What Our Teachers Have to Say

Tablet students are actively using their Toshiba tablets in their classrooms and at home. Reports from teachers:

Sally Needell (Science):
8th grade 1/2 Algebra does not have text book, so all notes are kept on the tablet, along with examples of how to do problems. 7th Grade science: We have watched a unitedstreaming video on heat transfer, taken class notes and completed activities on tablets. My students use their tablets everyday! I think that they are taking better notes.

Sally Wituszynski (Music):
A student took some violin lessons with me during the summer. Shortly after I went to the tablet workshop, he brought in a CD of some music he wanted to learn. We were able to play it on the tablet, and using Windows Journal with the music staff background, I wrote the notes down as it played. Very cool. I can send that file to any student with a tablet, so they can all learn the piece if they want to. The tablets fit nicely onto our school music stands, and once we get wireless in the Arts Center, I plan to use them in orchestra.

Holly Bennett (Health):
We have used the tablets and the wireless internet connection during every health education class so far this year. Our unit covers health literacy which includes understanding how to distinguish reliable and safe websites for health information. I find it so helpful to demonstrate the research steps first through the projector and then to walk around the room checking on the students' progress. We can also access the portal and our class website at any time to download homework or project guidelines that I had posted.

Mary Anker (English):
I'm working on thesis statements right now. Some are coming in with the changes we made together in class with additional changes that they've made over the weekend. I change the ink (whether in journal or word) and write right on them or sometimes I do track changes and comments depending on what they have done.

Stephanie Sanders (Art of Listening, Music):
I have two boys in my class who asked for the full version of Finale so they could do more - woohaa! The other great thing - some of them discovered on their own, that using their tablet, in tablet mode with the pen, was a much quicker and a less frustrating way to enter notes in Finale and FinaleNotepad.

For their semester exam project (20% of their semester grade) at least 9 students (that's 90%) in Art of Listening are using technology. Five are using Finale or FinaleNotepad; one is doing a Powerpoint presentation inserting music and video; and two are working together to do a video documentary, montage of music terminology; and one is using an Excel spreadsheet to research and collect data on music websites that are specific and useful to music classes in school and for teachers!

Matthew Brennan (Math):
I would guesstimate that about 25 students out of 42 use their Tablet daily for note taking and to do their Algebra HW. They bring the Tablet to me when they have a question. We each use our stylus to make corrections, etc. It is great! The students love the quick erase feature! The 15 or so that are still using paper and pencil are free to do so. I prefer to allow each student to choose their comfort zone. The number using the Tablet in my class has actually increased since the beginning of the school year. I would credit this increase to their increased comfort level with the Tablet, and their positive observations of their peers using the Tablet in Algebra as a tool.

From Liz-Anne Platt (French):
In seventh grade French, I have noticed a difference in how we are able to manage our homework as a class. We have our textbook in both conventional and CD format. Those who are more comfortable with a book, can choose to bring it and their workbook home to prepare essays, short answers and similar exercises. Others have found it easier to have their CD in their tablet at home and write their responses with their stylus directly onto the tablet screen. They then print their work either at home or here at school. Those who are less comfortable writing and happier typing follow a similar process. I like giving my students the option of working in a manner that best suits their individual learning styles.