My former high school, Brophy College Prep, has done something that could signal the change in education as we know it. Starting with the freshman of 2006, every new student was required to purchase the same Toshiba M400 Tablet Computer. In two more years, the whole student body will have tablet pcs. Every faculty member was given a tablet PC, and every room was out-fitted with Smart-boards and docking stations for the teachers. Mike Welty, one of the people in charge of bringing the tablet PC to Brophy and Math instructor said, the tablet makes “more efficient transference of knowledge.”

How will this be make learning more efficient? No more lugging around heavy backpacks of books and notebooks. There are only two actual textbooks the students have to put in their locker or backpack, the rest are all e-books. The students use the laptops as their notebooks (since you can write on the tablet with a stylus - and it is very easy to write in your own handwriting). Students will see the professor’s presentation on their computer and be able to write their own notes on the presentation. Since the student’s notes are all in one location, the student is better organized.

The instructors use Blackboard Learning Management System to communicate with their students when not in class. There is no excuse to not hand in a paper on time (written on their laptop, which they must carry with them to every class, the student then post the paper in Blackboard from home, or at the campus, or anywhere with a wifi connection - I can see it now, hanging out at the coffee shop to write your paper…), or not knowing what the homework is, since they can look at Blackboard. Since every teacher at Brophy is using technology in some way, it is not only a few students getting the benefit, but every student of the Freshman and Sophomore classes. Even the Junior and Seniors, who bring in their own computers, benefit from the teacher’s use of technology like Blackboard and other webware. Students with disability will find the campus a great boon to their learning. The Freshman and Sophomore students are going to be spoiled and expecting this type of integration when they go to college.

Spoiled and expecting? Brophy’s students, when they go to college (over 97% do), they are going to be expecting their college and university professors to be using technology in their classrooms. An AP and Honors Chemistry teacher says that the students will be seriously disappointed that professors, who have been teaching the same subject for thirty years, are still teaching it like they did when they started. While technology does not replace teaching, it is only a tool to make teaching and learning more efficient. Is your college using this type of education technology? If so, please post me what technology you are using and by whom at your institution? What is the your impression of the success of using this technology?

A lot of students expect more from teachers these days. It is up to us, to keep up. It is up to the administration to support our continuing education so we can keep up. Because if the student is disappointed in your school and the learning they are receiving, what is to stop them from going to the school where the faculty are encouraged to be up to date in technology and teaching?

While Brophy may be the first in the country to do the whole school (and not just a few students), it will not be the last. Brophy’s second freshman class has been outfitted with tablets. From what I understand, many schools, public to private, from many states, countries, have contacted them to find out about one laptop per student. Toshiba has two videos they have made with Brophy, Best Practices for a Tablet PC Pilot Program in Education, Student Perspectives on Tablet PCs in School as well as Brophy’s video, Planning Experience for a Tablet PC Program. Brophy does have the advantage that it is a private school and not a public institution, but for any school to take this leap, it is a big step forward in changing education. They have noticed an increase in how well the students are learning. As more and more high schools convert form textbooks to tablets, students will be expecting their college experience to be even more than their high school. Technology is changing high school students. Those students are going to expect their college to do the same.

Mark Viquesney