HP Officejet 7410 All-in-One Printer Q5569B Prospecto

like ‘Ooooh, that’s how it works!’ and ‘oh, now I get
it.’ There were definitely some ‘Ah-ha’ moments.“
Wilkinson adds, “In biology class, I might take some
digital photos of viruses from the Net, give the students
some websites to search, and turn them loose on a
scavenger hunt.” Students start by discovering which
viruses the pictures represent, then go on to search for
their symptoms and other important characteristics.
“They become so excited to be on the hunt for this
information,” says Wilkinson, “that they are essentially
teaching themselves.”

At its core, that is what technology can do in the
classroom: motivate students to explore and learn on
their own. “Rather than passively listening, they’re
actively searching out information,” she says.

“We do surveys about whether students enjoy a given
class, and whether they understand the given material.
Almost all students give us a high rating in classes
where we’re using the new HP technology,” says
Wilkinson. “They enjoy learning through using
computers, and they’re learning a lot. How can you
improve on that?”

ESL, special education students may benefit most
Some students benefit more than others. Wilkinson
cites English as a Second Language (ESL) students. “It’s
very difficult to listen and take notes if the language
you are listening to isn’t your primary one,” she notes.
So ESL students take the most advantage of being able
to download lecture notes and background readings.
That frees them to concentrate more intently in class.
“They can listen more effectively,” says Wilkinson. And
often, listening equals learning.

In special education, students who can’t write or type
well often have difficulty completing tests and
homework assignments, which makes it challenging for
teachers to fairly evaluate them. That reduces
opportunities for follow-up teaching and reinforcement
of lessons. Now, some students can use HP Tablet PCs
rather than scribbling in notebooks. “The handwriting
recognition is so good they can write on the tablet, run
it through handwriting recognition, and it gives the
teacher a clean test to work with,” explains Wilkinson. 

Re-energized teachers
Students aren’t the only ones who benefit from HP
technology in the classroom. Wilkinson notes that she
never liked lecturing at a blackboard (especially
because she’s allergic to chalk). But she had to use it
so students could follow her notes and lectures.

Now, with an HP Tablet PC and HP digital projector, she
can lecture from Microsoft

®

Office PowerPoint

presentations, or annotate existing files live while lecturing.
Students can download the files later – ensuring they have
better information to study and learn from. 

In the classroom, she adds, technology has freed
teachers from physical proximity to the blackboard.
With lecture information projected on a screen, the
teacher has the freedom to move among the students.
That makes it easier for students to ask questions
privately, enables closer monitoring of student work
and facilitates better classroom management.

In addition, she says, technology enhances
collaboration among teachers. “One of our main
goals of this year’s project is to improve collaboration
amongst our staff. Having the HP grant has focused us
to meet and talk with one another regularly, and we
have learned a lot from each other about making the
best use of the technology. In order to share our
successes with others, we have provided training
sessions for our staff in the use of technology.

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