Biomedical Electronic Measurements Class at Duke Taught with Tablet PCs

Everyone who has been around this blog long enough knows that I am one big tablet pc fan, why, because it makes life easier for me. Some folks refer to me as the “tablet pc heathen”, but that is ok as I have adjusted. Usually those individuals have never experienced using a Tablet PC and are those who don’t like new technology for the most part anyway.

The technology for the Tablet PC was created out of Microsoft’s Office in China several years ago. One other advantage too is that I can walk and work without looking for a table to set the unit down or work with it on my lap, just like a clipboard would do. I would also think that they would be a great tool for writing out chemistry formulas too.

They like them at Harvard too.

The Teaching Fellows for Computer Science 50 at Harvard Given Free Tablet PCs

You can find all kinds of information on Tablet PCs and software on the blog in the tablet pc section. This is the one I use and sell from Tablet Kiosk. Goes with me everywhere, take notes, etc. as I got very tired of flipping a lid on a notebook years ago, and this unit has touch as well as inking and runs great with either Dragon Naturally Speaking or Vista Dictation, with no headset required in a quiet area. Why folks continue to work with paper notes and flip lids on notebooks is beyond me when there are better solutions available that are not as much work! BD

Dr. Malkin participated in a year-long faculty fellowship organized by Dr. Lisa Huettel to experiment with using Tablet PCs in teaching. He taught his BME 154 (Biomedical Electronic Measurements) course using PowerPoint with blank slides that he wrote on using a tablet PC during his lectures. He then provided complete copies of the notes to download after the lecture. He found that most of the students continued to take notes as they always have done, and the use of the tablet PC improved both student learning and his teaching.

In surveys, students preferred that he use the tablet PC to present his materials.

“I am convinced that the advantages of using the tablet laptop to deliver lectures outweighs the disadvantages. I will only be delivering lecture-based classes using the tablets.

I am also convinced that giving students the ability to submit work from their tablets is also valuable. However, for the moment, this will not impact my teaching because the mechanics of doing so are too cumbersome.”