Analysis of tablet pc based learning experiences in freshman to junior level engineering courses

Abstract

Virginia Tech announced a Tablet PC initiative for its engineering program in summer 2006. In fall 2006 Tablet based in and out of class activities were implemented in the freshman engineering program. In fall 2007, Tablet based instruction activities were implemented in upper level engineering courses. Typical examples of Tablet based instruction included electronic note taking, use of inking features to review homework solutions, completing skeleton PowerPoint slides, and setting up online collaboration sessions to do group design project and problem solving activities. In addition, the Tablets helped students maintain an electronic log of their individual and group efforts in completing design projects. A major change in 2007 was the incorporation of DyKnow software into instruction. Examples of students' feedback in support of feedback based instruction and assessment data from in-class polling and an end of semester course exit survey of freshmen are presented to discuss the effectiveness of Tablet based instruction. Also, experiences of engineering freshman in fall 2006 and 2007 are compared to show effectiveness of new implementation strategies adopted in fall 2007. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2008.