Tablet PC Faculty Fellowship: Jeff Forbes

Jeff Forbes Assistant Professor of Practice, Computer Science

Dr. Forbes participated in a year-long faculty fellowship organized by Dr. Lisa Huettel to experiment with using tablet PCs in teaching.  He taught CompSci 1, Principles of Computer Science, using a tablet PC and the program Ubiquitous Presenter to lecture, using ink to highlight points, answer posed questions, and as a large whiteboard. Students used Ubiquitous Presenter (UP) once a week to answer some question posed in class.  Overall, he felt that using UP or Classroom Presenter instead of Powerpoint is a positive change. Using UP instead of the chalkboard improved readability and accessibility for the student and provides more functionality for the instructor.

Dr. Forbes enjoyed participating in the faculty fellowship.  He says

The best outcome was working with a number of faculty who I normally do not interact with much. I learned a lot about teaching styles that normally does not happen. Just having people with similar interests come together to talk about pedagogy and instructional technology is extremely valuable.

Dr. Forbes is also involved with robotics projects with local schools.

Photo shows Dr. Forbes describing his teaching at the 2007 Center for Instructional Technology Showcase.