Stantum Update: Innovative Tablet and Mobile Tech; Tablets Push Leap Towards Interactive Multimedia "Textbooks"

Step into a school and you might notice that older desktop computers have been replaced by an assortment of portable devices.   In many cases, students still carry around book bags that contain an assortment of textbooks, binders, worksheets, along with something digital.  

So what is that "something digital"?   

In some  cases, it might be a school-issued laptop or net-book.  In other cases, it could be an iPad, an e-reader, or another sort of tablet.  In other cases, it could be whatever the student brings to school, as part of a "BYOD" (Bring Your Own Device) experiment.

No one has yet figured all out, but many people, from a number of disciplines, are trying!

Stantum is an example of a company that has an interest in the use of innovative technology for education.  Stantum develops multi-touch technology for mobile devices, including tablets, and follows trends in education closely. 

I've had the opportunity speak with Guillaume Largillier, Stantum's co-founder and CSO on several occasions, most recently in late October.  I'm happy to say that Stantum looks like it will be making some important inroads in education.  

Why? 

Stantum is aware that as educational institutions, K-12 and above, leave textbooks behind, there will be an enormous need for devices that will seamlessly support teaching and learning, all around the world.  Guillaume spoke of  developments in countries such as South Korea, France, Turkey, Thailand, Columbia, Argentina, and China to adopt digital textbooks. Some of these countries have initiated pilot programs using some sort of tablet or mobile devices, or plan to do so in the very near future.


During our conversation, Guilluame pointed out that Stantum is involved in developing durable components and tablets made from materials that can withstand the knocking about that sometimes happens when handled by young hands.  

Unlike the iPad, the tablets will not need a rugged, more expensive case, so it is likely that the cost to schools will be lower.  Since the tablets are open to most operating systems, they are likely to be easier for school IT administrators to deploy, update, and maintain.


A bit about the technology:    

Stantum's Interpolated Voltage Sensing Matrix (IVSM) technology supports 10 simultaneous touches and can handle touch and stylus input at the same time. It "knows" if it has been touched by a finger and can disregard a palm.  This is a good feature to have if a tablet is used young people.  

Earlier this year, Stantum announced its partnership with NISSHA, a company based in Japan, and unveiled its newest development, Fine Touch Z Technology, powered by IVSM.  It can support Windows and Android operating systems.  It has a fast scanning engine, high-resolution handwriting input, and does not produce ghost or masking effects.  (See video below).

One appealing feature of this technology is that it provides has low power consumption. This is a plus when considering the need students to have a device that has an extended battery life. 


Fine Touch Z from Stantum on Vimeo.

RELATED

A leap towards interactive digital "textbooks":

Although students have been accessing educational content in digital form on computers and through educational television programming for a long time, textbooks and paper-based assignments have been major tools used in school to transmit the curriculum.  

The tools are changing as we move to a digital, multimedia world of communication, collaboration, knowledge sharing, teaching, learning, and creating.  There are many questions to consider.

• What sort of digital content will replace traditional textbooks?
• Who will create this content? 
• Will traditional textbook publishers simply transform textbooks into slightly more interactive versions of the ho-hum content students love to hate?
• How will digital interaction change the way everyone learns?  How will this be measured?
• How will teachers and students be provided with opportunities to create new ways of sharing knowledge?
• How will usability and accessibility concerns be addressed, for students, teachers - and family members, given that digital content will be accessed both in and outside of school?
• What sort of software systems will need to be developed?
• What sort of infrastructure will be needed to support this influx of online activity and transfer of large data files -  at schools, in homes, and in communities?
• How will the technological ecology support learning, given multiple devices, interactive whiteboards and other interactive surfaces? 

With change, there is usually confusion as old ways are set aside and people explore new options.  

Apple is making some inroads with the iPad, providing educators (and students) to create interactive books with the free iBooks Author program. Some schools have 1-1 laptop programs in place, and provide access to educational content through more traditional course management systems or web-based activities that accompany existing textbooks.  Schools are signing up for resources such as Google in Education and Microsoft Partners in Learning.  

If you are looking for some resources about the rapid increase in interest and adoption of interactive digital textbooks, not just in the U.S., but around the world, take a look at my recent blog post,  "Got Interactive (Multimedia) Textbooks Inside Your iPad or Tablet?  Lots of Resources!".  In the post, I provide a wealth of links to information from the LEAD commission, the FCC's Digital Textbook Playbook, and more.  

