1 © J.G. Tront Tablet PCs & Active Learning Joseph G. Tront Bradley Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Virginia Tech How many were at Richard’s talk this morning?

2 © J.G. Tront Tablet Use Goals  Increase Classroom Interactivity  Enhance collaboration  Improve/increase note-taking  Increase comprehension  Improve information recall

3 © J.G. Tront Classroom Presenter Free-form PresentationActive note-taking Interaction

4 © J.G. Tront Classroom Experiments  Introduction to Computer Architecture  20 Tablet PCs loaned to students for semester  40 students in the class  Spring semester ’04 & ’05 Ink-based Active Learning exercises almost every class EE CS CpE Comp. arith., gates, logic blocks, processor, assembly language

5 © J.G. Tront Different Bases  Numbers in different bases ArAr Base Quantity Example: = 2* * * * = 1*2 2 +0* * * * 2 -2 = A3.BD 16 = A* * B* D* = … 10

6 © J.G. Tront Example  Convert 13F 16 to decimal 1X X X16 0

7 © J.G. Tront Assembly Programming

8 © J.G. Tront Assembly Programming

9 © J.G. Tront Decoders  Used to decode binary coded information  Example: 2*4 decoder 2 X 4 A1A0A1A0 Enable D0D1D2D3D0D1D2D3 E A 1 A 0 D 3 D 2 D 1 D 0 0XX0XX Now Build a 3 X 8 decoder

10 © J.G. Tront Decoder Expansion (cont’d) A 1 D 0 A 0 D 1 D 2 E D 3 A 1 D 0 A 0 D 1 D 2 E D 3 D0D1D2D3D0D1D2D3 D4D5D6D7D4D5D6D7 A decoder B decoder A0A1A2A0A1A2

11 © J.G. Tront 3X8 Decoder w/ Gates A1A1 A0A0 D4D4 D5D5 D6D6 D7D7 A1A1 A0A0 D0D0 D1D1 D2D2 D3D3 A3A3 Gate level Build in Enable capability w AND gates or 4-input ANDs

12 © J.G. Tront Exercise  Design an ROM that contains the multiplication table for a 2-bit by 2-bit multiplier AddressD3D2D1D D0 D1 D2 D3 X0 X1 Y0 Y1 ROM A0 A1 A2 A3

13 © J.G. Tront VLSI Fabrication Tools  Lithography:  Process of transferring design patterns onto a layer of the chip  Uses MASKS create from designer  Photoresist:  Chemical that changes solubility when exposed to (UV) light  Positive photoresist: exposed areas are washed away  Negative photoresist: unexposed areas are washed away OPTICAL MASK UV LIGHT + PHOTORESIST BEFORE AFTER

14 © J.G. Tront Assessment  Would like to know if learning is improved Very, very difficult to prove; can be demonstrated High degree of class participation

15 © J.G. Tront Assessment  Common final exam over several semesters  Entry test for subsequent course (with tablet vs. without tablet) Different class composition Different instruction Chaos theory Teacher Improvement over years Different class composition Different instructor Chaos theory

16 © J.G. Tront Assessment  Student Journals  Student class assessment Similar assessment problem as before Different class composition Generally more positive comments w tablet class Generally positive comments 15/20 indicated they would like to purchase a tablet

17 © J.G. Tront CLASSROOM PRESENTER Available for download from: For more information, contact: