11 Feb 08 Using a tablet PC
Well, to start off, I have never used a tablet before and I thought it was going to be a very hard tool to get used to. Boy I was wrong. I really like that kind of computer, it allows you to write everything down that you could ever think of, best of all you can take notes on the monitor and then review them later without having the ink or pencil get washed away or erased.
In class today, our tests were handed back and we went over a few of the questions. To be exact, they were questions number 1, 4, and 5. We then decided when the due date would be for the corrections for the test, and that date was set to be Thursday February 14th.
From the end of that discussion we started working on Chapter 5 material. The first part of chapter 5 deals with estimating the area under a curve. (You can see how we did the problems in the attached document. We also determined that you can estimate or calculate the total distance traveled by a system using the same process of equations as finding the area under a curve (the area being the total distance traveled).
Comments on using a Tablet PC:
First- Don’t be afraid to press down on the screen when you are writing… The monitor is meant to take some pressure, and it makes writing much much easier.
Second- Use lots of colors, they add to the visual effect of the document and they also stimulate your eyes rather then looking over a black and white text the whole time.
Finally- Calibrate the pencil before you use it, when you are writing nothing is worse then the text coming up in a different place from where you write it. (Mr. Seamon can show you where to do it)
Thats all….. Hope it helps.
Reader's Comments
This was very helpful because we all know that the new tabletpc’s are very expensive so I am sure that many of us would try to keep our hands off of the screen with the fear of breaking it. The color is also a good thing, there is nothing more boring than looking through black and white text. it really helped me alot, i downloaded the test review and used it to study and I know that it helped me on the test we just barely took.
I really like the tablets. The teacher can sit at a desk and put the information on the board without obstructing anyone’s view. He or she can also create more detailed diagrams with color. The teacher can also write directly on the typed notes, supplementing them with further explanation.
The tablets are pretty cool because if you ever feel like not taking notes or you are having a bad day and do not feel like writing a lot in class, then you can just watch what the teacher projects from his tablet pc on the board and then get it from the email attachment he sends to you. What the teacher writes on the tablet pc is much neater too because he can keep writing and writing without having to switch boards because he ran out of room. I have not used the tablet pc yet so i do not know what is not good about them but I like the notes on the tablet pc better than on the chalk board.
Even though I have not had the opportunity to use one of the tablet pc’s yet they look amazing. Not only does it make sence to use one because you don’t waste paper and all of that stuff, but you can take much better notes in a speedier fashion. It looks quite simple to change colors, width, and make lines or other shapes. They look like they would be quite useful when it came to college lectures for the reasons that I have previously mentioned, but i’m not sure about the price.
pretty sure besides your first paragraph and comments you didnt say anything about the PC like you said on the title
the battery is kind of not that strong and produce a lot of heat, i would prefer something underneath it to cool it down. I can still feel the heat even im like 10 ft away from the PC. it gets annoying sometimes when erase stuff you dont want to and thats about it.
I honestly don’t like that tablets… I personally would rather just use paper and a pencil along with the teacher using the blackboard. I know that it makes things easier… I still don’t like it.
I hoping that using the tablet doesn’t go too bad for me. I’m not really big on technology and while I can use enough of it well enough to get by just fine, I don’t know how to do any more than that. For example, in your write up you say something about calibrating the pen, I have no idea what that means or what it will do. Hopefully I’ll figure it out when it’s my turn to use.