Integration of Tablet PC Technology in an Undergraduate Forestry Curriculum
Location
Assembly Hall
Event Website
http://www.cpe.vt.edu/cuenr/index.html
Start Date
3-26-2010 1:30 PM
End Date
3-26-2010 2:00 PM
Description
For many natural resource disciplines, fieldwork and data gathering are the first‐steps in the scientific process. Integration of Tablet PC technology in field labs served to facilitative data collection and analysis, increasing undergraduate student interest, engagement and success. This presentation will describe some of the successful (and not so successful) implementation strategies of tablet technology in forestry courses. With the help of a HP Technology for Teaching grant, existing field and computer labs were redesigned to include the use of tablets for data collection and analysis using spreadsheet software. The tablets provided students with the capacity to compile, visualize and interpret data in real‐time, as well as facilitate the sharing of data across groups. In addition, lectures were redesigned to allow students to interact with classroom materials using tablets as if they were using pencil and paper, providing students with exact annotations for future reference. The technology also allowed instructors to gather real time feedback from students, process the responses and display the results back to the class. Results from student evaluations showed that the vast majority of the students felt the technology improved their field data collection and analysis, and increased their comprehension of the material, while 70% agreed or strongly agreed to using the technology in other courses, if available.
Integration of Tablet PC Technology in an Undergraduate Forestry Curriculum
Assembly Hall
For many natural resource disciplines, fieldwork and data gathering are the first‐steps in the scientific process. Integration of Tablet PC technology in field labs served to facilitative data collection and analysis, increasing undergraduate student interest, engagement and success. This presentation will describe some of the successful (and not so successful) implementation strategies of tablet technology in forestry courses. With the help of a HP Technology for Teaching grant, existing field and computer labs were redesigned to include the use of tablets for data collection and analysis using spreadsheet software. The tablets provided students with the capacity to compile, visualize and interpret data in real‐time, as well as facilitate the sharing of data across groups. In addition, lectures were redesigned to allow students to interact with classroom materials using tablets as if they were using pencil and paper, providing students with exact annotations for future reference. The technology also allowed instructors to gather real time feedback from students, process the responses and display the results back to the class. Results from student evaluations showed that the vast majority of the students felt the technology improved their field data collection and analysis, and increased their comprehension of the material, while 70% agreed or strongly agreed to using the technology in other courses, if available.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Technology/1
Comments
Citation: Bevilacqua, E.. 2010. Integration of tablet PC technology in an undergraduate forestry curriculum. UENR Biennial Conference, Session Innovations in Pedagogy, Use of Technology, Paper Number 1. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/Sessions/Technology/1/.