Eliot Graff, a former English professor and current programmer and technical writer/editor/blogger has found a new book dealing with tablet PCs and education. The International Society for Technology in Education has released their latest volume titled Tablet PCs in K-12 Education. Being a big proponent of tablet PCs being integrated into secondary educational systems, I'm excited to see ISTE legitimizing the tablet's strengths for primary education. What better way to introduce the advantages of having a tablet computer than being exposed to them for 13 years!

Here's a short description from ISTE's website:

Lenovo has announced their entry in to the red-hot netbook market, the IdeaPad S10, with prices at $399 and $499. This entry looks to be hitting all the sweet spots: price, style, features, size, and performance. I predict that this will be a very popular item and is aiming squarely for Asus' jugular. The S10 will begin shipping, and be available in retail, at the end of September. I've got my eye on the S10 for ALL of my kids for back-to-school. At $399 / $499 for these features, you just can't go wrong. Look for an InkShow in early September.

Let's cut right to the chase with specs, pictures and such:

• Red, white, and black configurations. Starts at $399 for 512mb / 80 GB HDD. The $499 model is 1 GB / 160GB HDD
• Windows XP Preloaded
• LED back light 10.2" WSVGA ( 1024 x 600 ).
• Some countries will have 9" models with different colors and Linux preloads
• 250.2 x 183 x 22.57.5 mm, around 2 lbs
• Intel integrated GMA 950
• Intel Atom N270 CPU 1.6 ghz & Intel 945GSE - 533 mhz FSB, 512k L2 cache, 1 core
• 2.5" HDD's, 5400 rpm
• Up to 2GB of memory, DDR2 400/533
• Battery: 3 hours on 3 cell, 6 hours on 6 cell
• Integrated 1.3 MP camera
• 2 speakers
• Multi-Touch Pad, 85% full size keyboard
• Integrated Wireless, Ethernet, Bluetooth
• Express card slot
• VGA
• 2 USB
• 4-1 multi-card reader
• Shipping and available in retail at the end of September

More pictures at the Read More link.

I’m writing this only with knowledge of my state, Virginia, hoping others from other states will fill in if info is different where they live. Today begins Virginia’s Back to School Sales Tax Holiday, where certain school supplies and clothing are exempt from state sales tax. It is usually a big shopping weekend.

Other states do this as well. Intriguingly when it comes to school supplies, the item has to cost under $20 and there are no exemptions on computer hardware and software. “School Supply” is defined as an item commonly used by a student in the course of study. There is a published list of what’s exempt, and dealers are allowed to not charge sales tax on other items, but they then have to absorb that cost on pay the sales tax on those items.

So, what does your state do? Does it have a sales tax holiday? Does it include technology in its list of exempt purchases?

If you have a son or daughter going off to college or if you are in college yourself, don't miss PDF Annotator for Students for $29.90. It's the full Version 2 with special pricing for those of us in education. McKay Whitney, a regular site contributor, alerted us to the special pricing this morning. With most handouts available to students as PDF's, Grahl Software's PDF Annotator Version 2 allows us to write directly on these documents without having to import into OneNote first. This is advantageous on several fronts for me.

First, only a few of my classmates actually use OneNote. Being able to mark up a PDF and share that file as a PDF without having to use another software as a medium for inking is a big benefit. Second, PDF Annotator saves time. My workflow for annotating pdf's before Annotator was to import the pdf file into OneNote (and depending on the file size, could take a bit of time), making notes in the pdf file via OneNote, then saving the OneNote file as another pdf. Third, some images and documents within the pdf that gets rotated by OneNote cannot be correctly reoriented once it is imported. By using Annotator, it is a non-issue.

WhatIsNew.com has an outstanding list of case studies that document schools using Tablet PCs in a variety of settings.  These case studies provide in-depth looks at how students, teachers, administrators, and parents are benefiting from the use of Tablet PCs as integral parts of the curriculum.  The studies are organized by the companies involved and the participating schools.  Many of the case studies discuss DyKnow Monitor and DyKnow Vision, two software packages for teacher-student collaboration and management.  As an educator who has used similar management software, there is no greater feeling when you catch a few kids playing a game on Miniclip and lock their computers.  It makes you feel that there is justice in the universe after all.