You might also want to take a look at Audrey Watters' article, The Truth About Tablets: Educators are getting iPads and e-readers into students'hands--but it's not easy, which was published online in the School Library Journal earlier this year.

For a global perspective, read Alex Wukman's article, World Bank Begins Global Digital Textbook Initiative 

It wouldn't hurt to learn more about what the textbook publishers have in mind.  For that reason, I've put together a sample of resources about interactive digital content from major educational media and textbook publishing organizations:

DISCOVERY EDUCATION
Techbooks
In the following video, students and teachers from an elementary school in Winston-Salem give their reviews of the new Discovery Education Science Techbook.  Students can access the Discovery Techbook via the web.  In this video, students interact with the content using traditional desktop computers as well as interactive whiteboards.  Techbooks are designed to work on tablets or laptops, too.  At :39, a first grade teacher explains exactly why she likes the science techbook:

"...everything is right here at your hands, it is interesting to the kids, they love to watch the videos, and you can take it further - beyond than that, and everything is done for you, it is just really helpful. It even has the prep, the content review, and it is all aligned to the curriculum." -Laurie Moran

Discovery Education Science Techbook from Judy Uhrig on Vimeo.

Discovery Education Science Techbook Overview (Video)
Techbook for High School Science
Techbook for K-8 Science

PEARSON
Pearson's new interactive textbook for the iPad
"It is really going to revolutionize how we think about the classroom experience and what happens in the classroom in the way of learning, and what happens outside the classroom." -Joseph Levine, Author, Miller & Levine Biology

INKLING
Major Publisher Investment Advances Inkling as the Future of Digital Textbooks
Audrey Watters, ReadWrite, 3/22/11
"What makes Inkling’s apps unique is the fact that “content isn’t bound by pages or sections or chapters in the same linear fashion. Rather, it’s hierarchical, richly illustrated and augmented. It’s interactive. It’s social,” Watters writes. The digital versions include quizzes, interactive infographics, and a scrolling and searchable interface." -Matt MacInnis, Inkling

McGRAW-HILL RYERSON
McGraw-Hill Ryerson Launches New High School iBooks Textbooks
PRNewswire, 10/25/12

HARCOURT
Harcourt Interactive Textbooks (Produced by Vertex)


SOMEWHAT RELATED
The Truth About Tablets:  Educators are getting iPads and ereaders into students'hands--but it's not easy
Audry Watters, School Library Journal, 2/1/12

What would it be like if pens were "banned" from classrooms every Wednesday? Must-see video clip by Mick Waters, not just for teachers and students!

The Hello Foundation in the UK recently launched a "No Pens on Wednesday" campaign to encourage communication skills- speaking and listening, among primary school children. 


According to the Hello Foundation website, research indicates that the average length of a student's verbal response to a teacher's question is just four words!  Given the number of children in a classroom, there are limited opportunities for children to develop their communication skills through speaking and listening.  Classrooms that adopt the "No Pens Wednesday" will engage in activities such as vocabulary games, podcasting, and debating.  No written homework on Wednesday nights - instead, students will be assigned 'talk' activities.

To get a better understanding of this topic, take a look at the following video of Mick Waters discussing the rationale behind No Pens Wednesday.  (Also take a look at the full press release about this campaign, located at the end of this post.)

No Pens Wednesday


Press Release
More Schools Give Up Pens in the Classroom to Promote Listening and Talking
Communication Trust, 9/28/11


More and more schools are taking part each day this month in No Pens Day  ‐ a national initiative when pupils give up their pens to focus on speaking and listening instead of writing. The event is being orchestrated by The Communication Trust as part of the Hello campaign (national year of communication). 


Hundreds of schools across the country are taking part today (Wednesday 28 th September 2011) in the event, which has never happened in education before. At least another 200,000 pupils at a further 400 schools are expected to outlaw pens for a day before the end of October. 


Teachers at primary and secondary schools will be using lesson plans and activity templates developed by specialist teachers and speech and language therapists to conduct their lessons without pens. Classroom activities will include podcasting, maths games, debating, vocabulary games and ‘talk’ homework, all designed to highlight the importance of language for learning to pupils, parents, carers and school staff.     


