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I recently had the privilege of introducing 50 middle school
teachers to their new tablet pcs. It was great fun, and everyone left with
something simple they could try the first time they fired up their tablet in
class. If you've just acquired a tablet pc to enhance your teaching, or if
you're still thinking about it, below are my favorite, simple, "5 First Steps"
that I shared during my workshops...

First, I have to say "thank you" to the educators I've met
in Twitter who were kind enough to answer my question, "What would YOU show
teachers who are new to tablet pcs?" I received some great suggestions, one of
which was from @web20classroom.
He STRONGLY encouraged me to give them time to play and NOT overwhelm them with
too much information. So I purposely focused my 90 minute workshop on
teaching-relevant tablet pc uses that are EASY first steps.

Try This #1: Use
Windows Journal as a replacement for your chalkboard, whiteboard, and/or
overhead projector

Windows Journal is marvelous in its simplicity. It's
basically an infinite pad of digital paper - with some features that have many
educators tossing out PowerPoint and using Journal instead. Here's why:

• Unlike
  PowerPoint, with Journal your annotations, drawings, scribbles, text and
  pasted images can all be REPOSITIONED afterward. Just use the lasso tool
  to grab and move an object.
  
  
  
  Instructional Use: Journal is
  great for facilitating a brainstorm
  discussion. Write a list of ideas as step 1 of a brainstorm, and then
  (step 2 of a brainstorm) discuss ways to organize all the ideas - and move
  the list items being discussed. You can't do this on a white board unless
  you erase and rewrite everything. Yes, you can brainstorm with stickies -
  but those tend to be hard to read from far away. With a digital projector
  located toward the back of the classroom, the projected image can be
  ENORMOUS.
  
  


• Unlike
  PowerPoint, if you want to spontaneously add a blank page because you've
  run out of space for more annotations, you can easily add a new page and
  keep going. With PowerPoint, you'd have to stop your presentation, save
  your annotations, insert a slide, and then restart the presentation. Ugh.
  
  
  
  Instructional Use: You can
  prepare your lesson plan ahead of time, pre-populating your Journal file
  with curricular materials you want to share. Invariably you'll be asked a
  question which requires more space for drawing as you discuss the
  question. Journal helps you shift
  from "presenter" to "discussion facilitator".
  
  


• Unlike
  PowerPoint, you can STRETCH (or unStretch) the digital canvas as needed.
  Want to insert some space between diagrams? No problem - just activate the
  "stretch" icon and tap/drag the pen DOWN to add more room (or tap/drag UP
  to unstretch).
  
  
  
  Instructional Use: Have two
  drawings or photos, one on top of another, but now you need some room to label key features? Just STRETCH
  the paper and make some room for your annotations.

Try This #2:
Customize Windows Journal backgrounds

Teach mathematics? Easily create grid paper for plotting
data

Teach music? Easily create staff paper that you can notate
on top of

Teach language arts? Create a graphic organizer background
to facilitate discussions and scaffold student thinking

Try This #3: Use
the Snipping Tool to grab and discuss images

Many instructors find themselves using their tablet pcs in
"laptop mode", which is to say the display is open but not swiveled down on top
of the keyboard. This makes it easy to draw AND "alt-tab" to any other open
application being discussed. So let's say you have a webpage open and you want to point,
draw, or otherwise annotate on top of a portion of it (e.g., "Look at this suspension
bridge - what kind of mathematical expression might be used to characterize the
shape of the suspension cable?"). With the snipping tool, you can "grab" an
area (rectangular or free form), copy it, and paste it into Journal - in
real-time, while you're discussing things in class.

The snipping tool was originally a free utility included in
the Microsoft Tablet PC Experience Pack (a free
download for MS Windows XP Tablet PC edition users). I suspect it was so
popular that it now is included in MS Vista operating system. I can see why -
it's so handy, I've copied a shortcut to the snipping tool and placed it on my
toolbar (lower left hand corner, down by the Windows "start" blob).

Here's how to use it during a class discussion:

1)      With
Windows Journal open, make some space to add a "snip"

2)      Open
the other program you want to talk about (a browser window, a spreadsheet, anything
that runs on your computer!)

3)      Launch
the snipping tool; use your pen to draw a box or freehand "snip"; in Vista, this action will automatically copy the snip to
your clipboard

4)      ALT-TAB
back to Journal

5)      EDIT
> Paste your snip into Journal, and annotate away!

