The journey from periphery to mainstream:

Tablet PCs at USQ

The journey from periphery to mainstream:

Tablet PCs at USQ

Birgit Loch

Department of Mathematics and Computing

University of Southern Queensland

lochb@usq.edu.au

www.sci.usq.edu.au/staff/lochb

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

OverviewOverview

• The USQ story - a journey from periphery to mainstream• Examples of tablet use at USQ – the visible side• Issues encountered at USQ, and how they were

overcome – the invisible side• Unresolved issues• Some lessons learnt

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

The USQ story - a journey from periphery to mainstreamThe USQ story - a journey from periphery to mainstream

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

The startThe start

• Christine McDonald• Linda Galligan• Janet Taylor

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

USQ L&T GrantUSQ L&T Grant

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Widespread supportWidespread support

CTO

Vice-chancellor

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Standard Operating EnvironmentStandard Operating Environment

Tablets may be ordered under refresh program, if funding can be acquired to cover the difference in cost between a laptop computer and the tablet PC

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

USQ Senior L&T FellowshipUSQ Senior L&T Fellowship

S1 (and S2 2009)• 20+ existing tablet PCs• 25+ new tablet PCs• 50+ new tablet users• Tablets for students

Excitement among academics, asking to be involved

Additional projects coming on board

The journey has only started …The journey has only started …

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

• Keep record of writing in class. Can produce screen cast of the whole lecture.– Students can revise. External students can see handwritten

development of solution

• Electronic communication of mathematical content with distance students

Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

a squared minus 1 divided by a plus 1

Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

a squared minus 1 divided by a plus 1

Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

a squared minus 1 divided by a plus 1

Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

a squared minus 1 divided by a plus 1

Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?Why are tablets so useful for e-learning in maths?

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Examples of tablet use at USQ – the visible sideExamples of tablet use at USQ – the visible sideMathematics and Statistics• MSN Messenger (with Christine, Janet and Linda)

– Discrete Mathematics and Data Analysis, Innovate paper– Foundation Mathematics

• Writing in lectures– Delta 05 paper– Comparative study with three UQ courses (with

Diane Donovan), eJist paper– Foundation Mathematics (Linda and Janet) and Calculus

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

More examples – Maths and StatsMore examples – Maths and Stats

• Writing and recording lectures, assignment marking, student support, iPod video files– Operations Research

• Web conferencing– Linear Algebra and Calculus– Turkish Online Journal for Distance Education paper (with

Shirley Reushle)– Statistics (Christine)

• Multimodal course material (with Linda)– Building Professional Attributes for Nursing B

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

More examplesMore examples

• Statistical software walk-throughs– Data analysis (Christine)

• Recording of assignment feedback (Linda)

Biology, Chemistry, Engineering• Lecture writing and screen movement recording

German language teaching• Lecture writing and assignment marking

Hier klicken

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Issues encountered at USQ, and how they were overcome – the invisible side

Issues encountered at USQ, and how they were overcome – the invisible side

• Lecturers not confident and not using stylus• Readiness for change?• Convincing management that tablets are worthwhile• Funding to purchase• ICT support for tablet PCs – inclusion in SOE• Suitable models of tablet PCs• Audio input for lecture recording

“These tablet PCs of yours … we’ve had a lot of problems with them.”

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Unresolved issuesUnresolved issues

• Server storage space• RSS feeds and outside access• Student download quota• Backup of recordings

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Lessons learntLessons learnt

• It is incredibly difficult to change the way things work at a university. But not impossible.

• Persistence pays! One step at a time.• Pressure through numbers.• Work with ICT! And get them excited too.• Mentor new users! Show what is possible, relate to their context.• Have backup, and don’t get upset when something doesn't work.• Pedagogy needs to drive technology not the other way around.

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

A few papers…A few papers…• Loch B. and Reushle S. (2008). The practice of web conferencing: Where are we now?

In Hello! Where are we now in the landscape of educational technology? Proceedings of ascilite Melbourne 2008, Nov 30-Dec 3, 562-571. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/melbourne08/procs/loch.pdf

• Reushle S. and Loch B. (2008). Conducting a Trial of Web Conferencing Software: Why, How and Perceptions from the Coalface. Turkish Online J. for Distance Education 9(3). http://eprints.usq.edu.au/4254/

• Loch B. and McDonald C. (2007). Synchronous chat and electronic ink for distance support in mathematics. Innovate 3 (3). http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/00001717/

• Loch B. and Donovan D. (2006). Progressive Teaching of Mathematics with Tablet Technology. e-JIST, e-Journal of Instructional Science and Technology, Vol. 9 No. 2. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/00001716/

• Loch B. (2005). Tablet Technology in First Year Calculus and Linear Algebra Teaching. Proceedings of Kingfisher DELTA'05, Fraser Island, 22-26 November, 231-237. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/000000185

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Some student comments…Some student comments…

• Live lecture screen casts:– makes me feel more like I’m 'at' uni as an external student [EXT]– I wasn’t able to attend all of the lectures so this allowed me to go at

my own pace. [ONC]– To be honest, without these online screencasts, I would not have

understood concepts or passed this course. [EXT]

– I watched the first screencast, but I don’t really find this artificial environment useful to my learning. I require a more personal one on one exchange when learning allowing for feedback and gestures to assist in the message. [ONC]

– A short recording would be better as it could be of a focused topic or problem only [EXT]

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

More student comments…More student comments…• Student support screen casts

– The screencasts I accessed in response to my questions were very helpful as I could see at what point I had begun to get off track.

• Web conferencing– I have really enjoyed my experience with the Elluminate

tutorials and highly recommend it. • Writing in lectures

– Perfect lecture setup, perfect course for that matter. I’ve really enjoyed this subject, each maths subject should have this setup.

• General– I am very impressed with the external learning facilities at

USQ so far.

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Lecturer commentsLecturer comments

• It saved precious time in class• It is cumbersome to switch between the whiteboard and the

data projector. Using the Tablet PC I didn’t need to use the whiteboard at all

• Students themselves were able to suggest corrections on their texts as an added and very useful learning/teaching experience

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Example – CalculusExample – Calculus

Linear Algebra and Calculus. 2006. B.Loch

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Windows JournalWindows Journal

Back Operations Research. 2008. B.Loch

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Electronic assignment marking with hand written annotations

Electronic assignment marking with hand written annotations

• Word DOC files• PPT files• XLS files• PDF files

Operations Research. 2008. B.Loch

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Electronic assignment marking with hand written annotations

Electronic assignment marking with hand written annotations

• Word DOC files• PPT files• XLS files• PDF files

Operations Research. 2008. B.Loch

Master thesis edits. 2008. B.Loch

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Electronic assignment marking with hand written annotations

Electronic assignment marking with hand written annotations

• Word DOC files• PPT files• XLS files• PDF files

Back

Gazette editing. 2008. B.Loch

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Student supportStudent support

Back

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Web conferencingWeb conferencing

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Web conferencingWeb conferencing Back

Linear Algebra and Calculus. 2006/7. B.Loch

From a Data Analysis recordingFrom a Data Analysis recording Back

Data Analysis. 2007. C.McDonald

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Recording of assignment feedbackRecording of assignment feedbackBack

The Learning Centre. 2007. L.Galligan

Symposium “Building leadership capacity for the development and sharing of mathematics learning resources across disciplines and universities” 16-17 February 2009, Wollongong

Language teachingLanguage teaching zurück

German language course. 2008. G.Pohl

Chemistry lectureChemistry lecture

Chemistry course. 2007. B.McCabe

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