Enhancing the POGIL Experience with Tablet Personal Computers

Chapter 14

Enhancing the POGIL Experience with Tablet Personal Computers: Digital Ink in the Learner-Centered Classroom 1

Downloaded by EAST CAROLINA UNIV on June 5, 2014 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: September 29, 2008 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2008-0994.ch014

Christina Mewhinney and Eric J. Zückerman

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Division of Science, Eastfield College, Dallas County Community College District, Mesquite, TX 75150 Department of Chemistry and Physics, Augusta State University, Augusta, GA 30904 2

Digital ink technology was integrated with the active, learnercentered pedagogy, Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning. Tablet PC's were used both wired and wirelessly in a classroom to allow more extensive communication. Cooperative learning techniques combined with the tablets made students more active participants in the learning process. Networked tablets allowed drawing of complex chemical structures, and the projection of student work for discussion. Handouts, files, and quizzes were handled electronically. Student opinion surveys suggest this technology increases learning.

Imagine a classroom where students work in small groups huddled around tablet computers, discussing models, answering critical thinking questions to develop their knowledge of chemical concepts, writing answers and drawing complex chemical structures in an electronic workbook on their tablet PC. The instructor monitors each group's progress by accessing their tablet screen from the instructor's tablet PC, sending messages to individual student groups or writing on their screen as needed to guide their work. One group, who has not been able to reach a consensus on an answer, seeks assistance from another group via online chat, and then carries their tablet to another group across the © 2008 American Chemical Society In Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL); Moog, R., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2008.

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158 room for discussion. As the student work progresses, the instructor sees an "interesting" student answer and projects that group's work from their tablet desktop to a screen in front of the room initiating a whole class discussion. Another group makes suggestions and, with the instructor's authorization, modifies the projected answer via their own tablet PC. Students use the tablets to make notes and summarize the key points learned, and upload their electronic workbook to a web server, where the individual group members and the instructor can access it after class. With the click of a mouse handouts are sent to student tablets in electronic form, and students draw complex chemical structures on electronic quizzes returned to the instructor's computer with another mouse click. This describes a typical class in Mewhinney's networked tablet classroom at Eastfield College. What makes the use of technology in this classroom different? Computers are commonly used in chemistry classrooms now; many instructors use software presentation programs to prepare their lectures and assign homework for students on software tutoring programs. But these common uses are directed toward the individual learner in a teacher-centered classroom. The technology described in this paper is used in an active, learner-centered classroom to increase student interaction and better manage class time. The classroom described above integrates innovative technology with innovative pedagogy to enhance student learning. Networking PC's in a learner-centered classroom has been done before. One system, LUCID (/), was specifically designed for use with POGIL. The LUCID software contains specific activities for General and Introductory Chemistry for use by groups of students on desktop PC's. However LUCID does not permit drawing chemical structures or diagrams as can be done with tablet technology, nor does it permit student groups to interact in real time with each other or the instructor during class. Also, unlike other programs, the technology described in this paper is content independent, and can be used to enhance communication in any type of student centered classroom pedagogy.

POGIL in a Networked Tablet PC Classroom A typical POGIL classroom (without the technology described in this article) provides an environment in which the students can "discover" and learn basic chemistry or other disciplinary concepts (2). There are many ways to utilize POGIL pedagogy in a classroom but one common model is shown in Figure 1. The class begins with a discussion of the homework assignment, followed by a quiz on previous class's work. The students then work on new content in a guided inquiry activity (often in the form of an activity book), report their results to the class and a whole class discussion ensues. The instructor usually intervenes only to assist the group in arriving at their own answer, but may provide a 3-minute mini-lecture as needed to clarify a major sticking point. The students provide closure to the class by summarizing the key points learned.

In Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL); Moog, R., et al.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2008.


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Figure L Structure of a typical POGIL class

In addition to teaching chemistry content, the goal of the POGIL pedagogy is to teach processing skills, such as critical thinking, oral presentation, and social and teamwork skills (3). Students can learn these skills working in selfmanaged teams in a cooperative learning environment (4). Some instructors assign a formal role with specific duties to each student and rotate these roles among the students in each group. At Eastfield College, General and Organic Chemistry classes are taught by Mewhinney with teams of three persons: a manager, a scribe, and a presenter. After the individual quiz the students work in groups; the scribe records and produces the work product of the group; the presenter speaks for the group in class, explaining the group's thought process and answering questions; and the manager encourages the participation of all, observes and directs the group's work and provides a written summary of their functioning as a group. The group's main work is to discuss and develop answers to critical thinking questions in a specifically designed learning activity. This is followed by whole class discussion of selected group answers, where "wrong" answers are valued for their learning potential. All of this can be done without the use of networked Tablet PC's; however, as the rest of this article describes, the use of such technology radically changes the avenues for communication in a POGIL classroom. This is because, from an instructor's point of view, managing a POGIL classroom without additional assistance can be demanding, especially with a larger class, and from an individual student's point of view the challenges are to stay on task, to synthesize and organize class notes and the learning activities, and to function as an integral member of a group.


