Title: Pen-Based Computing: Going Where Educators Need to Go
Abstract: Administrators travel from school, to school or attend conferences thousands of miles from their offices. Instructors teach at several locations, especially in rural areas where travel expenses come under the domain of sharing knowledge. Students jump up at the end of class, running across campus to their next class. Or they're studying in the library or writing papers at home. Education is hardly static--in more ways than one. Because of this, portable computing has an important place in academia. But in addition to this need for portability, education is benefiting from systems that help everyone communicate more efficiently. Write Down Increasing communication can occur on various levels. Pen-based technology has been heralded for its ability to bring the computer-illiterate into the information age by utilizing a pen as an input device not only does everyone know how to operate pens, they cut down considerably on the size and weight of the computer itself by eliminating the need for a keyboard. Pen-based computing has been around for just a few years; Linus Technologies developed the first device in 1987. Initially, signature capture was the primary concern. In fact, many postal courier companies have used pen-based devices to verify receipt of packages for years. But now the focus is shifting from not only capturing script, but to interpreting each individual's chicken scratch and converting it into typed text. To achieve this functionality, new operating systems had to be developed. Several companies have come out with these systems, including IBM Corp. with their PenDOS pro- gram, Microsoft's Windows for Pen Computing and GO Corp.'s PenPoint. Common features are user-trainable handwriting recognition that can adjust to individual styles and a handwriting window that adds recognition capabilities to most nonpen-aware DOS applications. A pop-up onscreen keyboard and sending handwritten faxes are other features. English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish are also supported, making the operating system perfect for international use. Users can draw shapes or figures directly onto the screen to invoke a command or action. Drawing a large X over words will delete; a caret inserts text. But I Just Bought Notebooks Right now you may be thinking, This sounds great, and I can see where both my students and I could benefit, but we just purchased notebook computers. Many companies are well aware that a considerable investment has been made in notebook computing, and have developed products that address this concern. For example, WriteAway from Arthur Dent Associates, Inc. is a user-installable transparent digitizing tablet that transforms a notebook into a pentop computer. The device is attached to the notebook's screen, thus providing users with the option of activating commands via pen or keyboard. WriteAway! supports Windows for Pen Computing or PenDOS; users choose which they want included in their kit. ZEOS Notebook 386 and 386+ plus Compaq LTE Lite and Contura notebooks can be converted. Put the Top Down Proving that evolution occurs in all systems, a hybrid genre of penbased notebook computers called convertibles are on the street. These are keyboard-based notebook computers that feature simultaneously pen-aware screens and input capabilities. Often included, PCMCIA slots support cards that provide modem, networking, wireless LAN capabilities or even additional storage. As an example, the top literally comes down on IBM's ThinkPad 750P; with a quick flip, the screen slides down on top of the keyboard to produce an easy-to-hold pen computer. A 486-based, 33MHz computer with 8K of internal cache memory and 4MB of RAM, this convertible's innovative design also includes a keyboard that physically pops up to provide direct access to removable modular components like a hard drive (170MB or 340MB), floppy drive or battery. …
Publication Year: 1993
Publication Date: 1993-12-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot