The Use of PC Tablets in the Educational System of KIMEP University

8/13/2019 The Use of PC Tablets in the Educational System of KIMEP University

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Running head: USE OF PC TABELTS IN EDUCATION OF KIMEP UNIVERSITY 1

The Use of PC Tablets in the Educational System of KIMEP University

Gulim A. Muratova

KIMEP University

(Final draft)


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USE OF PC TABLETS IN EDUCATION OF KIMEP UNIVERSITY 2

Abstract

The last two years, the number of the users of PC tablets at KIMEP University has been noticeably

increasing. This paper describes a research with the purpose of defining the potential ways of use of

the tablet PC at KIMEP University by both faculty members and students. The focus is on the

examination of the use of the device inside the classroom during the lecture. Three professors and

thirty-two students across the schools of KIMEP University took part in my research process while a

significant deal of authors through their works contributed as well to the process. This research

includes interviews with professors, survey among students, and an experiment with two subjects,

and their findings. I observed that firstly, the academic population of KIMEP University is mostly

motivated to introduce the device into the learning process, and secondly, there is a great deal of

qualitative educational merits the device can bring the educational system of this university. The

findings indicate that whether the administration of KIMEP University decides to introduce the tablet

PC into its educational system, majority of its faculty members and students will welcome this

movement. Last, the range of the potential ways of educational use of the tablet PC at KIMEP

University as they are presented in the particular research may encourage those who already use the

particular device to adopt some of the ways.


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TABLES OF CONTENTS

Font matter ...................................................................................................................................

Title page ................................................................................................................................ 1

Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 2

Table of contents .................................................................................................................... 3

Report ...........................................................................................................................................

Introduction & Background ................................................................................................... 4

Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 5

Methods ................................................................................................................................ 10

Results .................................................................................................................................. 13

Analysis & Discussion of the whole project ........................................................................ 18

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 24

End matter ....................................................................................................................................

References ............................................................................................................................ 26

Appendix .............................................................................................................................. 29


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INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorro w (Dewey,

1944, p. 167). Even more than one hundred years ago, philosophers of education have

foreseen the significance of the need for updating the tools in education. Humanity grows and

the need for humans to learn more, faster, deeper becomes more intense than ever. Thus,

education is nowadays absorbing more and more products of the technology. One of those

products is the tablet PC.

Most can picture in their mind a tablet and list its various augmented features and

applications. However, few can define accurately the actual product. According to Weitz,

Wachsmuth and Mirliss (2006), a tablet PC may be defined as a type of notebook computer

that has an LCD screen on which the user can write using a special-purpose pen, or stylus.

In real time, tablets are taking the world by storm (McCann, 2012). Few years ago

hardly ever any ordinary person was aware of their existence. Nowadays-even grandparents

are able to recognize the product. This happens because one can see a tablet PC almost in

every possible field. Industries such as health care, archeology, geology have embraced the

tablet PCs. But perhaps the most promising area so far is in the classroom, a setting in

which portable devices with handwriting capabilities would make sense, Fitzgerald (2004)

has stated. Indeed, more and more educational institutes take the crucial decision on

introducing the device into their educational systems.

Is it time for KIMEP University also to consider allowing the tablet PC entering its

students academic lives? Whether the response is affirmative or not depends on three main

points. More specifically, it depends on the extent of the potential educational contribution of

the device to the specific university, the challenges of adapting, and the communitys

willingness to do so. The particular research examines these points with its main goal to


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demonstrate the potential ways of contribution of the tablet PC within the framework of

educational purposes at the KIMEP University.

The last two years, I have observed more and more KIMEP students using the PC

tablet. Then, I started wondering whether this device is indeed useful for studies especially at

KIMEP University. I wanted to find out how the device helps those who already use it at

KIMEP. But also, I was interested to find out how other academic institutes use it, and maybe

KIMEP students can start using it in the same way. Thus, I conducted a research in order to

examine the potential ways of use of the tablet PC especially at KIMEP University.

