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The PC is now accepted as an enabler in a variety of learning situations; the laptop too but it is portable and arguably more “personal”, witness the success of the laptops for teachers scheme. The personal digital assistant (PDA) takes this a step further with true portability AND true “personal” scale. The evolution of the tablet PC may therefore seem a retrograde step, indeed this perception may partly account for the low usage in industry and commerce; but for education, we feel this is a significant development and enables technology to remove barriers and enhance the social dimension of learning, as Steve and Dale explain:

Dale: First, we need to understand that a tablet PC is just like an ordinary PC. It’s as powerful, as fast, the same or better battery life, it has speakers and a microphone, it can have a keyboard attached and it can sit straight up like a laptop screen. But there’s more…a tablet PC lies flat on the desk; no more physical barrier between teacher and learner. Text is input with the stylus by writing on-screen and the handwriting recognition converts your handwriting into type. You can draw on-screen; think of the sketches you could put into documents to clarify points. It can be carried and used like a clipboard. It’s light so it can be used as a reader for electronic books; imagine all the books and resource material that a pupil needs being on one A4 sized pad. Like the A4 pad we can use it in landscape or portrait mode. The “mouse” equivalent is a stylus – directing the cursor with a mouse is another skill that the learner doesn’t need – they just point to what they want to select. These enablers are giving the means to record thoughts and express ideas, to build knowledge and construct understanding effectively.
As for software; anything that can be used on Windows can be used on a tablet, and more tablet-friendly software that makes the most of the features of a tablet (especially handwriting) is being produced all the time.

Steve: At present there is a huge focus on IWB’s in education, whole class interactive teaching, pupils can come to the front of the class and interact with the board etc etc. How many times has this been a distraction to the lesson, pupils moving around tripping over bags etc; what about pupils who don’t want to come to the front and be the centre of attention but wish to be part of the lesson. The tablet permits this, and the teacher is no longer “tied” to the front of the class. With all the functionality of the IWB, but being more mobile and having wireless capabilities it can also be passed around the class and individuals or groups of students can share/contribute work/ideas from anywhere in the room/area.

I have been a great fan of mind mapping, and welcomed the use of mind manager in our schools, but something wasn’t quite right. Typing into a PC or laptop didn’t have that kinaesthetic link I have between my brain and pen and paper, but with the tablet I can now write and draw directly into my mind map, and still have all the benefits of it being on a “pc”. The ability to use it “flat” like a piece of paper and for students to be able to gather around it enables collaborative working which the PC might be accused of reducing, especially as PC ratios improve.. The teacher too can interact, even highlight an area for further thought, add a sketch or note - even pick it up and show it to another pupil – just like paper!.