can see how their responses compare to their classmates’. Students can also volunteer their screenshots to the teacher for classroom demos. At DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., Professor Michele Villinski and her students use HP tablets with Intel Core Duo processors and DyKnow Monitor software in her economics class. A typical lesson includes taking interactive class polls, following annotated lecture slides in real time and receiving the professor’s handwritten comments on classwork—all on the students’ tablet screens. “My teaching philosophy has always involved getting my students engaged with the material,” Professor Villinski says.