This research provides a literature review on works of the same nature, interviews

with professors of KIMEP, survey among KIMEP students, and an experiment with two

KIMEP students as its subjects. In the end, I interpret the findings of both literature review

and the practical research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Although the issue of the educational contribution of the tablet PCs has developed

recently, it has already raised a lot of controversies upon its actual contribution to the

education. Therefore, I came up with a lot of sources. However, my initial goal was to find

information regarding the ways of use of the tablet PC specifically in the higher academic

institutes, such as the KIMEP University is. In this way, the findings of the review would

correspond to the conditions of the K IMEP University better than others sources would. I

searched this kind of information among articles from technological journals, electronic

databases, research papers, and extracts from books. Furthermore, I also looked for

information in technological and educational forums and blogs and a variety of commercial

and educational sites. However, I used them in order to complement the primary results of the

review.


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The main objectives of the literature review were objectiveness and correspondence to

the real time facts. The reason for choosing the specific path of investigation derives from the

nature of the topic itself, technology in education. In most cases, any reference to the

technology requires the latest facts and statistics since it is one of the major fields that are

rapidly changing day by day. In combination with the educational element of the paper, the

correlation to the latest conditions becomes requirement. In addition, since I am discussing

the effectiveness of a particular device, which a lot of companies produce, objectiveness

definitely should characterize each demonstrated piece of information.

As a matter of fact, the objectives of my research turned into challenges. Despite

there are a lot of information and diverse views, it took a great deal of time to spot the most

credible, recent and objective data. The tablet PC appeared to have raised a lot of debates

upon its educational facilities; some argue that the particular device may be an option if you

use it mainly for entertainment o r web usage (Kyrnin, 2012) while others support that it can

function as an educational tool as well (Hwang, 2012).

To begin with, the particular review scrutinizes mainly academic university papers.

The first research has been conducted in Greece; thus, the paper is available in Greek. The

paper focuses the plenty of facilities the device provides to its users thanks to its accessorizing

so-called digital pen. The rest papers produced in English, focus on the general educational

benefits of the device. In fact, the last paper emphasizes on the advantages the tablets can

bring to the higher education. The analysis follows climatic order.

To begin with, the first research has been conducted in the University of Patra, in the

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering by Katsini Cristina in 2011. The target of

the researcher was to examine the potential educational contribution of the tablet PC

specifically with the help of a digital pen. The digital pen is an optional accessory of the


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device (Loeb, 2000) and according to Katsini, it can be quite beneficial in terms of

educational purposes.

Before analyzing her main point of research, she indicates a significant drawback.

More specifically, the author defines as a drawback the lack of the mouse and the standard

keyboard. The previous generation including the current educators has used to operate the

computer with the help of the mouse and the keyboard. This fact makes the transition from

the using the PC as the major educational tool using the tablet PV rather challenging. Katsini

explains that previous studies have shown the period of adaption of both faculty members and

students can take great deal of time and effort.

Then, Katsini introduces the huge advantage, according to her paper, of the use of the

tablet PC in terms of educational purposes. In particular, the device allows the users to use a

digital pen to write, to draw, and in general, to operate on them. In terms of designing

diagrams, this feature renders the device by far more convenient in comparison with the

mouse. In fact, the diagram designing becomes easier since the procedure gets more direct

and allows greater control of the movements, and this, in turn, sets the designing more

natural.

This fact is of exceptionally high importance especially for higher academic

institutions, such as KIMEP University. KIMEP University is an institute that focuses

attention on the micro-world of business to a greater extent. As a matter of fact, schools of

business rely on diagrams and charts. Therefore, PC tablets can be of high contribution

specifically to the students of those schools.

Furthermore, Cicchino and Mirliss (2004) conducted a research examining the

effectiveness of the PC tablet in the institutions of higher education. The particular work

actually comes up with extremely interesting findings derived from various pilots. Seton Hall

University has conducted one of the major referred pilots.


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To begin with, the authors spotted a unique feature of the tablet PC. The device allows

the users to write as they would on a paper. The specific feature gives an obvious advantage

to the tablet since the keyboard creates barriers and requires developing of typing skills. In the

same framework, the authors mentioned the ability of the device to transform the written by

hand input to typed form. In fact, Cicchino and Mirliss attribute to the tablet PC the name

interactive whiteboard thanks to the specific ability. The faculty members get able to edit

the lecture materials leaving their own comments and advise writing by hand while standing

in the classroom. As a result, students pay more attention to the lecture, are more likely to

understand, and memorize easier the information.

The authors dont forget the importance of the notebook or the palm devices in the

classroom. However, they indicate the pre-eminence of the tablet PC in the classroom because

of the size of the screen and the design of the device itself. For instance, the notebook is

attached with the screen which when opened creates barriers between the instructor and the

student. On the other hand, the palm devices, such as the smartphone have small screen size,

fact that can prove harmful for the eyes.