I agree with Kenneth Collura who writes in his TechLearning.com article, "The bottom line is that technology is serving the specific needs of individual students. Each can choose to learn where, when, and how s/he wants. I believe the Tablet PC will play a profound role in education, and the ability to use this and other technologies will be critical as students enter the workforce."

Photo credit: iferrer1

Read more about why schools struggle to implement technology.

Microsoft has released a toolkit for teachers that use OneNote, a note-taking, information gathering, and collaboration software package, as part of their curriculum.  According to Microsoft, the toolkit is loaded with goodies you'll want to share with colleagues and guinea pig students.  The toolkit can be downloaded for free and includes training, how-to articles, videos, lesson plan examples, and other resources to help teachers fully master and implement OneNote into their courses.  The toolkit is broken into the following eight sections:

• Welcome
• Great Education Features
• Lesson Plans
• Collaboration
• Distribution
• Examples
• Common Questions
• OneNote Add-ins

The Microsoft OneNote site also has example notebooks and videos to spur the creative juices and help teachers develop engaging lessons.  Check out the video to see how OneNote is being used in Norwegian Schools.

How have your students reacted to OneNote?  How do you like using OneNote as a student?

Continuing our series of technology being incorporated into education, Georgia Tech students are benefiting from HP Tablet PCs being used in their studies.  Working with DyKnow software, the Gerogia Tech students shared their thoughts about this unique learning experience.  The DyKnow software package provides greater interaction between students and their instructor than traditional teaching methods.

From the GT website, one student from the spring of 2007 commented, "I really enjoyed the Tablet PC idea. For the past year I have regretted not getting one as soon as I started college."

Check out what other students had to say about using Tablet PCs in their studies.  Also, check out this site about HP grants for higher education.

We had a lot of good comments from readers about our previous post detailing why the public education system struggles to incorporate technology-based learning.  Many of our readers commented that they believed Tablet PCs were best implemented into the college setting rather than a K-12 environment.

What do you see as the biggest roadblocks in using Tablet PCs or other technology in the college setting?

Photo credit: Nirmal Thacker

Loyal GBM reader Steve asks, "Since you. . .seem to have used tablets in education, why aren't more students carrying these things, and how do we get tablets into their hands?" 

As a public high school language arts and communications instructor, I have had many opportunities to implement technology into my lessons.  I have tried to use technologies such as Power Point, creating videos, and developing Wikispace websites as ways to empower and engage students, keeping them interested in subject matter and preparing them for future careers.  I knew that my boring lectures could not compete with XBox, Playstation, and Instant Messaging.  If I wanted to have an impact, then I had to use technology and reach students through a medium that they understand.

I've identified a few reasons why schools are still lacking when it comes to using technology.

1. School funds:  Like other business and industry, schools are hurting economically.  In Ohio, funding of the public school system has been ruled unconstitutional, yet there have been little steps taken to solve the problem.  Local schools aren't just threatening to reduce teaching faculty, support staff, athletics, and funds for things such as technology-- they are cutting them.  A colleague of mine in a neighboring school district told me that the janitors in his building had been let go in the middle of the year, and teachers were responsible for cleaning their rooms at the end of the day.  He also told me that the school supplies for teachers and students had to last until the end of the school year and carry over until the end of the following school year.  Any materials needed in the classroom had to be purchased by the teacher out-of-pocket.  As much as I love technology, it is no substitute for a living, breathing, trained educator.  It's ironic that the resources don't exist to provide one laptop per child in most schools in the United States.

