PDF of This Issue - The Tech - MIT

Page 14 THE TECH November 1, 2002
9.01 Students Eager to Use E-Tablets in Classroom
E-tablet, from Page I
the classroom, the paperless class- ability to write directly onto Adobe manufacturers such as ACER and both Ellis-Behnke and Gilliland will
room project aims to eliminate the Acrobat PDF files, allowing stu- Compaq for tablet donations and evaluate the actual usefulness and
taken away from copying and onto use of paper hand-outs, lecture dents to annotate handouts. price reductions. effectiveness of the tablet to stu-
the lecture."
notes, even textbooks. "We also plan on including addi- And "Adobe has also agreed to dents.
Due to budget constraints, the "Part of the cost of textbooks tional software to increase the tablet's reduce the price for their tablet pc "We want to see that if we actuintroduction
of the e-tablet to 9.0 I [arises] from shipping, publishing, usefulness to students," said C. Jor- software from $62 to $28," Ruth- ally remove paper from the class, if
students, originally set for the begin- and binding," Ellis-Behnke said. dan Gilliland G, the designer of these ledge said. it will actually maintain or increase
ning of this term, has been repeated- "You can deliver all that informa- "tablet-friendly study tools" who has student performance in the classly
postponed. In addition, not all of tion with the tablet without that also been working with Ellis-Behnke Tablet to compete with laptop room," Ellis-:Behnke said.
the students will receive tablets. cost." and Schneider on the project. In introducing e-tablets to stu- Ellis-Behnke hopes that once the
"Hopefully, we'll be able to get The use of color in the otherwise In eliminating paper handouts dents and to the rest of the MIT tablet is introduced that students
these tablets into the hands of stu- black and white diagrams and visu- and "passive stenographers," Ellis- community, the group hopes that the will eventually consider purchasing
dents in two weeks," Ruthledge said. als in student handouts is another Behnke believes the project will e-tablet will grow in popularity and their own devices.
"I hope I get one," said 9.0 I stu- added bonus for this class, which increase learning as well as student- pervasiveness like the laptop. "We're thinking that MIT can
dent Farhan I. Merali '05. "It's studies anatomy. teacher interaction. "They're not as powerful as the set up a loaner program, where stugoing
to take some getting used to, "Color is especially important to "Less time will be spent on laptop, but they're almost there," dents who can't afford their own
but it seems like it can become a this department," Schneider said. menial tasks and students can focus said Ellis-Behnke. "These tablets can still use one," Ellis-Behnke
valuable tooL"
"We can't afford it though. It costs more on these digitized handouts certainly don't have 1.6 GHz, but said ..
Tablet to enhance learning
us a dollar
color."
per page to print in instead of constantly
writing," Ellis-Behnke
copying
said.
and you can
these."
do almost anything on Despite all the features and
potential that Ellis-Behnke claims
By integrating the e-tablet into The e-tablets also feature the Ellis-Behnke and Schneider also "When I first started out in the Paperless Project possesses, furplan
to extend the use of e-tablets to March, I didn't think using these ther integration and funding of this
quizzes and tests. tablets would be a feasible idea," project depends on the outcome of
"We've already tested the idea Gilliland said. "But with this first test.
on our [teaching assistants]," said Microsoft's backing with their new "If this e-tablet turns out to be
Ellis-Behnke. "Students will take operating system and further quite useful and they can identify
the test on the tablet and e-mail it advancements in technology, more where it's useful, then there's a
back to their professor." and more manufacturers are being potential for a large implementation
encouraged to produce these of this project," Long said.
Funding enables project launch devices."
With the help of Gilliland, the The increased participation of Project goes beyond the classroom
Paperless Classroom project has gar- manufacturers has also led to lower In incorporating course material
nered enough support and donations prices for tablets with prices ranging on the Web for use in the e-tablet,
from both manufacturers and MIT. from $600 to $6000, said Ellis- Ellis-Behnke plans on giving access
"This project follows a sound and Behnke.
to this information to outside par-.
useful approach to academic comput- Currently, there are three types ties, such as alumni.
ing that may be helpful to study," of tablets available. One kind has "We want to help alumni contin-
said Senior Strategist of Academic no keyboard but allows infrared ue with their education and to main-
Computing Phillip D. Long.
connection to a portable keyboard. tain. their bonds with the Institute,"
Along with the grant from Acad- The second type features a detach- Ellis-Behnke said.
emic Computing, the Paperless able keyboard, while the third type The "digitized information" can
Classroom project also receives has a non-removable keyboard that also be assessed by collaborative
funding internally from the Brain can still be converted to a tablet. projects that span across other
and Cognitive Sciences department. Gilliland and Ellis-Behnke have nations.
"Classes like this [9.01] rely decided to use tablets with detach- "This project has the potential to
heavily on color diagrams and real able keyboards, with pens that have run along the lines of what President
to life pictures for their study," said active digitizers instead of pressUre Vest said, of bringing the world. to
Mriganka Sur, BCS department sensitive sensors. The e-tablets will MIT," Ellis-Behnke said ..
EDWARD PLAIT-THE TECH
C. Jordan Gilliland G (right) holds an electronic tablet. He and Dr.
Rutledge G. Ellis-Behnke (left) have been working with Professor of
Brain and Cognitive Science Gerald E. Schneider to create a paperless
9.01 classroom.
head. "This is a really novel and
interesting idea that I believe has the
potential for long term success."
Gilliland and Ellis-Behnke have
also made deals with various tablet
also feature the Microsoft operating
system Tablet XP with built-in
wireless and standard ethemet connections.
"Each tablet will also have a twogigabyte
network backup," Ellis-
Alongside the Paperless P,ro-.
ject, Ellis-Behnke also plans to
extend the use of e-tablets in MIT
libraries for browsing Web journals.
"When you look, around MIT is
Behnke said. "You won't have to always constructing new buildings,
worry about the system crashing." but none of them will have new
libraries," Ellis-Behnke 'said. "E- ,
Future dependent on test outcome tablets .will give th,e., existing
During and after the introduction libraries the. physical space they're
of the e-tablets to 9.01 this term, already lacking."
Explore career opportunities at Texas Instruments
Sensors & Controls!
Texas Instruments is not only the world leader in digital signal
processing and analog technologies - our innovative sensing and
protection technologies make cars, airplanes and appliances safer.
Come to our info session to hear what
Mechancial Engineers do at TII
To submit your resume, email usat:sncjobS@list.ti.com .
To check out our current openings, go to jobs.ti.com.
An Equal Opportunity Employer, we value diversity.
"'TEXAS
INSTRUMENTS
Sensors & Controls in Attleboro, MA
Somethi to
~good:'
.UnlbedWay
"It's almost shocking to pay this little for food this good,
in surrounding~ this gorgeous." -Bon ADDetit
Prepare to be amazed. The food really is this good-rontemporary
grilled cuisine with honest flavors and refreshing combinations.
The surroundings really are this gorgeous-copper lanterns, amber glass and
whimsical murals. And the reasonable prices? Shocking! We amazed Bon
Appetit..and now we want to amaze you. Join us for lunch,
dinner, weekend dining and Sunday brunch.
•
fresh flavors!) good friends!) great bar
contemporary american grill/20 sidney stree~ cambrid~e jeentral square /(617) 494-0011/ sidneysgrille.com