In the end, the research paper reveals results from pilots taken place in higher

academic institutions that include the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, the

Bentley College, and the University of Texas at Austin, the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, and the Seton Hall University. Faculty members of the UOIT spotted that

students thanks to the tablet can concentrate on the essence of the lecture instead of

attempting during the whole lesson to write down the information. In the CMT, professors

admit that the tablet PC is by far more convenient for use in the laboratories. For instance in

the chemistry laboratory, it becomes easier to write down the observations and the same time,

to make calculations using the tablet PC than other devices. The Tablet PC acts like a pen

and paper, so students can quickly sketch out their ideas. Even sketching complex shapes or


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writing math equations is easy something that is an otherwise time-consuming process using

a laptop and presentation software or a CAD [computer-aided design] system., ex plains John

Williams, Director of Intelligent Engineering Systems Laboratory, MIT (Microsoft

Corporation, 2003) (as cited in Cicchino & Mirliss, 2004, p.3)

In additio, Sheehy et al (2005) of the British Educational Communications and

Technology Agency have also contributed to a great extent to my research. This team has

provided me with a great amount of information resulting from selected projects and literature

reviews from which I extracted only the directly relevant to my topic ones. In order to bring

out respectful findings, the particular research had been conducted over a year. As a result, the

final paper makes references to a great number of school reports in England, conference

papers, and obviously journal papers. Overall the paper is a great effort to gather and

demonstrate all the potential ways in which the tablet PC can contribute to the education.

To start with, Sheeky et al detected two different educational segments in which the

tablet PC brings merits. Firstly, the tablet PC improves the communication. To explain

further, it removes the barrier for students who have difficulty in controlling the mouse, lack

of keyboard skills or just preference on writing by hand. Moreover, it can convert the

handwritten notes into typed text. The last feature is of high importance since most academic

institutions require typed form while many students prefer write by hand. Secondly, the tablet

PC reinforces motivation. Teachers from pilots observe extremely increased motivation

among students fact that played role in their academic progress. In most cases, they state that

students were motivated regards not only to the use of the state-of-the-art and popular device

but also to the mentioned handwriting skills.

However, the authors foresaw to include key issues that potential educational

institutions may want to keep in mind before embodying the tablet PC in their systems.

Consequently, after purchase expenses should be definitely taken into consideration. For


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example, after some time the devices may get damaged partially after constant use, or need

software update. A possible solution to that, the authors suggest, can be the arranging

beforehand credible technical support. Moreover, potential followers should take into account

the issue of the battery life as well. In advance, there should be plan for immediate and mass

substitutions of them.

Last but not least, I searched forums as well in order to get a general idea of what

peo ple think about introducing the tablet PCs into the classrooms. In general, people had

positive attitude towards this innovation. The most common justification was that the tablet

PC is light to carry and comfortable to carry out tasks such as writing down homework

assignments or to write down quickly what the professor said and later be able to find it

(Sonicrobby, 2012).

METHODS

In this part, the main goal was to examine further educational contribution of the tablet

PC that can be applied at the KIMEP University. In addition, I aimed at finding out how the

attitude of the KIMEP Universitys community towards this innovation, and also potential

obstacles for introducing the tablet PC in the particular university system. In particular, I

conducted three different types of investigation. Thus, in this section I describe each of them

separately. The first type includes interviews, the second questionnaires while the third, an

experiment.

Participants of the interviews

I selected to interview three professors of KIMEP University, Professor Donald

Hoskins from Bang College of Business, Nygmet Ibadildin from the College of Social

Science, and Dr. Ha Jin Hwang from the Bang College of Business as well. All three

professors are highly respectable personalities in the academic community of the university.


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Professor Hoskins is teaching Investments, Security Analysis and Portfolio Management, and

Mergers and Acquisitions. Professor Nygmet Ibadildin is teaching Ethics and Sociology. Last

but not least, Professor Hwang is teaching Management Information Systems, Operations

Management, and Business Process and Information (Department of Marketing

Communications and Public Relations, 2011).

