To the campus and beyond

A long-held view at all levels of the education sector is that technology, when utilized to its full effect, has the power to transform the classroom in ways that significantly enhance student potential and achievement.

Sharing this belief, HP created the Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative. Now, in its fourth year, the initiative has recently seen 13 universities in the Asia Pacific region awarded a share in grants totaling US$975,000.

In order to be considered for a grant, universities in the region had to be invited to participate by HP. A competitive grant program, not all of the institutions asked to be involved were guaranteed an award. Invitees were required to submit a project proposal for the redesign of one or more undergraduate courses in disciplines of mathematics, science and engineering.

Central to this proposal was a description of how the mobile HP technology, making up the product component of the award, would be used in the redesign of the courses. On a broader scale, universities also had to outline how the proposed project would contribute toward the achievement of the institution’s vision and plans for wider deployment of mobile technology solutions in the learning environment.

The prizes, awarded to 13 Asia Pacific universities, include US$55,000 worth of technology products per institution, including HP Tablet PCs, external storage and optical drives, wireless networking cards, and printers.  The selected universities will also receive US$20,000 in project support funding and a fully funded trip to the 2008 HP Technology for Teaching Worldwide Higher Education conference.

According to Rita Sully, HP Corporate Affairs Manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, the mix of contributions that make up the individual grant awards are geared toward facilitating improved, more streamlined methods of teaching and learning. They are both a recognition of, and contribution to, the increasing role that mobile technology plays in shifting traditional educational paradigms and creating smarter and more efficient ways of doing things.

“In today’s global marketplace, the innovation exists to bring down barriers to learning. New opportunities for teaching and learning ought to be nurtured and given every chance at success, said Rita.

Since 2004, HP has contributed a total of $36 million in HP Technology for Teaching grants to more than 650 schools worldwide. It’s all part of HP’s commitment to education and part of its wider efforts to ensure a robust community investment program in Asia Pacific and around the world.  Considering the close ties HP has formed with educational institutions and various education sectors globally, as well as the more than $1 billion in cash and equipment it has donated to schools, universities, community organizations and other nonprofit organizations worldwide over the past 20 years, it’s clear that a dedication to the broader vision of sustainability is a core value.

Put simply, HP understands the crucial importance of education in shaping the future wellbeing of a nation.  It’s a notion that HP has continued to contribute to in the region, with a range of programs designed to promote and advance the sustainability of a country and prosperity of its citizens.

Since the inception of the HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative, 32 universities throughout Asia Pacific and Japan have been awarded mobile technology grants. For these institutions, winning the prize has meant access to a host of previously unrealized opportunities. Enhancement of the knowledge delivery process and a faculty of students and members becoming highly conversant with evolving technologies are just some of the many benefits.

From an overall perspective however, and one that perfectly illustrates the far-reaching implications of the program, the grant initiative, according to one of last year’s recipients, The University of Tokyo, has ensured “a more engaging, interactive, enriching, efficient and rewarding learning experience for staff and students” – something which all universities undoubtedly aspire to for the continued development of education in our society.

The winning universities from this year’s program will use their grants for the following projects:

The University of Queensland (Australia) - will use mobile technology as the key mechanism for enabling the redesign of demanding and traditionally ‘high risk’ first-year courses - engineering, mathematics and science - to provide more flexible, collaborative and informal learning, leading to graduates with enhanced communication and collaboration skills.

The University of Sydney (Australia) - the University hopes to address the non-interactive and un-engaging environment, the result of large class sizes and lecture theatre seminars. Through the use of wireless Tablet PCs, faculty members aim to create more conducive environments for students to ask questions and voice opinions, as well as conduct discussions and debate outside of the classroom.

University of Technology, Sydney (Australia) – enhance engineering students’ learning in a mobile classroom by designing a new subject, ‘Network Fundamentals’. The aim of the subject is to provide learning experiences that: simulate authentic professional practice; give greater ownership to students in their learning experiences; address development of students’ technical knowledge; and engages students with new and emerging technologies.

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (India) – redesign courses, with mobile technology-built online and offline interactivity, to create a virtual classroom - anywhere, anytime, and always available.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, UGM, (Indonesia) - develop innovative teaching materials for a numerical methods course at the undergraduate level by using animation to create a more dynamic and stimulating learning experience, for what can be a laborious and tedious subject.

Brooklyn School (New Zealand) - enhance student numeracy capability through the use of digital learning objects on Tablet PCs, through a professional development course aimed at improving teacher capability to teach mathematics.

Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) (New Zealand) - build and use Interactive Engagement Software to create open-source ‘clicker on steroids’ using peer-to-peer networking and including a wide range of interactive classroom response options.

Massey University (New Zealand) - introduce mobile learning technologies to create an interactive learning environment for a third year undergraduate course in integrated curriculum science and technology education and introductory level computer programming to science and engineering students. 

Pusan National University (Republic of Korea) - examine a wireless virtual community to facilitate the learning activities of professors, experts, students, and peers through collaboration in a distributed environment. The purpose of the project is to provide adaptive learning activities according to the context of real situations and afford new ways of teaching and learning for instructors and students.

Ming Chuan University (Taiwan) - provide an advanced interactive learning environment that will improve four key aspects of learning activities: a free teaching environment; an environment where notes can be easily made and shared; improved interaction between teacher and students; and recorded course activities for latter studies.

National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) - create a prototyping environment for students taking Embedded Systems Design and Pervasive Computing. The solution will provide a platform for the students to exercise their innovative power as well as learn emerging technologies such as web services, peer-to-peer overlays, sensor/actuator networks and home automation.

National Chung Cheng University (Taiwan) – provide an e-Math-Helper for instructors, minority students and handicapped students through the development of two new tools using Tablet PCs:  ClearDesign, which can smoothly record the handwriting of mathematics instructors; and WebMath, to help handicapped students who have difficulties writing math equations. A multimedia meeting centre will also be used as a diagnosis tool to help instructors to understand the misconceptions of minority students.

Minghsin University of Science and Technology (Taiwan) – using tablet PCs and VoIP technologies, the Departments of Information Management (College of Management) and Computer Science and Information Engineering (College of Engineering) plan to redesign the Discrete Mathematics Course to rebuild learning behaviors around traditional Chinese learning principles - the Five Musts: Presence of Eyes, Ears, Hands, Mouth and Mind.

Anna University (India) – Will establish a mobile learning (M-learning) center where students taking Computer Science and IT courses can access content using hand-held computers. The centre will maintain a portal and a digital library, and assist with content management and development, using a m-learning authoring tool.  Students will also be able to tap a server-based open source wireless laboratory, built on existing low-end computers and wireless technology. Enterprising students will be able to submit project proposals to a Project Incubation Center will be set up. Selected projects will get the support and mentorship necessary to complete them.

Jadavpur University (India) – Mobile technology will be a key part of its new graduate program, Distributed and Mobile Computing, aimed at engineers with backgrounds in computer science, electronics and telecommunication. Classrooms and laboratories will be co-located, and students can access back-end laboratory facilities from their classrooms. Instructors will be able to conduct online demonstrations using a Learning Management System. In addition, the university is collaborating with the university to set up a mobile computing laboratory, too.

University of Tokyo (Japan) – A new learning program developed here aims to bring together the classroom and outdoors, to enhance the way children learn. Using Tablet PCs equipped with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers, students can roam  their school grounds to unmask environmental problems, such as garbage and water pollution. The GPS log data can later be merged into one map, so that students can work out solutions to the problems. They can also learn, in groups, or on their own and conduct environmental simulations using a multiple input board, or Sensing Board, connected to their Tablet PCs via a wireless Local Area Network (LAN).

Yonsei University (Korea) – Students needing answers to tricky questions can send them to their instructors wirelessly. Online collaboration spaces allow students and instructors to communicate and share information and course materials. Students will be able to track and share data as they learn teaching simulation techniques, using HP Tablet PCs and mobile technology.

University of Canterbury (New Zealand) – Engineering Mechanics students will enjoy individual support through an e-learning system, which will allow online submission of homework, as well as tutorial assistance and individual feedback, all aimed at helping students improve their problem-solving skills. As the whole system is Web-based, learning can go on, whether students are in the classroom or at home.