New Tools for Old and New Questions - Using a Tablet PC for Student Feedback
Contributed by Thomas S. Dickinson, Professor of Education Studies
The questions rise to the surface each semester—
- How do I communicate effectively to my students about their writing, both drafts and final papers?
- How do I handle the paper load effectively and efficiently?
- Will a checklist or scoring rubric assist my students in their writing and how can I incorporate that with my comments.
Like most instructors dealing with a range of student writing, whether in a W-competency class or not, I have struggled with these questions across my university teaching career. As well, as an instructor who is trying to incorporate new technologies into his teaching, I have been moving toward “paperless” classes by employing Blackboard and now Moodle, discussion boards, blogs, and email. How to deal with writing comments and the “storage” of student papers has become a major concern within my courses.
This semester I have had the opportunity to participate in The HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Grant under the direction of David Berque and Carol Smith. The grant has provided me with an HP tablet pc that I have been using in two sections of a W-competency course, EDUC 170 Foundations of Education. While I have been learning the use of this new tool (even after half a semester I am still trying to turn the screen around the wrong way!) I have also been learning how I might answer my questions about writing and commentary. To date, this is what I have found:
- By using the hand-writing feature on the tablet pc I have been able to provide detailed commentary on drafts and finished papers just as I would if I were commenting on paper copy with my own handwriting. Additionally, since I have a range of color options and a range of pen styles (both pen and highlighter), I have been able to use color to add to or emphasize points I want students to learn from.
- The tablet pc has a responsive “eraser” feature that will allow me to quickly and easily change my mind and either erase an entire section of commentary or one individual letter (I admit to mis-spelling words on my rough comments but this feature lets me correct them easily).
- If students chose to print the draft paper with comments, the reproductions have been very good, even in black-and-white. Color reproductions have been excellent as well.
- The initial response from students has been positive, especially to the personalization through the electronic means. This was particularly evident during writing conferences with drafts that I had commented on and had sent to the student prior to the conference. On these occasions we were able to sit side-by-side to read and discuss the comments and at that time I could make additional written comments and remarks on that edited draft in a different color to indicate when the commentary had occurred.
- I have been able to incorporate my writing rubrics by pasting a blank copy at the end of the student’s draft or final paper and then annotating that document just as I did with the draft. Again, I have used both the pen and the highlighter feature to respond with my assessment of student work.
- The “archive” question has been answered as well. I have used the Digital Drop Box on Blackboard and the Moodle assignment feature to receive electronic copies of both drafts and final papers. While I have to save/send the electronic copies that I have commented upon, both my students and I have permanent archive copies of the documents that we can get to regardless of where we are.
Going into this exercise with the tablet pc, I began a journal noting the time I was spending on the electronic editing compared to the time I was spending on editing via paper copies. To date the difference is negligible. While I have to save/send papers I don’t have to print them, stand in line at the copier, or even worry if it is down. I don’t carry a bulging briefcase home at night as I normally have although I do have a laptop case for the tablet pc (I haven’t totally integrated all of my affairs with technology—I plead to preferring a paper daily planner and handwritten to-do notes). At this point I am still learning but the tablet pc does bring a new tool to both old and new questions.