2. Family funds:  When I began my career in education I was dead-set on using as much technology as possible.  I would require all students type their papers, complete all of my grades via an electronic gradebook, and run a classroom website.  As I soon found, it was unrealistic for me to require that my students type all papers that were assigned in class; it simply was not possible for some students.  The idea of a computer in the home is a luxury that some struggling families cannot afford.  When it comes down to paying rent and buying groceries, a computer isn't even a thought on the brain.  Of course, the argument that students have access to the public library or a computer lab comes into play.  While that might be true to some degree, in many of these homes the students aren't worried about completing their homework; they're worried about making enough money at their after-school job to help pay the electric bill.  Some families that struggle with generational poverty avoid using computers because of their negative assumptions regarding their own technological proficiency.

3. Resistance to change:  I've worked with teachers who refused to use email because they weren't comfortable with it.  When I started teaching in 2004, I was the only teacher in the building to use an electronic grade book.  Many in the education system resist changing their modus operandi when they've been teaching the same lesson the exact same way for 25 years.  People become comfortable, and using technology means change.  I do believe that this will change as we're currently experiencing a large turnover from younger, technology-enabled teachers entering the field.

4. Students abuse technology:  Literally and figuratively.  Literally, I have yet to walk into a computer lab in a school that didn't have at least one vandalized computer with a broken mouse and missing buttons.  Most students don't take care of things-- even if it costs a lot of money.  Sometimes, the fact that it costs a lot of money is even greater motivation to vandalize.  Most of the computers used in schools are generic desktop boxes and don't take into consideration the environment that they'll function.  Better designs like that of the Classmate PC and OLPC's XO laptop are steps in the right direction.  They are durable and designed to take a beating.  Figuratively, without constant observation and strict filtering, students will undoubtedly push limits and attempt to visit websites that they shouldn't.  No matter what filtering software is used or how closely the teacher watches, locked doors will be opened. 

There are a lot of ways to get technology into the hands of students.  I believe we can begin to solve the problem by investing more in education.  School funding needs to be changed, teachers need to be paid a more competitive salary so that brighter individuals are recruited and stay in the classroom, education courses should be mandatory so that all students are exposed to technology and gain computer literacy skills (this is becoming the case in most schools), and computers need to be designed for the school environment.  These suggestions are all very easy to write, but bringing them into reality is a very slow and combative process.

While I agree with OLPC's attempts to bring computer literacy to impoverished areas in the world, there are an equal amount of places in the United States that would benefit from the OLPC's XO program.

What advice do you have about getting technology into the hands of our students?  I'd appreciate your suggestions since I'm on the front-lines.

HP announced today a large scale deployment of the HP 2133 Mini-Note to the Fresno (Calif) United School District. The 7,000 Mini-Notes are going to kids in K-12.

“The HP Mini-Note is a powerful laptop that is small enough to fit on students’ desks along with their textbooks and papers, allowing them access to the Internet and educational content from around the world without leaving their seats,” said Kurt Madden, chief technology officer, Fresno United School District.

That's a huge commitment that the school system is making to getting excellent PCs into the hands of (probably all) its students. As important as it is to get the technology to the kids, it is equally important to help the teachers understand how to effectively use the technology in their classes.

HP also announced the HP Professional Development Program to assist in providing training to teachers on using technology in the classroom. This is in addition to their existing program, The Teacher Experience Exchange, a joint HP and Microsoft project that provides free resources to teachers through a community environment.

I'm impressed with HP for these commitments to providing both the technology and training to K-12 students and their instructors.

Read the Press Release

If there is an area that excites me as much as mobile technology it is education. The potential of marrying up the right technology with different education scenarios like public schools, private schools, cottage schools, home schools, and colleges are tremendous.

It looks like Lenovo and DyKnow recognize the same thing, as they have partnered up to bring a better portfolio offering to the education market:

INDIANAPOLIS (May 22, 2008) DyKnow®, a leader in interactive education technology, today announces its relationship with Lenovo®, a global PC manufacturer, to bring a dynamic and progressive 21^st Century solution to teachers and students. Under the agreement, Lenovo will resell the DyKnow Software Suite, which includes DyKnow Vision® and DyKnow Monitor®. 

“DyKnow shares Lenovo’s commitment to actively engaging students in 21^st Century skills,” said Laura Small, DyKnow president. “We are excited to combine our efforts and provide students, educators and school administrators with a total classroom solution.”

