WriteOn1.0: a tablet PC-based tool for effective classroom instruction

A Tablet PC combines all the features of a regular laptop computer with a digitizing screen that interacts with a complementary electronic pen stylus. The ability to annotate on a lecture presentation using the pen stylus of the Tablet PC has attracted the attention of academics to use them as a potential tool for effective classroom instruction. Tablet PC based educational software like Classroom Presenter allows the instructor to supplement lecture material comprising of static text-based PowerPoint® slides by directly annotating on them. However, computer science and engineering classes often involve the use of non text-based lecture material like a simulation demo over which a lecturer would like to make annotations. In order to facilitate this, we present a Tablet PC-based educational tool called WriteOn1.0, the second core implementation of the WriteOn tool, developed at Virginia Tech. WriteOn allows the instructor to utilize electronic ink to annotate on top of any application window visible on the Tablet PC screen, including those that play active content like a movie or simulation, by activating its virtual transparency surface called the eVellum (electronic vellum).The ability of WriteOn to improve classroom presentation were pedagogically very useful as shown by initial classroom testing. However, in order to deploy WriteOn on large scale in classrooms as an active and effective teaching tool of choice, some aspects of the application like its operational CPU performance and the GUI called for improvement. WriteOn1.0 addresses the drawbacks of WriteOn with the introduction of features such as the dynamic eVellum, a picture-based GUI and an improvement to the operational CPU performance of the screen capture process. In this paper, we shall present how WriteOn1.0 can potentially aid in effective lecturing, especially for subject matter like programming and digital circuit design, both of which involve the use of dynamic presentation material.