Tablet PC’s are fully functional PC’s running an enhanced, not a cut-down,  version of Windows XP Professional. They can do anything a normal PC can do and more – you can annotate almost anything, including documents, images, web-pages; you can handwrite e-mails; convert handwriting to text as you go or later; sketch diagrams; keep an electronic diary/planner in digital ink; and much more. Tablet PC’s also have built-in wireless connectivity, so they can communicate with each other, the network or internet and even digital projectors completely free from wires.  Battery life can be up to six hours giving almost a full school day without charging.

All four of our Math’s teachers and our Advanced Higher students are equipped with Tablet PC's, similar to those shown below.  Since August 2004 we have had no other computer in the department. 

The tablet PC is our whiteboard, OHP, PC, graphic calculator viewer, filing cabinet, communication device, recording, planning and preparation tool.

To deliver lessons we have the tablet connected to the digital projector either wired or wirelessly.  We use two pieces of software as our main lesson delivery tools;  a program called Microsoft Journal, which comes free on tablets, and Fun With Construction.  Both are used as our electronic whiteboard.  Teachers can write, highlight, sketch, annotate worksheets, cut-copy-paste and save their work for future use by themselves or students.  Journal will ‘tidy up’ shapes such as circles or rectangles, creating neat diagrams.  You can also search your Journal files for handwritten or text keywords which is very useful.  Fun With Construction has more advanced shape recognition; a variety of geometry tools such as protractor, compass, etc; function plotting and much more.

We often use the Virtual TI83 program during lessons, this program emulates every detail of the real TI83 graphing calculator on screen and works identically to the physical calculator too.

Any file on your computer that can be printed can be annotated on a tablet PC by sending it to the Journal program instead of your printer.  This is particularly useful for reviewing worksheets or assessments with classes where you can work on the same sheet as they have in front of them.

Many other electronic resources not specific to the tablet PC are used during lessons, for example, PowerPoint, Excel, graphing software, flash animations and web pages.

Office 2003 comes with built in ink functions which allow you to annotate and highlight Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc with digital ink.  Earlier versions of Office can still open and see these annotations.  Office XP also has this facility but requires an additional update from Microsoft to be installed.

Staff use Agilix GoBinder as their record of work, planning and note-taking tool.  This program is essentially an electronic diary with note taking and file storage features.  You are able to write directly into this program or use the keyboard.  The program will also run on normal PC’s.

Other software available for the tablet includes xThink’s MathJournal, this program is very similar to MS Journal but can also evaluate handwritten calculations, solve algebraic expressions showing the steps and plot graphs from handwritten tables of values.  MindManager, a mind mapping tool with digital ink input. Sticky Notes, handwritten post-its on your tablet.

Each classroom has a digital projector mounted on the ceiling, the wired connection is available via a cable under the teacher’s desk.  Wireless network access points are in every maths classroom and the study base.  The teacher can deliver lessons facing the class, a subtle advantage not appreciated fully until you are without your tablet and you have to go back to the ‘old’ whiteboard!  In one classroom we have a wireless projector server which enables wireless connection to the projector through the network.  An alternative solution to achieve wireless projection is to wire the projector to a second laptop or desktop PC and run remote desktop software, such as UltraVNC, to view the tablet screen on the laptop/desktop PC and consequently see tablet screen projected.

A Paperless Course

The paperless course involves six Advanced Higher Mathematics students, each have been provided with an RM Student Tablet to keep for the year. The reason that this course was chosen for the paperless pilot was due to a combination of the small class size, which makes it affordable for the school to fund; there is an abundance of electronic materials at that level such as Heriot Watt’s Scholar program notes and website; the students were also highly computer-literate so little time was required for training in the use of the tablet.

We have produced, or obtained from other schools, a lot of the materials in PDF and Word document format including homework and assessments. We also use websites such as Scholar and www.mathsroom.co.uk, which is a collection of useful maths links that I have put together for pupils and colleagues.

One advantage of using the tablets is that as there is a lot of content in Advanced Higher Maths, instead of having to copy large, complex problems, the students can watch the teacher going through them. They can sit and focus entirely on what is happening and they don't have to waste time copying or trying to copy and listen at the same time.

As well as its use for wireless projection, the remote desktop program UltraVNC is used to interact with the students’ tablets. A wireless connection can be made between any two tablets.  This enables the teacher to view students work, help them if they need it and monitor their progress. Alternatively they can collaborate with the teacher or other students on a problem. Sometimes it can be difficult to get pupils up to the front of the class but this means they can participate from their desks.  This is particularly useful in other classes too, where the teacher can pass their tablet round for pupils to use. UltraVNC can also used to invigilate their assessments.

All the electronic resources needed for the course are stored on the school network; pupils save their work there and it synchronises anything they have been working on off the network when they are reconnected. Their homework is submitted, marked and returned via the network either through shared folders or via e-mail. At the moment they cannot access the network from home. This would be something that we would like to be available in the future.

Assessment too is done in electronic format. The prelims are Word documents and the NABs were scanned in as image files. An SQA representative has visited the school and confirmed that the SQA will accept digital ink documents as evidence for appeals or moderation, if that is required. We found we could score and invigilate electronically just as well as we could on paper. MS Journal is used for the scripts and the students leave their work in a designated folder for the teacher to mark.

We have now successfully completed our third year of running a paperless course and are planning a fourth.  The course has been a great success and has we hope to continue and expand into other levels and subjects.

Our ultimate view is that the tablet PC will become an integral part of the delivery and administration of learning and teaching. The tablet, or its successors, will become the pupil's jotter, textbook, library, research resources, calculator, sketch pad – everything a pupil needs for a normal school day except their gym shoes!