The selection of those professors apparently was not random. On the contrary, it came

out after a lot of consideration. In the first stage, I wanted my interviewees to have a long-

termed teaching experience at KIMEP in order for them to be able to provide expertized

responses. Then, I looked for an instructor who has used or is still using a tablet PC during the

lesson. Professor Ibadildin is one of them. Moreover, I needed a person that apart from the

position as a KIMEP University professor has also deep knowledge and maybe experience in

investments because I believe that the introduction of the tablet PC into the educational

system of an academic institute is a type of investment in the educational field. In this case, it

is Professor Hoskins. Last, I definitely needed an academic figure expertized on technology

and its products. Professor Hwang is that person.

Procedure of the interviews

I interviewed each of the professors separately in the campus of the university, more

specifically in their own offices. Each interview lasted no more than thirty minutes. I

explained from the beginning that they had the choice not to get voice recorded. Two of the

professors didnt have any issue on being voice recorded. Thus, both sessions were recorded

so the data could be later analyzed further. However, one of my interviewees rejected politely

to get recorded for personal reasons; therefore, I was taking notes during the process.

However, the information coming out of the particular interview is presented as closely to the

original one as it was possible.

Participants of the questionnaire


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My survey sample consisted of 30 students from the KIMEP University. I selected

each person almost randomly regardless of the faculty, the year, and the gender. As I

mentioned, the selection was almost random since I was keeping in mind so the one third

would include students-users of the device. In this way, I would gather more comprehensive

responses, and consequently, I would demonstrate more fair statistics.

Procedure of the questionnaire

Every single approach was beginning with the same question, Are you a tablet PC

user? in order to reach the referred proportion one third. Moreover, the distribution of the

questionnaire took place in two most-crowded place of the university, the Coffeeinn at the

New Building and the Black and Brown caf at the Fan Club. After gathering the anonymous

responses, I analyzed the data, and designed charts to demonstrate the statistics of the results

in this paper.

Participants of the experiment

In order to have more practical indicators of the potential educational contribution of

the tablet PC, I decided to conduct an experiment. Participants of the experiment were two

students of the university, Chingiz Aikenov and Nurzhan Adilov. Both are male, however, the

gender did not play any role for choosing the subjects. Nevertheless, I selected the particular

students under specific criteria. First, they had to be of the same year, faculty, and to have

approximately the same academic performance. For the experiment, the subjects were second

year BSc students, and one of them had G.P.A 3,05 and the other 3,12. Second, and most

important they had to have at least one common course. The reason is mentioned in the next

section.

Procedure of the experiment

The experiment had the following design: the subjects had to get prepared for the

same quiz by the same instructor. In this case, Chingiz and Nurzhan were getting prepared for


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the tablet PC could set the teaching process at KIMEP even more interactive. For example, he

gives a problem on the big board, the same time the problems is being sent in digital form to

the students who in turn, are instructed by him to solve it. In the end, each student sends the

solution back to him. As a result, the professor has immediate feedback and is able to keep

track of his students performance in real time.

In fact, he reported that he has seen already some of his students already using it

during his classes. As he was observing, the professor distinguished some students taking

notes by hand on the slides of the same presentation that was being projected on the big

board. However, professor Hoskins showed rather cautious to the introduction of the tablet

PC to the learning process of the university as it is. He justified that he had watched as well

few students playing games on the tablet during the lesson. At this point, he suggested a new

technology that would control students extracurricular actions. If this new technology

introduced, he said, the tablet PC can prove to be a rather useful educational tool for the

students.

Last, professor Hoskins spotted two potential issues in terms of the articular

educational investment, the price and the time for adaption. The price of the product is still

too high for most students. Having said that, the professor proposed a possible financial plan

regarding this innovation. He suggested that the university provides to the newly admitted

students every year with the same type of tablet by including its cost in the tuition fees.

Furthermore, in order to cut the price down, the professor suggested the administration going

for significant discounts in exchange of huge regular amounts of products, and the ministry

importing the specific products with receivers the KIMEP University without duties. Last, he

pointed out the time for adaption as well. It will definitely take some time until both faculty

members and stude nts will get acquainted with the product, he added.


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Furthermore, professor Nygmet Ibadildin proved an immensely rich source of

information as well. At this point, I have to recall the fact that the professor had been using

few times the device in the classroom. Surprisingly, he declared totally negative attitude

towards the introduction of the tablet PC into KIMEP classrooms. He admitted that he makes

use of the device, however, only for personal purposes, such self-education, thanks to the

specialized applications, planning events and days, and a lot of other purposes.

