Engagement and retention of marginalized college students using HP Tablet PC’s and DyKnow software

2010 Workshop on the Impact of

Pen-Based Technology in Educationhttp://www.wipte.org/default.aspx

Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Carol Carrutherscarol.carruthers@senecac.on.ca

Presentation Overview

Context and research design The solution employed Measurements and evaluation Going forward

Additional resources: HP website: http://open.senecac.on.ca/HPtabletproject/

WIPTE contest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il-k65CFqpE

DyKnow contest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il-k65CFqpE

Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology

http://senecac.on.ca/about/index.html

• Largest community college in Ontario• Eight campuses in the Greater Toronto Area• Programs offered in over 260 fields of study• Approx 100,000 full and part time students• International students from 90 countries

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Technology

Biological Sciences & Applied Chemistry Electronics & Computer Engineering Tech Fire Protection Engineering Technology Centre for Advanced Technologies Centre for the Built Environment Aviation and Flight Technology

Faculty of Information Arts and Technology

Animation Arts Centre Communication Arts Computer studies English and Liberal studies

REDESIGNED COURSE FOR A TABLET CLASSROOM

• Fall 2008 – two semester certificate initiated

• The Applied Science and Technology Fundamentals Program (AST)

• Successful students guaranteed admission into 2 year FASET/FIAT diploma programs

The Course Redesignhttp://www.senecac.on.ca/fulltime/AST.html

• one of 44 higher education institutions

370 applicants received the $84 000 grant• 21 HP Compaq Notebook/Tablet PC’s

Microsoft® Vista operating system

accessories• Seneca HP site: http://open.senecac.on.ca/HPtabletproject/

2008 Higher Education HP Technology for Teaching Grant

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/us/programs/tech_teaching/hied_global.html#top

• Fall 2008 – purchase of 33 licenses*

• Winter 2010 - 55 licenses

Post-Secondary DyKnow Collaborative Software Grant

• Spring 2010 – 50 licenses

DyKnow video contest (2nd place) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il-k65CFqpE

* Funding provided by FASET and support of Academic Computing Services (ACS)

Dyknow Software http://www.dyknow.com

“The tablet classroom has afforded the institution an opportunity to “test drive” the technology and to better understand the potential impact on teaching practice, student success as well as institutional requirements to support a tablet classroom and this latter aspect is not trivial.”

-Laurel Schollen, Dean of FASET

Research Goals

• increasing student engagement/retention

• enhancing student learning and ability to apply concepts

• demonstration of methodology throughout college, math, technology and outreach communities

Research Protocol to Establish Preliminary FindingsExperimental* Control*

Host school Applied Science Engineering Technology

Sample size 1st Semester 2nd Semester 1st Semester 2nd Semester

Total sample 75 40 66 17

Faculty technology available

stylus based HP tabletDyKnow software electronic classroom

laptop computer electronic classroom

Student technology available

90% of class time on HP tabletsDyknow software notes saved to server students download clientThree different teachers

40% of class time in computer labaccess to online textbook etclecture notes on board/screentraditional note takingfour different teachers

*Research groups located at two different campuses (17 km/11 mile separation)

Word document framework

Pages inserted to enhance understanding

Sharing control

…and experiences

Parallel solutions and self-correction

Self-monitoring of understanding

Immediate feedback

Impact on Student Engagement

Attendance

% Attendance - MATH

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

SEM 1WITH

TABLETS(n=75)

SEM 2WITH

TABLETS(n=40)

SEM 1WITHOUTTABLETS

(n=66)

SEM 2WITHOUTTABLETS

(n=17)

“I paid more attention during lectures and class discussion” (n = 50)

(80% strongly agree/agree to Likert statement)

““…it isn’t like any other class when you sit there and just listening to a teacher speak on and on … you’re actually interacting with others.”

“…revolutionize the idea of learning, it makes the class a lot more interactive and close to each other.”

“…I really enjoyed using it, it helped get me to class…I was excited to use the computer…”

“Having my work on the tablet PC displayed for the class improved my participation” (76% strongly agree/agree to Likert statement)

“... by allowing students to lead the lecture …. ”

“…tablet … gave you an opportunity to participate .. without the embarrassment of public speaking”

“…my participation ... Have grown significantly because of the confidence it brings when I’m comfortable of where I am”

“... It influences you because you’re seeing not only your answers but others own at well and it enables you to discuss different methods of solving problems.”