Staff at one primary school in Newark, Nottinghamshire dressed up as aliens and invaded the school during morning assembly and stole the pens from everyone there. At another primary school in Covent Garden, London, staff built a large time machine in the school yard, and Community Support Police. Officers were involved to bring the event to life. At I CAN’s Dawn House School, a specialist school in Rainworth for pupils with speech language and communication needs, pupils communicated using Makaton sign language.   


To date, 500 primary schools, 100 secondary schools and 50 special schools have registered to take part in No Pens Day. In addition to this a hospital school, pupil referral unit and even a school in Indonesia will be taking part in the inaugural initiative.       

Jean Gross, the Government’s Communication Champion for children, said: “Not enough pupil talk goes on in Britain’s classrooms – most of it is teacher talk. What little research has been done on this aspect of classroom behaviour suggests that the average length of a pupil’s response to a teacher’s question is just four words. We want to see more priority being given to speaking and listening skills, because they directly underpin the ability to read and write. Thanks to everyone taking part in No Pens Day for embedding speaking and listening even further into their teaching.”     


Anita Kerwin‐Nye, Director of The Communication Trust, said; “For too long speech and language has existed in the shadow of reading and writing. As recent debates pose questions about what should teachers teach and children learn, we are calling on all schools to place an explicit and structured emphasis on speaking and listening approaches by taking part in No Pens Day. Our materials, lesson plans and resources give the children’s workforce the tools and strategies needed to support speaking and listening and importantly to improve their confidence.  


 “A classroom filled with lots of talk can feel a challenge for teachers, but the benefits for pupils are far reaching. We recognise that teachers do not currently receive a great deal of training in this area and it is a skill set in its own right to weave speaking and listening into all aspects of a lesson. Historically, ensuring all pupils become ‘articulate’ hasn’t been a duty on schools, but the government’s new professional standards for teachers have changed this, and we want teachers to be ready.”   

Schools taking part in No Pens Day are encouraged to give pupils opportunities to think by asking open questions, and to hold back on demonstrations or explanations until the ideas of pupils have been heard. Strategies include using the ’10 second rule’ where teachers wait ten seconds after asking a question before prompting pupils for an answer, and giving pupils opportunities to test out their ideas with a ‘talk partner’ or in a group. 


In the UK today, over 1 million children and young people have some form of speech, language and communication need (SLCN). Hello is the national year of communication – a campaign run by The Communication Trust and Communication Champion, Jean Gross, to make children and young people’s communication development a priority during 2011 and beyond.   

Hello, sponsored by BT and Pearson Assessment, provides information on typical communication development, how to spot if children are struggling and where to go for help and support. www.hello.org.uk 

For more information on No Pens Day and to be in touch with schools in your area which are participating, please contact Laura Smith, Media and Campaigns Manager, at the Communication Trust at ismith@thecommunicationtrust.org.uk or 020 7843 2519/07766651366 Pictures will also be available for use. 


About No Pens Day and the Hello campaign
• No Pens Day is backed by Jean Gross, the government’s Communication Champion for children, and other curriculum experts including Sir Jim Rose, Professor Andrew Pollard, Professor Robin Alexander and Professor Mick Waters. 
• No Pens Day is an initiative for the Hello campaign to tie into the September theme of ‘Back to School’.    
• To launch the month, The Times Educational Supplement (TES) ran a special 8 page Hello supplement with support from BT and the Communication Champion. This featured a number of schools that have developed effective strategies to develop their pupils' speech, language and communication skills.  This can be viewed here http://www.nxtbook.com/nxteu/tescreative/communicationstrust/   
• With the support of Hello sponsor Pearson Assessment, a range of Universally Speaking booklets have been developed for early years, primary (5‐11) and secondary (11‐18). These booklets are for anyone who works with children and young people and show where children should be with their communication skills at any given age. They help you find out if children are on track and what to do if you have concerns about any of their communication abilities. For more information, visit www.hello.org.uk/resources   
• Hello is the national year of communication – a campaign to increase understanding of how important it is for children and young people to develop good communication skills. 
• The campaign is run by The Communication Trust, a coalition of 40 leading voluntary sector organisations; in partnership with Jean Gross, the Government’s Communication Champion. Together we aim to make 2011 the year when children’s communication skills become a priority in schools and homes across the country. 
• The campaign is supported by BT and Pearson Assessment and is backed by the Department for Education and Department for Health. Please visit www.hello.org.uk for further information or to sign up for regular updates.