As mentioned, the professor appeared negative towards this policy. The justification

lies on the fact that he had observed students playing games on it during the lesson, and in

general distracting themselves from listening to the lecture. However, he was aware of the

fact that there is way of controlling students extracurricular actions. But, Ibadildin rejected

categorically the notion of controlling his students. He supported that students should be and

feel free in the classroom in order to perform better. Much control doesnt necessarily lead to

excellence, the professor stated. Besides, he supported that KIMEP Universitys community

and system is not still ready to adopt such innovation. In first place, some changes have to

precede, namely transforming the current classic way of teaching to a more contemporary that

involves products of technology as well. According to the professor, if such alteration took

place, the tablet PC could be of some service to the students in the frame of brain escaping

during the lesson. In a more loosen up mood, Ibadildin added that the device could reduce the

amounts of paper, and consequently, proved to be friendly to the environment as well.

As regards any potential obstacle against this policy, Ibadildin also spotted the price as

the main hinter. More specifically, he stated that the university has not the required budget to

introduce such policies. Such innovations, he supported, are considered luxuries for us yet

meaning not only the KIMEP University but also all Kazakhstani academic institutes.

Last but not least, Dr. Ha Jin Hwang offered extremely valuable information regarding

the potential contribution of the tablet PC and its issues. Initially, in spite of the fact he is not


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a user of the particular devices, Dr. Hwang expressed his deep enthusiasm for the notion of

introducing the device to the educational system of our university. In fact, he suggested its use

by both faculty members and students. The ways of usage he came up with include constant

communication between the instructors and students even outside the classroom, and

searching for information and facts in the Internet during the lesson in order to enrich a

lecture discussion. Moreover, the professor highlighted the need for the devices to get utilized

before getting handed in to the students. By this, he meant that the administration should add

a program that does not allow the students to open extracurricular applications, such as games

during the lecture. As a consequence, students will use the device only for educational

purposes inside the classrooms.

In terms of any probable hindrance against this policy, the professor appeared rather

optimistic. He stated that the price of the devise the given time is not really high. As a matter

of fact, he foresaw that the prices are expected to fall even lower due to the intense

competition. Right now we can see tablets from a lot of competitive companies, such as the

Samsung Galaxy Tablet from Samsung, the i-Pad from Apple, the Google Nexus from

Google, the professor revealed. In addition, he also proposed a very specific plan considering

the financial part of the innovation. KIMEP University could supply each year freshmen

with tablets which would carry the KIMEP logo. However, these tablets would stay inside the

campus of the university; the students could make use of them only inside the campus. At this

point, Dr. Hwang referred to some Korean universities that have already adopted the above

policy. The students of those universities could take and use the tablets by providing their

student ID, and in the end, return them undamaged, the professor stated.

Results of the questionnaire

The questionnaire produced further outcomes. In general terms, the sample

demonstrated relatively positive attitude toward the use of the tablet PCs at KIMEP


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University as an educational tool. However, it is quite apparent that the price of the device

stands as a crucial drawback for most of the subjects.

In more details, over three fourths of the sample would welcome positively the

integration of the tablet PC in KIMEP. In fact, over 84 per cent of the surveyed students

admitted that a significant discount, such as of 30 per cent of the initial price, would

encourage them to purchase the product. At the same time, the percentage increased by three

units supposing the university offered the opportunity to divide the initial price into smaller

parts, which the students would pay off during a specified period.

According to the statistics of this research, students prefer by far using a tablet to a

book or a smart-phone in the classroom while noticeably fewer still prefer using the tablet to a

laptop. The students were asked further to provide one or more reasons for preferring the

tablet PC instead of either a book or a laptop or a smart-phone. Most of the reasons refer to

the fact that the size of the screen and the design of the tablet PC set the device comfortable to

use more than three mentioned items are. Additionally, a reason mentioned explains that the

tablet PC is actually a book that allows the readers to regulate the form and the background of

the text. This facility functions as a strong motivator for them to keep on reading. Another

noteworthy factor lies on the fact that when using the tablet with its accompanying digital

pen, students can design graphs easier and more accurately than when using the rest devices

or books. Last, some students appreciated the fact that the referred digital pen enables them to

write text by hand and simultaneously to save it in digital form. They justified that writing by

hand permits them to write more and faster as they dont type as fast as they think, and

concentrate on the essence of their writing. However, only for about thirty per cent of the

sample the latter point seems practical since they only prefer using a digital pen.

