The Use of Tablet PCs in Early Mathematics Education |
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| Authors: | Daniel Petty, Carnegie Mellon University, dpetty@cmu.edu |
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| Abstract: | The tablet PC provides many avenues to enhance education by allowing students to interact with “intelligent paper.” Pen input may be particularly useful for younger students because of the similarities it bears to their normal workflow enhanced by the benefits of a digital environment. The Tablet Math System was developed in order to enhance children's learning of simple mathematics, decrease teacher grading workload and to enhance access to handwritten work so teachers can develop effective course pedagogies. This paper will focus on the deployment of the Tablet Math System at Glendale School district in rural Pennsylvania. The study consisted of three classes of 4th graders. Six tablet PCs rotated every six weeks between the classes. The tablets were placed in the back of the classroom, and children rotated daily to work on the tablets for thirty minutes. The study clearly illustrates the ability to blend traditional education with tablet-based education—in that without much direction or contact, teachers were able to utilize the system. In total, students completed 18,992 problems through the three classes. Of the total 16,736 were correct, while 2211 were skipped and 2256 problems were incorrect. Through the three rotations, the average of each class was, respectively, 74.38%, 75.96%, 85.59%. The interface was adjusted to give immediate response to student writing (using real-time ink recognition) between the second and third rotations. This greatly increased student accuracy, and thus, correct problems. Future tablet and ink-based tools must provide this type of information immediately to students to ensure the students understand how their ink is being recognized. |
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