Using Tablet PC's in Music Education

Tablet PC's offer an innovative way of using technology in teaching music. The use of pen and voice input, the form factor and special features of the operating system allow educators to take advantage of the existing benefits of technology while minimizing the problems associated with desktop or laptop computers. Tablet PC's also present some new opportunities for integrating technology into music education.

A tablet PC is similar to a laptop, but has two unique features. First, you can use a pen on the screen or your voice to interact with the computer. Secondly, the form factor is such that it allows you to hold the computer as if it were a clipboard. A work surface is not required as Tablet PCs do not require a keyboard. The screen becomes the sole point of interaction, negating the need for a desk or your lap. A Tablet can be used in either landscape or portrait mode, and most Tablet's provide a dedicated hardware button for switching modes, depending on how you want to interact with the computer.

The concept of pen computing has been around for a while, but Microsoft has tried to bring it into the main stream by building a special version of Windows XP Professional packaged as Windows XP Tablet Edition. The Tablet PC Operating System provides native support for new concepts such as “digital ink,” allowing you to not only use your pen like a mouse, but also use it for inputting text instead of a keyboard. In addition to using a pen to interact, Microsoft has also incorporated voice recognition technology for navigation and dictating text into a program. Both handwriting and voice recordings can be stored either in their original format, or converted to a digital format for searching, printing our sharing with other programs.

There are two main types of Tablet PC’s – a slate or a convertible. All Tablet PC’s will run Microsoft’s Tablet PC Edition of Windows XP supporting input using a special pen. A “slate” is a true tablet and doesn’t include a keyboard. They are usually lightweight with smaller screens – typically a 10” or 12” display and often don’t include an optical or floppy drive. Most slates will have a couple of USB ports, sometimes Firewire or media readers, but not much else. You can, of course, connect a USB mouse, keyboard, CD burner or other peripherals.

A convertible Tablet is essentially a laptop that can be converted into a Tablet PC. With the screen oriented like a regular laptop, the keyboard and touch pad can be used for data entry. By rotating the screen and folding it down over the keyboard, it becomes a tablet with the keyboard unavailable. Slates have the advantage of being small and lightweight, whereas the convertible offers the versatility of a laptop for users who can type faster than they write, or want to watch DVD, or burn CDs without having to bring along extra peripherals.

The key differences between a laptop and a tablet are related to the form factor and input methods, and these are also the primary benefits. The form factor of a Tablet PC takes all of the potential benefits of technology and makes them accessible in a teaching or rehearsal situation. It also introduces some new opportunities unavailable with the traditional paradigm of sitting in front of a display and keyboard.

The traditional requirement of sitting in front of a display and keyboard necessitates a change from the natural interactions in teaching and music making. Music teachers don’t usually teach sitting from a desk, nor do students learn at a desk. The form factor of a Tablet PC allows it to take the place of a score, sheet music or a notebook without being intrusive or requiring the user to move to a computer. As a result, technology becomes less intrusive, which can also help a Tablet become less intimidating than a regular computer.

The lack of a keyboard requirement not only allows a Tablet PC to sit upright on a music stand, but the portrait mode allows it to be oriented like a sheet of paper. This makes working with programs like Band in a Box or SmartMusic a more natural experience for students. The interaction between an instrument and the computer becomes as familiar as reading music on a music stand.

Although a laptop can be helpful to teachers who require their technology to be mobile, unlike a laptop, the Tablet PC doesn’t require a lap. This allows the teacher to move around the classroom and have access to all of the information traditionally stored on their computer. More than just accessing that information, scores, notes, grades, and seating charts, can be created or edited on the fly without interrupting the current activity to get to a keyboard – everything can be done with a pen or voice.

Implementing a Tablet PC in a band class offers a number of opportunities for both the teacher and students. At the beginning of class the teacher can use the Tablet PC in conjunction with a program like GradeQuick, to take attendance by tapping on the student's picture in the seating chart. A Tablet PC coupled with a Projector can make a great white board for writing your rehearsal plan on. Although this doesn’t sound like an exciting Tablet PC application, you can use the pen to easily add notes to yourself or to the students as the rehearsal progresses. For example, specific goals for a rehearsal displayed in PowerPoint can be checked off or circled using the pen to provide a summary of accomplishments and future goals at the end of the class. You can also easily add voice recordings, or even use the recording feature to make a crude, but useful recording of parts of a rehearsal for future reference.