Last but not least, the procedure produced some significant statistic regarding the

potential usage of the tablet PC. First, the findings of the survey revealed that the device


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would be most used for theoretical and practical courses as well while some would make use

of it even for IT and art courses. In the same way, they were also interested in using it for

Internet, music, and games too. However, little interest was shown in using the device for

artistic purposes or any other different reason.

Results of the experiment

The goal of the experiment was to examine whether the tablet PC can help the KIMEP

students specifically to study for an exam. The results showed that the particular device helps

the students to study as efficiently as the book does.

After the exam-papers were checked, the result was that both students took

approximately the same grade, Chingiz nine point five out of ten and Nurzhan nine out of ten.

However, as it will be discussed later, the difference was spotted in the time of preparation.

For the first student the time of preparation reached 6 hours while for the second the time

needed reached less than 4 hours.

ANALYSIS & DISCUSION UPON THE WHOLE RESEARCH

The purpose of this study was to test how the tablet PC would facilitate the learning

process at KIMEP University. I predicted that the academic population of the university

would welcome the idea rather positively. In this study, majority of the students appeared

quite enthusiastic about the plan while the faculty members expressed different opinions

about it. Thus, the initial hypothesis was only partially supported by the findings of the

research. However, the research revealed also negative attitude towards the plan of using the

device at the KIMEP University, and key issues regarding its application as well.

To start, unexpected was the rather negative attitude of the professor Ibadildin towards

the potentials of the tablet PC. The reason for my surprise derives from the fact that I have

watched the professor using the device several times in the classroom during the period I used


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to attend his classes. In particular, I observed that he mostly used it for writing down notes

while my group-mates and me were presenting our course projects. I found this fact quite

intriguing. Thus, in the interview after he expressed his opinion about the tablet PC at

KIMEP, I insisted on learning what were the factors that changed his way of perspective. The

professor revealed the first factor; the device may distract the students from the lesson due to

the great amount of games and recreational games it includes. In fact, he has already watched

a lot of his students playing games during the lecture. Nonetheless, the professor is aware of

the fact that technologies which allow the control of the students devices. Such technologies

are not new to the market; there have been invented before 1990 (Schacter, 1999). In spite of

this fact, professor Ibadildin admitted that he avoids controlling his students. The less you

control your students, the be tter they perform., Ibadildin stated.

Among the drawbacks, professors Hoskins and Ibadildin identified the price. In

particular, the latter categorically stated that KIMEP University is not yet in the position to

introduce so costly innovations. There are more vital expenses to make. The tablet PC is still

not only for KIMEP but also for most Kazakhstani universities a kind of luxury., he

mentioned. On the other hand, professor Hoskins approached the issue from a different angle.

Based on his experience on investments, Hoskins suggested KIMEP support its students

concerning the purchase of the device. More specifically, the university could make the

payment plan of the device easier to its students by giving them the opportunity to pay the

cost off during an appointed time period. He also, suggested manufacturers offer significant

discounts in exchange of huge and regular amounts of products purchased by KIMEP. At the

same point, Dr. Hwang, who did not identify the financial part as a major obstacle, added the

plan describing the ministries imputing the specific products addressed to the KIMEP

students, with duties.


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Still, financial issues of the device do not end on the cost of the device. According to

Sheeky et al (2005), potential educational institutes aiming at embodying the tablet PC in

their educational systems have to bear in mind likely damages or losses of its parts or

accessorizes or even future regular software updates. Such updates are of high importance in

order to correspond to the real t ime conditions and ensure systems privacy and security

(Hicks, 2001).

If supposing the financial part arranged, the research including the opinion of thirty

students showed that KIMEP Universitys community is more than enthusiastic about the

notion of using tablet PC in the classroom. As Sheeky et al (2005) found the device increases

impressively students motivation for learning. It seems that students are extremely curious to

explore the device and its features. As a result, educators have to take advantage of this

impressively high students motivation; they should identify the facilities of the device with

its educational contribution. To explain clearer, teachers have the opportunity to lead the

enthusiasm for the device to enthusiasm for learning by showing how easier the learning

becomes with the device. In other words, students can now learn in a more interesting for

them way.

