Through this two-year exploratory project, the PIs seek to understand the role that a network of tablet computers may play in elementary and middle school math and science classrooms. The PIs use classroom observations, student interviews, teacher interviews and student artifacts to identify the advantages and disadvantages of these resources, to understand what challenges and benefits they offer to teachers, and to offer recommendations for future hardware, software, and curriculum development.
The PIs investigate several aspects of the networked tablet computer technology that may have the potential to improve student learning. These include teachers wirelessly providing "just in time" resources and feedback for students; students creating, duplicating and altering scientific and mathematical representations to share, possibly anonymously, with the teacher and other students; and teachers to providing feedback on student work in a form that students can easily incorporate into their final products.
The research hypotheses are based on preliminary research in university classrooms so this project investigates novel research questions and provides new knowledge about the potential uses of this technology in classrooms.
