InterWrite SchoolPad

9th May 2006

posted in edtech |

InterWrite SchoolPad has similar functionality to a Smartboard, but is a wireless (via Bluetooth) tablet that can be used in different ways thanks to its portability. According to the SchoolPad brochure (PDF):

Teachers and students can annotate / write on presentation slides, webpages, word procesing documents, or any other computer software application document from anywhere in the classroom.
40 hours of use time is available between recharges.
Teachers and students can connect up to seven “Schoolpads” in one classroom.
Teachers can use a “Masterpad” to control the students’ devices and share their work using a projector for the entire class to see.

I have not seen the InterWrite SchoolPad in action myself, but heard another teacher speaking very highly of them today. The product looks like it is worth checking out, especially for math teachers! It looks like it could be great for collaborative, group work in the classroom, especially when the teacher wants to quickly share the work of different students with the entire class.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 9th, 2006 at 5:16 pm and is filed under edtech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

1 On May 9th, 2006, Kelly Dumont said:

I have seen InterWrite Boards in use and even got to play with one a little. I think in many ways the functionality is greater than a Smartboard (and I am a pretty big fan of SmartBoards). The portability is a huge feature. Smart Technologies has tried to counteract with the Airliner Wireless Slate, but it still requires a SmartBoard. Seems a little redundant. I have also recently viewed a system built to work with Tablet PCs that is pretty cool. It is still in the process of being built but the initial look I had at it was impressive.

2 On May 10th, 2006, Harlan Howe said:

Our school has several of the InterWrite tablets. We acquired them this summer. They are being used to various degrees. Some teachers love them, but they haven’t taken off everywhere.

The tricky thing is about coordination. Unlike a tablet PC, you don’t see anything in particular on the surface where you are writing. So you have to look at the screen (projected or not) and move your hand on the tablet. It takes a fair bit of practice to get the coordination correct, and we advise teachers to play with it for a few hours before trying to use it in class - otherwise it can get frustrating with an audience. Not everybody has been willing to make this time investment.

However, once that barrier is past, teachers who have pretty fluent control over the pad have some good things to say about it. A few of them have really adopted it into their classroom and use it pretty much daily.

Personally, I am at an beginning/intermediate stage with it. I have pretty good control that gets better as I go, but I still spend enough of my focus trying to get the mouse cursor to go… right… there…. and… double… tap that I can’t focus on what I am saying so well. I have used it with students a little, but not beyond the “this is weird” point. I don’t use it very often.

Yes, it works with handwriting recognition systems, especially if your handwriting is better than mine.

Although they advertise that up to seven tablets can be connected in one classroom, only one is “hot” at a time, and switching is reasonable but not fluid. As far as I know, we have never used more than one at once, except in a training session.

Also: In addition to Interwrite and SMART, the Promethean board system also comes with a similar tablet.

3 On May 11th, 2006, John Patten said:

Hi Wes…

We’ve been using them for a while now. Currently with our science and social studies teachers through our eett program. From what we hear from the teachers they love them and wouldn’t want to use their laptops without them. The Schoolpad unteathers (is that a word) them from their laptop leaving them free to move about the classroom while still controling their laptop connected to their projector. It has a nice suite of tools that work well with the pad too.