As regards the facilities of the tablet PC to the learning process itself, the device

enhances the interaction between instructor and students in the class while sets the teaching

more dynamic. In order to put my point through, I demonstrate below two examples. Firstly,

imagine a classroom with each student with its own display, namely tablet PC and the lecturer

explaining the material with the help of the big board (Hoskins, 2012). The lecturer takes a

point from the slideshow on the board, and explains it further orally. At this point, the tablet

proves effectiveness of its size and design. In particular, students listen to the detailed

explanation, and have the ability to write down their own comments and notes on the same

slideshow that is presented on the big board. In this way, despite the fact that all students will


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later study from the same lecture material, each of them will have the material utilized in such

way that is more comfortable and easier for him/ her to understand. As a result, every student

increases the chances of comprehending the piece of knowledge.

In the same framework, picture again the same students with their tablets having a

more practical course, such as Investments. The particular course requires mostly solving

problems on the board and individually each student while the instructor is guiding and

explaining the methods of solution. Thus, every student has not only to copy the problem

from the board and then concentrate on solving it but also, listen carefully to each word of the

professor since every single word leads to better comprehension of the problem and finally its

solution. However, the students with the tablets will find the same way of lecture smoother

(Hoskins, 2012). The reason is because in the first place, students will not have to copy the

problem form the board since the instructor can send it immediately and simultaneously to

each of them. This fact offers more time and more energy to think and work on the solution.

Then, each student when finds the solution sends it to the instructor who can check the

correctness of the solution on place. The instructor in turn, records each his students

performance and spots any issues. In the end, both instructor and students discuss the best

solutions and have more time to explain the wrong ones since the first is aware of the most

common mistakes. As a result, each student is more likely to understand the essence of the

lecture and the instructor has a more practical and real time picture of his students

performance. And most significant, the role of the professor is not underestimated or

gradually replaced. On the contrary, his/her value is highlighted since the instructor in the end

explains. Thus, the tablet PC supports and facilitates the learning process, and in any way

does not replace the human vital role.

Furthermore, the experiment of the particular research brought the outcome that

studying using the tablet PC point of fact saves time. As a matter of fact, the student who used


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the tablet to prepare for the exam spent by about two thirds less time to get approximately the

same grade with Chingiz who spent in total six hours to achieve that grade. Nurzhan used the

tablet PC in the same way Chingiz did; both had been reading the same text and each his own

notes. Nevertheless, Nurzhan could compare abstracts from different pages easily, could

mark, highlight, underline the text, regulate the background of the text, and find a specific

definition in the text by putting into search the key word. Also, he was able to see his own

comments and notes on the same page he was reading from. On the other hand, Chingiz had

to use a lot of bookmarkers while he was reading in order to return easier to them to revise or

to remember. In addition, he lost much time, as he admitted, looking for the piece information

he had to learn, in the whole book. Moreover, he could not write anything or annotate the text

in the book since it is KIMEP librarys property. Thus, he had to address to his notes taken on

different papers. So, again he was losing time to find the corresponding note. These findings

certainly do not prove the superiority of the tablet PC over the book as an educational tool.

However, it indicates the significant support the tablet can offer to the students.

Among the contributory educational functions of the tablet PC, Katsini (2011) points

out the unique type of input of the tablet, with the help of the digital pen. Cicchino and

Mirliss (2004) also identify this ability a major advantage of using the tablet PC. What offers

this accessorize of the tablet is inputting text writing by hand, and transforming the same text

into typed form. Consequently, the user has the anility to save the text he/ she wrote by hand

either as it is just in digital form or transform it into typed form. This feature is crucial since

great number of both professors and students at KIMEP appeared to find more difficult and

time consuming typing on the keyboard than writing by hand. In addition to that, the specific

feature facilitates the process of designing graphs (Cicchino & Mirliss, 2004). Thanks to the

digital pen, the users of the tablet PC are able to design more accurate diagrams and charts

since they can select the appropriate point by hand and not by mouse or by the keyboard. For


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me, drawing is rather challenging, not considering the designing accurate schemas. To sum

up, the ability of the Tablet PC in combination with the digital pen, to input texts by hand and

transform it into typed form, and to design easier accurate graphs as well, is definitely of

crucial importance for schools of business. KIMEP faculty members and students will

apparently appreciate this aspect of the device since KIMEP prides itself for its successful

business school, the Bang Business Schools.

