Tablet Rasa for Schools

Although many librarians would love to see a tablet computer in every student's hands, it'll be at least two years before the technology becomes widespread in K–12 schools. Right now, tablet computers are prohibitively expensive for most schools. At $1,699 to $2,399 each, they're about $500 more than the cost of a conventional laptop offering the same features.

Are tablet computers worth it? Absolutely, says Linda Hunter, a technology trainer for the School District of Hillsborough County in Tampa, FL. She spent last fall testing a prototype of Compaq's tablet, showing it to teachers, principals, students, and media specialists in the district. "The media specialists, who are used to having workstations in certain places in the media center, were amazed at its portability," says Hunter. "They, or the students, could take it anywhere easily." For example, librarians and teachers can take the devices into the stacks to browse the library's catalog and collection. And the wireless tablet computers offer students quick access to homework assignments, the Internet, and the local school network.

The tablet's screens have a much higher resolution than conventional PC monitors—150 dots per inch as compared to 72 to 90 dots per inch—which makes it much easier to read text. Now, instead of printing out 40-page documents, Hunter reads them on her tablet's screen. "I could rest it in my lap, or hold it in my hand, and I could shift positions while reading."

The tablet looks like a laptop screen without the keyboard, which means it's about half the weight of a typical seven-pound laptop. The 13 companies that currently market tablet computers—including Fujitsu, Acer, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard—offer ways to attach a keyboard and CD-ROM/DVD drive to the device, and a few, such as Acer's model, come with a permanently attached keyboard. Acer's tablet also includes an ingenious hinge that lets users swivel the screen 360 degrees and align it with the keyboard. Others, like Fujitsu's tablet, let users park the tablet in a docking station, transforming it into a full-fledged desktop. Since tablets are wireless, they're typically more appropriate for people who work on their feet—warehouse workers, for example, can use them to check inventory and medical personnel can monitor the status of hospital patients.

The new Microsoft Windows Tablet XP software that Bill Gates spent $400 million developing gives tablet users three ways to enter information. Besides typing text into a keyboard the old-fashioned way, they can write or draw on the tablet screen, and the words are converted to text or saved as graphics. All tablets include a stylus, more sophisticated than those used with Palms—and more expensive, typically $60 or so, to replace if you lose it—that enables users to take notes onscreen.

Tablets also feature voice recognition software that converts spoken words into text. But there are some kinks in the software that still need fixing. "When I tested the voice recognition software in a closed, quiet room it learned to turn my words into text pretty accurately," Hunter says. "But when I tried it in a noisy classroom, the accuracy really dropped."

Although their high price is keeping tablets out of schools right now, educators and vendors expect a dramatic price drop. Steve Potash, CEO of Overdrive, a company producing e-books and textbooks for tablets, says he expects the tablets to be as widely used, and much less expensive, than the typical laptop by 2005.

But the main obstacle to the spread of the tablet may be getting users accustomed to entering information by simply scribbling on the screen rather than pecking away at a keyboard. Since old habits die hard, that may prove to be the biggest obstacle of them all.