DyKnow Vision includes features to foster interaction in the classroom, such as polling, chat, collaborative note-taking and anywhere, anytime access to class material. DyKnow Monitor lets teachers see and control what students are doing on their computers during class.

Together, Lenovo and DyKnow will enhance teaching and learning by providing superior learning tools to educational environments.

If the folks on the OneNote team know how to do anything, it is designing great note-taking software and blogging about it

OneNote team member Mike Tholfsen just began a new OneNote blog centered around education, entitled "OneNote and Education". There couldn't be a better product geared toward students and teachers than OneNote, so the blog should be quite the hit!

Here is the site's description. Head over and subscribe. I am.

“Because there are so many things happening right now with OneNote and education, we wanted to start this blog to have a dialog with the education community, as well as share ideas, resources, and gather feedback from teachers, students and faculty.  We also hope to point to examples of great things that educators and students are doing today with OneNote and education.  In addition to K-12 and Higher Education, you can also expect to see topics on eLearning, training and on-boarding with OneNote.  Many companies, including Microsoft, are delivering eLearning solutions using OneNote.”

Ah, concepts. What's not to love? You can create anything, unconstrained by manufacturing requirements, profit margins, or reality. This e-book concept from Greener Grass has a serious case of great specs and wishful thinking. The designers claim that the device ought to sell for about $100 due to a textbook manufacturer subsidy(?!). For that price, we're going to get some form of touch screen or digitizer with handwriting recognition, wireless Internet connectivity, and a 30 hour battery life due to an E-Ink display, apparently in full color. Riiiigghtt.

Apparently the designers aren't completely deluded, since they say that they "hope that the concept can be a catalyst for discussion about improving the classroom experience for everybody involved." No mention of this being anything other than a really nice idea with pretty pictures, but if they can do all that for $100, sign me up for a few.

via Engadget

There's a new Tablet PC math game in town thanks to the folks from Carnegie-Mellon. Unfortunately, I have not found any download links to the software, but I'll see what I can uncover.

From Peninsula On-Line

Carnegie Mellon University has developed an innovative Tablet PC based system for learning mathematics through games.

The system will integrate gaming as part of the process to encourage and motivate students to work on math problems. The mathematical concepts are mapped into gaming actions so that game can be controlled only by solving mathematical problems.

“The system has shown remarkable results. Flexible Tablet PC based interface encourages students to show work in Arabic or English and express their ideas through sketching that can be analysed by the teachers,” Al Obeidah said.

The Tablet Math System is made up of two main components. The first is a thin client installed on tablet PCs. The thin-client is used by students to practise various math problems. The second main component is the web application. The web application is used exclusively by teachers to perform administrative and analytical operations. Teachers can create customised worksheets for individual students or entire class, monitor student’s work online and can understand why a student or group of students have incorrectly answered a problem. The grading of students handwritten work is done by the computer so teachers can focus more on helping students who are having troubles in solving problems.

I have been to WIPTE the past 2 years and I can say that it's been a great place to hang out and meet other Tablet PC folks focused on education.  This year's event has now been scheduled for October 15-16 and information is up on their site.

WIPTE is open to anyone with an interest in instructional technology. A wide variety of disciplines are embracing Tablet PC's and similar pen-based devices as tools for the radical enhancement of teaching and learning. This conference is intended to leverage this shared passion and to identify best practices in the educational use of pen-based computing so that all educators may benefit from this next generation of technology. Each WIPTE paper presentation includes an assessment component as an important part of the presentation. The WIPTE program also includes keynote talks, poster presentations, vendor booths, panels, and special sessions.  Learn More - (PDF LINK)

If you are interested in Speaking or Writing a paper to be published in their book, check out the information on their site.

This week in Washington, DC, many of computer security's best and brightest minds have gathered to present research and to offer training on the latest attack techniques and network defenses. Patterned after the popular Black Hat Briefings held in Las Vegas every summer, Black Hat Federal is gaining popularity--especially with security professionals in and around the DC beltway. But even though GBM readers are probably more interested in CES than the Black Hat conferences, there's a wealth of information for anyone that's even slightly interested in computer security.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: schools and Tablet PC's go together like peanut butter and jelly. They were made for each other.

Check this story out about the Sparta Township Public School System expanding their Tablet PC program, due in large part to a grant:

The Sparta Education Foundation Board of Trustees unanimously approved two grants totaling more than $53,000 to support technology improvements for Sparta Township Public Schools.

The second grant for $22,200 will be used to purchase 10 tablet PCs and 10 wireless projectors. This is to expand the pilot use of tablet PCs as an instructional tool to the elementary and middle school teaching staff. Currently, the district is piloting the use of the tablet PCs at the high school. The initial feedback from this project is very positive. The tablets are being used by the teachers and students during instruction. Along with the tablet PC, the pilot teachers also receive a wireless projector. The combination allows the teachers to utilize the tablet as an interactive white board.

Even though Bill Gates is headed into retirement this summer, Tablet PC will remain a focus of his as he continues to work at Microsoft part-time. This is evidenced in a speech he gave on January 23rd at the Government Leaders Form. Here are a few snippets, but you'll need to read the entire thing for context. In addition, there is some follow-up from one of the educators involved in the program in Spain:

Finally, the way we interact with these devices will change. To date it's been overwhelmingly the keyboard and the mouse, and those will continue to be important, but those will be added to as we have the ability to touch, to touch the surface of a table or a display to give a command. We'll have the ability to use a pen so that we can take notes and annotate things. We'll have the ability to use speech, so we can just say to our mobile phone, you know, where is the nearest gas station, where are my family right now, what are they doing, and it will understand our voice and be able to respond to that.

So, vision and touch and speech and ink, all of those I call natural user interface. And along with the lower cost computers, this natural interface will make computing far more pervasive. Something that today you would think of as very difficult, like organizing all of the photos and things you have about your child growing up, this type of new interface will make that very, very natural. And you won't think of a boundary as you move from your phone to your PC to the TV in the living room to your car; you'll think of all your information being with you wherever you go.

...

Well, now I want to talk about a program that I personally think is quite fantastic, and I hope we can spread very broadly, and that's what we call our Tablet PC Program. That's the idea of an individual student having a tablet computer that they can use so that they get to browse the Internet and do their homework, and even taking the textbook, the curriculum, and getting those down onto the PC so that it's interactive, it connects up to the Internet, and so you can actually take the money that was invested in printing those textbooks and actually spend it on making sure they can have a great tablet computer.

This is something we've been doing in a number of pilot computers around the world, and helping them with the curriculum, and really learning, having conferences with them and spreading this around.

One of the largest projects, actually the largest in the world, is in Spain, in Aragon, Spain, which, of course, is in northeastern Spain, and these are primary school students who are doing amazing things with their tablet computers.

This started almost five years ago, but recently they added a number of schools, 48 schools two years ago, and then just last year 170 schools, and so they're reaching a very high part of the region with this amazing approach.

You can see on the video some examples of the students using this thing. Our role was to provide the training, support, curriculum, a lot of the software, so that this wouldn't just be outside the normal learning experience, it would be a central part of it.

The reaction of the students and teachers has been amazing, and for people who like objective results, it's also been great to see that the PISA test scores, which are benchmarks used across all OECD countries, those have significantly improved as well, particularly in the areas like math and science where the tablet is being used most heavily, and there are now new ideas for using the tablet in even some new ways.

Amy Kenyon, a 3rd grade elementary school teacher, has a great post on using a Tablet PC to brainstorm ideas with 3rd graders:

I was afraid that the technology would distract them from getting into the writing activity, but they had the same great ideas they would have had if I had written them on the board instead. Now I would be able to catalog their ideas in ways I couldn’t before.

But, to be perfectly honest, the best part was how excited the kids were about doing it this way. And who can blame them? Thank you to my school for getting me this great teaching toy . . . OOPS . . . I mean teaching tool.