Last but not least, the size and the design of the device have also appeared significant

contributors for facilitating the learning process. In particular, pilots at the University of

Ontario Institute of Technology, the Bentley College, and the University of Texas at Austin,

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Seton Hall University, and the experiment

of the particular research demonstrated that these two points in fact not only matter but also

play vital role for more effective learning process. Initially, professors form the above

universities revealed that due to the combination of the design and the size of the screen, the

device proved extremely necessity in the laboratories. In more details, students had the ability

to carry the tablets while walking around the classroom and gathering observations, and the

same time write down notes on it with the same easiness as they would on a piece of paper. It

proved more comfortable since the tablet could be carried easier in contrast to a notebook, and

it could be used as a simple notebook but with functions of a computer.

To come to and end, as far the research has mentioned both potential advantages and

disadvantages of the use of the tablet PC in the educational system at KIMEP University. As

one can realize, the possible issues of its use at KIMEP can be prevented if the administration

of eh university is aware of them. Therefore, before applying this innovation to the particular

university, the administration should design a secure, long-term, and also flexible plan

regarding the financial issues and the utilization of the products. Such procedure is minor in

comparison to the significant and long-term educational merits of the tool for the system of


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KIMEP. Increased motivation, enhanced interaction between instructor and students, saving

time, the merits in combination with the digital pen, and its comfortable dimensions, all

demonstratively prove their crucial role in the learning process.

CONCLUSION

The particular research aimed at examining the potential educational use of the Tablet

PC in the educational system of KIMEP University. Its main goal was to bring as more

comprehensive conclusion as possible. With this main goal, the research covered review of

latest literature, interviews with three different highly respectable professors of KIMEP

University, survey among KIMEP students, and an experiment with two students of KIMEP

taking part in it.

The major findings of the research include not only benefits of the introduction of the

tablet to the KIMEPs educational system, but also the obstacles of such innovation.

Regarding the merits, findings include impressively increased motivation from students,

reinforced interaction between the instructor and the students while setting the teaching

process more dynamic. In addition, outcomes showed that the tablet PC is in fact time-saver,

and when used with its accessorizing digital pen becomes even more effective attracting

hand-writers and setting easier and more accurate the graph designing. Last but not least, the

research found that the size and design of the tablet facilitate the learning process by allowing

its users to use them in laboratories and as books as well.

On the other hand, the research spotted significant issues that may discourage the

KIMEP University community and administration to embody the tablet into KIMEPs

educational system. These issues cover the cost of the price, including both initial prices of

the product and its future expenses, and the adapting time for both faculty members and

students.


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Appendix

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

77%

17%6% 0%

1. Do you support the use of the Tablet PC bystudents in the educational system of KIMEPUniversity?

Yes

No

Maybe

No opinion

83%

7%

10%

0%

2. Would you buy a tablet PC, if the Universityoffered a significant discount in order to purchase

it? (Say the discount reached 30% of the initialprice.)

Yes

No

Maybe

It does not depend on me

90%

3% 7%0%

3. Would you buy a tablet PC, if the Universityoffered to opportunity to divide the payment for

the device in smaller parts which you could pay offmonthly during a set period? (Say again there is

Yes

No

Maybe

It does not depend on me


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Table 4

Table 5

Table 6

80%

3% 14%

3%

4. Would the tablet PC be more convenient foryour educational purposes than the book?

Yes

No

Maybe

I have no opinio/ I havent'thought about it.

50%

34%

3%13%

6. Would the tablet PC be more convenient foryour educational purposes than the laptop?

Yes

No

Maybe

I have no opinio/ I havent'thought about it.

67%10%

13%

10%

8. Would the tablet PC be more convenient for your

educational purposes than the smart-phone?Yes

No

Maybe

I have no opinio/ I havent' thought about it.


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Table 7

Table 8

Table 9

0%20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2725

177

10. In which courses would the tablet PC be useful to you? (you are free to select as many answer asyou think it is needed)

60%

13%

27%

11. Which way of writing do you prefer themost?

Using the keyboard

By hand on a piece of paper

By hand on the tablet PC usingdigital pen

2610

2522

27

12. In general, would you use the tablet PC for (you are free to select as many answer asyou think it is needed):

The Use of PC Tablets in the Educational System of KIMEP University

Documents

Transcript of The Use of PC Tablets in the Educational System of KIMEP University