Babson College Professors David Kopcso and William Rybolt have been awarded the Hewlett Packard Technology for Teaching Grant for their project: Transforming Teaching and Learning with Tablet PCs.

The project will evaluate the educational effectiveness of using Tablet PCs which are laptop computers whose screens allow hand-written entries to be captured in real time.  Two sections of Babson College’s required MBA-level quantitative methods course are being used as a test bed to assess the impact of Tablet PCs.  In one section students as well as the professor will be using Tablet PCs while in the other only laptops will be used.  In the Tablet PC section, the instructor will use the wireless Tablet PC as an alternative to writing on the blackboard.  In both sections, the instructor will obtain real time feedback from students in response to questions via the Internet, and results will be displayed on the instructor's PC.  The instructor can then use these results to redress unclear or confusing issues or redirect the dynamics of the classroom.

Audio and video of the entire class lecture will be captured and made available for students to access over the Internet, thereby allowing students to replay, rewind and review any of the material presented in class.  Since almost all of the students enrolled in this course are full-time professionals, the ability to review class materials at any time throughout the semester alleviates the difficulties that arise when students must miss classes.

Although only two weeks of classes have transpired, students have found the ability to review an entire class on line “priceless”.  After the first week, MBA Rob Swint,Retail Marketing Manager, Kronos Incorporated, declared “The class recordings are amazing – I’ve never seen that done before.”

Kopcso contends that the use of HP’s Tablet PCs, in conjunction with the audio and screen capturing hardware and software whose acquisitions were made possible by the grant, has transformed the classroom experience.

“Students no longer need to try to transcribe all that takes place in the classroom for future review while simultaneously trying to be active participants in discussions.  On their Tablet PCs they can take quick notes and ‘fill-in’ additional materials by reviewing the class audio/video transcription.  Students who have missed class due to work commitments or illness can now ‘see and hear’ exactly what transpired during class.  This grant allows us to extend the learning experience in ways that would otherwise not have been available.”

The HP Higher Education Technology for Teaching grant initiative is designed to support and increase the number of students graduating with degrees in engineering, computer science, and business. This initiative focuses on the development of mobile technology environments. Forty awards were made to colleges and universities across the U.S. from over 300 applications. The 2006 HP Higher Education Technology for Teaching Grant award package is valued at approximately seventy thousand dollars and consists of twenty Tablet PCs along with supporting hardware and software. 

David Kopcso is a professor in the math/science division and is former director of the Board of Research and the Center for Information Management Studies (CIMS) at Babson. He consults on the analysis of data and on the applications of emerging technologies to business. Articles written by Kopcso have appeared in Management Information Systems Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of Operations Management, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Intelligence System Review, Advances in Artificial Intelligence in Economics, Finance and Management, Expert Systems With Applications, National Public Accountant, Collegiate Microcomputer, and other journals.

Kopcso earned a B.A., University of Bridgeport; and M.S. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University.

Associate Professor William Rybolt also teaches in the math/science division at Babson. He has been a principal in several startups, and consults on applications of emerging technologies to business. His current research includes studying the impact of new Internet technologies on business and education. Dr. Rybolt's articles have appeared in Journal of Management Information Systems, Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research, Intelligent Systems Review, Advances in Artificial Intelligence in Economics, Finance and Management, Expert Systems with Applications, and other journals.