Open ended response (918 coded comments for math)-some examples of questions

• Explain what you liked best/least about having computers in the classroom?

• Did the tablet PC’s influence you to attend class more often and persist through the end of the course in any way?

• Explain whether the tablet PC’s helped you to perform better/worse on regular course assessments.

241/262 respond positively in attention/motivation category

- some examples of codes

• positive class environment 59

• more enjoyable 55

• increased attendance 29

• class participation increased 25

Impact on student learning and application of concepts

Ontario College Math Project (CMP)http://collegemathproject.senecac.on.ca/cmp/

• 25 – 50% of first semester students either fail (F) or barely pass (D) math

• Students ‘at risk’ of not completing program of choice

• ‘good grades’ range is A+ to C

Math Grades

Semester 1 Math Grades

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

A+,A,B,C D,F,W

WITH TABLETS (n=75)

WITHOUT TABLETS (n=66)

Semester 2 Math Grades

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

A+,A,B,C D,F,W

WITH TABLETS (n=40)

WITHOUT TABLETS (n=17)

“The tablet PC helped me improve my performance in this course”

(74% strongly agree/agree to Likert statement)

“Helped me to perform better. Because of the tablet I actually did my work and it was done right and organized which helped for studying.”

“…because it’s more convenient and accessible to everyone”

“... It made learning … much easier, more enjoyable and improved my performance.”

“…Makes me perform better since it is a new and interesting way to approach classes. I tend to pay attention more thus doing better in work and tests”

“…Helped me, as I haven’t had a mark higher than B in a math class since grade 8, yet I am getting A’s here …”

243/274 responded positively in learning category - some examples of codes

• interaction in class improved 50

• improved learning 47

• liked share control 27

• students teach 16

• the teacher models approach 12 to problem solving

• better understanding of math 15processing

“The tablet PC improved my note-taking skills” (76% strongly agree/agree to Likert statement)

“…students can share answers anonymously, we can correct each other’s work.”

“Assignments and homework were easy on the tablet because it was all saved to the server, your notes are available all the time…”

Having my work on the tablet PC displayed for the class (shared control) improved my participation in class” (75%)

“It influences you because you’re seeing not only your answers but others … as well and it enables you to discuss different methods of solving problems.”

“…I found that the shy students were more comfortable participating through the tablet and shared control in dyknow than standing up and speaking”.

“Dyknow was an effective tool for classroom presentations and note taking’

(92% strongly agree/agree to Likert statement)

“The tablets were useful because I can see what the teacher is writing, students can share answers anonymously, we can correct each others work. Also be being able to access Dyknow at home and at school I did not have to worry about taking notes [on paper] because they were all saved…”

Teacher response

“I would ask…if everyone was following along and I’d get the occasional, ‘yes’ ‘no’, but, some students stayed quiet, and I wouldn’t really know if they would be understanding. …if I asked the same question though…[through] DyKnow…I would see what those quiet students would be thinking…It really helped me to target which students needed extra help.”

Challenges

“…they (tablets) could be a very distracting because it (takes) your mind away off lectures…when lectures becomes boring I tend to go on websites which is the worst thing I can do …”

• slow connection to the internet

these issues continue to be addressed…

Presentations and workshops digital footprint

• Intracollege (6) – faculty forums, PD workshops, teaching & learning days, BOG

• Outreach (4) - open house, science fairs, tutors• Intercollege (8) – math PD, tech conferences,

invitations for workshops• General education (4) – CMP, math forums• International (2) – HP Hi-ed conference, WIPTE • HP website, twitter, LinkedIn, various online

groups, blog, you tube

Fall 2010 research project

• new wireless mobile classroom lab

• larger sample size

• larger IT requirement

• multidisciplinary

• shared workspace between schools

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+

Age

WITH TABLETS WITHOUT TABLETS

Student Age

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

MALE FEMALE

WITH TABLETS WITHOUT TABLETS

Gender

Acknowledgements:Laurel Schollen – Dean FASET

James Humphreys– Chair SBSACDawn Mercer – ORI

Hassan Assiri – Manager ACSGino Franceschetti – ACS

Ewan Gibson - AVS Math@York , SBSAC & FASET Math Faculty

Applied Science and Technology Fundamentals (AST) Certificate studentsSupported by a 2008 Higher Education HP Technology for Teaching Grant

the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Technologyand Academic Computing Services