Microsoft's Journal program built into the Tablet OS allows anything to be printed or scanned into the program. Once a file is in the Journal, it can be marked up by adding hand written or typed notes, highlighting sections or adding pictures or diagrams. These annotations can be in various colours and can be saved for future reference. For example, students may learn a new scale by rote, and then see the notation displayed on an overhead. By using a notation program and then using the virtual print feature of Journal, the scale can be displayed on screen with transpositions for each instrument. The annotation capabilities of Journal then allow an analysis to be drawn on screen with the pen.

Journal could also be used to scan and annotate scores, saving these notes for the next rehearsal, or deleting certain ones when they aren’t needed anymore. Although you can mark up a traditional score in a similar manner, it is very difficult to “undo” those markings! Saving multiple copies of a score would allow you to add notes to a score during a rehearsal using a different coloured ink for later review without affecting your "master" score and its annotations. Another interesting approach is to use a projector and mark up the score to demonstrate some analysis techniques to students. This will encourage students to become interested and involved in critical listening and analysis – especially if they have their own Tablets that allow them to mark up the score themselves.

The mobility of a Tablet PC offers the advantage of "in context" assessment during a rehearsal. Use any commercially available grading software, or custom design evaluation forms in OneNote or InfoPath to allow the use of the pen as if you were filling out a form. Instead of having to record your marks into a gradebook, the Tablet will let you automatically enter your grades. As well, you can choose to convert your hand writing to text for the student or for your own records. Aside from not having to re-enter data into your computer later, this allows you to do more authentic, task based assessment in a less intrusive manner. A Tablet can also enable peer or self assessment where students can enter their comments onto a form on a tablet PC. The recording feature will allow you to make quick audio clips of a particular student performance or a voice note to yourself or the student.

Students can also take advantage of tablet PCs for tasks such as dictation. Rather than have students use paper and pen, they could use a notation program to enter their perceptions of the music being dictated. They can they playback their version to compare it with their aural memory and make any changes required. Students could also use Microsoft's OneNote, which provides a staff template but no playback or intelligent scoring capabilities. This would prevent students from hearing their notation, forcing them to rely solely on their aural memory and auditory skills. In both cases, work can be submitted electronically (perhaps even wirelessly) for later assessment. A well planned series of dictation exercises over a period of time, integrated with your repertoire will allow students to eventually collect a number of musical phrases and ideas that can be referred to in the future. There can be many other uses for this musical scrap book, and encouraging students to use their Tablets to write down a favourite “lick” they hear will help students develop their own notebook of ideas to use in composition and improvisation.

In-class student use of technology isn’t unusual in other subject areas, especially for schools that provide students with laptops. Tablet PC's can extend those opportunities to the music class. Embedded technology could provide your students with access to theory and ear training programs, Sibelius, Reason or other creativity programs. Tablet PC’s on the music stands of our students is a real possibility.

The Tablet also makes a great collaboration tool, allowing students to work together with notation based or other creativity programs such as Reason. Computer based recording can become more mobile and accessible with a Tablet PC. A cardbus soundcard, such as the Indigo I/O, offers high quality recording and playback without the need for an external power source. This can be a lot easier than setting up gear and gives students the opportunity to immediately listen and share their music with others.

Currently the only disadvantage of a Tablet compared to a similar laptop is that there is a small price premium to pay for the added cost of the screen digitizer and pen. Over time, these costs will be reduced, and at that point the Tablet should move from a niche product found mostly in education and medicine to something more widely used. Microsoft plans to incorporate all of the additional features found in the Tablet PC into the core operating system when the next version of Windows is released. This demonstrates their commitment to the platform, and their belief that the Tablet will become just another computing device. The option of a slate form factor and a pen for input will be a common choice for consumers to make.

Tablet PC’s offer the benefit of input methods and a non-intrusive form factor that make the use of technology more natural in a musical setting. Tablet PC's provide educators with immediate access to information and data entry, while support for Digital Ink makes it a useful tool for presenting information and storing annotations for future reference.