Try This #4:
Markup Word Docs with Digital Ink

Looking for ways to be more efficient? Try paperless
homework! If you're already having students use MS Word to write assignments,
you can mark them up and send them back without ever having to print (and carry
around) the originals. Here's how:

Try This #5:
Annotate your PowerPoint - and throw away your laser pointer

Finally, because PowerPoint is so prevalent, you've GOT to
see how easy it is to draw on top of your slides during your presentation. This
short video will show you how:

Instructors who are doing this have basically thrown out
their laser pointers - after all, laser pointers are now pointless. Digital
annotations are easier to see and can be saved for later distribution to
students.

Instructors who are doing this are also finding it valuable
to leave more whitespace on their slides so there's room to write. The
secondary benefit of doing this is that you're less likely to commit the crime
of "too much stuff on your powerpoints"; with more whitespace, your
presentation can slow down to match the speed of thought - and your students'
fingers won't cramp up so often.

TIP: Use "save
as" to make a copy of your master file before you start each class

If you never annotate on your master file, then you will
always have a fresh copy that is free of all annotations. If you teach the more
than one section of the same class, then you can avoid having to erase all your
annotations from the previous session. Likewise, you retain a clean master for
next year! So, whether you're using PowerPoints or Journal files, open
the master file, then immediately "Save As" and give it a new name. This
retains the master intact, and gives you a copy that you can mark up and share
with your students.

**************

If anyone else has a "favorite first step" recommendation
for new Tablet PC users, please post a comment and share it with me!

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Programs
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard
Twitter @jgvanides

For information about the HP Global Social Investments, visit www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants

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The Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (www.aace.org) is hosting a new conference in Malaysia, May 17-20, 2010. The topics look VERY interesting...

Details from the AACE email announcement are listed below. I wonder if they would consider a collaborative paper or panel discussion?

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Programs
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard
Twitter @jgvanides

For information about the HP Global Social Investments, visit www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants

ANNOUNCING THE PREMIERE
OF....
_______________________________________________________________

               
Global Learn Asia Pacific 2010--
      Global Conference on Learning and
Technology

        May 17-20, 2010  *  Penang (island), Malaysia


                  (Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang
Resort)

                      CALL FOR
PARTICIPATION

                http://aace.org/conf/GLearn/call.htm

     ** Submission
Deadline: November 23, 2009 **

                                 
Organized by:
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education
(AACE)
                              (http://AACE.org
)

                                Co-sponsored by:
      Education
& Information Technology Digital Library
                             (
http://EdITLib.org)


                                      Hosted by:
Open University of
Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Wawasan Open
University                 

______________________________________________________________

COLOR POSTER­: Global Learn 2010 Asia
Pacific  (Available to Print & Distribute)
  http://aace.org/conf/glearn/GL10Poster.pdf

                 
>> CONTENTS & LINKS <<

1. Introduction
 
2. Topics:  http://aace.org/conf/glearn/topics.htm
3. Program Activities
& Submission Information, Deadline November 23:

4. Presentation Categories: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/categories.htm
5.
Products/Services Showcases & Presentations: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/corporate.htm

6. Proceedings & Paper Awards: http://aace.org/pubs
7. For Budgeting Purposes: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/rates.htm

8. Penang (island), Malaysia:  http://aace.org/conf/cities/penang/
9. Deadlines:
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/deadlines.htm



INTRODUCTION:
-----------------------
Mission: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/mission.htm

Global Learn Asia Pacific is an annual,
international conference organized by the Association for the Advancement of
Computing in Education (AACE).
The conference will be guided by a
respected, international Executive Committee, primarily from countries of the
Asia Pacific region.
( http://aace.org/conf/glearn/committeeEC.htm )

This
conference serves to further the advancement and innovation in learning and
technology. As the educational world becomes increasingly global,
new ways to explore, learn, and share
knowledge are needed.

Global Learn is a means to connect and engage
creative educators, researchers, consultants, training managers, policy makers,
curriculum developers,
entrepreneurs, and others in the topics and
fields in which they are passionate about. Many individuals are transforming
learning environments in local
as well as more global ways. Global Learn
offers them an opportunity to meet and discuss their ideas, findings, and next
steps.

The decision to create and organize this annual conference in
Asia and the Pacific Rim is testament to the enormous interest in learning and
technology
throughout this region of the world and a
response to many requests to AACE to undertake this initiative.

