Work in progress - Tablet PCs in interactive undergraduate mathematics

Abstract

Students who struggle to learn mathematics often do not engage in problem-solving during class and feel that learning mathematics is a solitary undertaking. We now use Tablet PCs in a networked undergraduate classroom configuration that allows students to view and annotate the instructor's Powerpoint slides in real time and also participate in interactive problem-solving. Students save their own annotated slides for subsequent review. Using a standard course management system, the instructor posts a synchronized and searchable file that contains an audio recording of the class (student and instructor comments) as well as the instructor's annotated slides. Twenty students participated in the pilot class, College Algebra and Trigonometry. Student attendance, retention and performance were better in the Tablet PC enriched course than in the previous three years. The evaluation of the instructor was unchanged.