Primary
aims of Global Learn include but are not restricted to:

* Create learning
and professional development opportunities combining the best and latest
technologies
   with educational practices and
characterized as interactive, social, and
personal experiences.
* Provide opportunities for ongoing exploration of
both the diversity and commonality of the uses of educational technology in
different regions and cultures.
* Foster a global networking/collaborative
community on learning and technology.
* Help visualize and shape the future
of learning and teaching.

TOPICS:
-----------
The
following nine themes exemplify the vision and goals of Global Learn for
advancement and innovation in:

1. Advanced Technologies for Learning and
Teaching
2. Assessment and Research
3. Educational Reform, Policy, and
Innovation
4. Evaluation and Quality Improvement Advances
5. Global
Networks, Partnerships, and Exchanges
6. Innovative Approaches to Learning
and Learning Environments
7. Open Education
8. Technologies for Socially
Responsive Learning
9. Virtual and Distance Education

For specific
topics within these themes, see: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/topics.htm

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES & SUBMISSION
INFORMATION, Deadline November
23::
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Keynote Speakers & Invited Panels/Speakers
* Papers, Best Practice
Sessions & Roundtables
* Research/Technical Showcases &
Products/Services Showcases
* Tutorials/Workshops
* Virtual
Sessions

All presentation proposals are peer reviewed and selected by a
Program Committee, based on merit and the perceived value for
attendees.

Call for Presentations: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/call.htm
Submission
guidelines: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/submitguide.htm
Presentation
and AV Guidelines, see: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/PresenterLounge

PRESENTATION
CATEGORIES:
---------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/categories.htm
The Program
includes a wide range of interesting and useful
activities designed to
facilitate the exchange of ideas and information.

PRODUCTS/SERVICES
SHOWCASES & PRESENTATIONS:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/corporate.htm
Corporations
and other organizations have the opportunity to demonstrate and discuss their
learning and technology related
products and services through
Products/Services Showcases & Presentations.

PROCEEDINGS & PAPER
AWARDS:
-----------------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/pubs
Accepted papers will be published by
AACE in the Proceedings (hard copy & CD-ROM). Proceedings in this series
serve as major resources in the learning
and technology global community, reflecting
the current state of the art in the field.  In addition, the Proceedings also
are internationally distributed through and
archived in EdITLib--Education and
Information Library. http://EdITLib.org/

Selected papers may be invited for
publication in may be invited for publication in AACE's respected journals
especially in the
- International Journal on E-Learning (IJEJ),
- Journal
of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia (JEMH), or
- Journal of Interactive
Learning Research (JILR).

All presented papers will be considered for
Outstanding Paper Awards within several categories. Award winning papers may be
invited for publication in the AACE journals.

FOR BUDGETING
PURPOSES:
--------------------------------------------
Registration: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/rates.htm
Hotel: http://aace.org/conf/glearn/hotel.htm

The conference
registration fee for all presenters and participants includes many
extras!

Conference registration will be held at the beautiful Shangri
La's Rasa Sayang Resort. All concurrent sessions will be held at both the
Shangri La's Rasa Sayang Resort &
Golden Sands Resort. located along the
emerald waters of world-famous Batu Feringgi Beach,
with local shopping, dining, and attractions
nearby! 

Special discount hotel rates have been obtained for Global
Learn participants at approx. $127 USD & 89 EUR;
or specifically Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 450
Nett (including 15% tax) (single/double).
 
Special hotel rates include daily breakfast
buffet and complimentary broadband Internet.

PENANG (ISLAND),
MALAYSIA:
---------------------------------------------
http://aace.org/conf/cities/penang/
Experience
the Pearl of the Orient; Culture, Dining, Shopping, Attractions, &
Tours!

DEADLINES:
------------------
http://aace.org/conf/glearn/deadlines.htm

Submissions
Due:          November 23, 2009
Authors Notified:              December 22,
2009
Proceedings File Due:     March 22, 2010
Early
Registration:           March 22, 2010
Advanced Registration:   April 26,
2010
Conference:                     May 17-20,
2010

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To
be added to the mailing list for this conference, link
to  http://aace.org/info.htm

Global Learn Community:
http://www.aaceconnect.org/group/glearnasiapacific
AACE Blog:
http://blogs.aace.org/aace

If
you have a question about Global Learn, please send an e-mail to
AACE
Conference Services, conf@aace.org

Contact:
AACE--Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education
P.O. Box 1545, Chesapeake, Virginia
23327  USA
Phone: 757-366-5606 * Fax: 703-997-8760
E-mail: conf@aace.org 
*  http://AACE.org