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In pilot classes at Eastfield College during spring and summer 2006 semesters tablet technology was coupled with a wireless network to address areas for improvement in the POGIL classroom suggested by students in Eastfield College class surveys and by faculty in national POGIL workshops (5). The areas specifically addressed by the networked tablet project are: the need for the instructor to visit each group to monitor its performance, the minimal communication between student groups, the time required for student groups to report out their results, the numerous times chemical structures are rewritten, the difficulty for the individual student to organize notes from class discussion and workbook activities, and the lack of a final group work product available to the group's individual members and the instructor after class.

The Networked Tablet Classroom Two recent technological advances are expected to have a significant impact on education in the current decade: these are wireless networking and digital ink. It is obvious that computer networking is a boon to communication and collaboration, and many college campuses have already invested in wireless networks. Many expect the digital ink capabilities used by tablet PC's to open a whole new world for education. This technology has remained relatively unexplored partly because the educational community has been slow to come up with good answers to the question: Why use a tablet when you can type faster? One exception is organic chemistry. In organic chemistry one does not "type" chemical structures, and it is easier and quicker for most students to draw structures using digital ink than to use chemical drawing software. Structures or parts of structures can easily be copied and pasted, rather than being continually redrawn in each step of a mechanism or synthesis. In General Chemistry students can draw, highlight, modify, and comment on molecular "pictures" or diagrams, as well as complete equilibrium reaction tables, and write out calculation setups. It is for these reasons Mewhinney chose to explore networking tablet PC's in her chemistry classrooms. With a 2005 Technology for Teaching grant from Hewlett Packard, Eastfield College built a super-smart classroom for chemistry classes (6). The hardware in this classroom includes 21 Compaq™ tablet computers, SMART Sympodium™ monitor, wireless network, digital projector and screen. Software used includes Microsoft OneNote™, NetSupport School Pro™, and SMART Notebook™. There are currently alternatives to all of the software and hardware components, and new products are expected to rapidly enter the market. The classroom was built in stages so as to work out any technical difficulties in increments at each step. The SMART Sympodium™ monitor, Figure 2, was the first piece of equipment installed. This active monitor replaced the monitor on the classroom desktop computer and, coupled with the projection system, allowed the instructor or a student to draw directly on the screen with a special pen. One can draw in any application (including



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Figure 2. Drawing on a SMART Sympodium

PowerPoint™) or use the advanced tools provided in the accompanying software, SMART Notebook™. Combined with the projection system the monitor allowed the instructor to draw, project the drawing, and save the drawing as an electronic file. In the second phase of development one tablet PC was provided to each group of three students during class. The tablets were not initially networked so that any problems with the tablets themselves could be addressed. With permissionfromthe publisher, the graphics in the student activity book, Organic Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry (7), were printed into Microsoft OneNote™ software. The electronic book was organized into chapters and sections, homework and textbook reading assignments were added, as were spaces to write key concepts learned. The software gives the student the ability to create space anywhere in the document for additional class notes, allows for typing and highlighting as well as drawing, provides many drawing "tools", is word searchable, and can be uploaded to a web server or printed. In the third phase of the project the group tablets were joined to the wireless network. A subnet was created to reduce the required bandwidth and the response time. NetSupport School Pro™ was installed on all the tablets and the classroom computer. The system was configured and debugged before the remaining tablets were added to the network. This was the most technically challenging phase of the project and tested the patience of the students as well as the instructor. There were many variables in the tablet software configuration that had to be addressed that cause the tablet to drop its network connection. Once networked, the instructor was able to monitor, project and control all the tablets via NetSupport School Pro™, as in Figure 3. In phase four, the remaining tablets were joined to the network so that each student had access to a tablet for individual electronic quizzes.



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Figure 3. Instructor's desktop monitoring software The capabilities of this integrated classroom are extensive. Unlike the traditional chalkboard and similar to presentation software, this system allows for prior preparation of classroom materials, such as template documents that include animations and drawings, handouts, and quizzes. Unlike static presentation software but similar to a chalkboard, this system allows spontaneous responses, both from the instructor and from the students. However the additional capabilities are time saving. With a click of the instructor's mouse, the active application on any tablet in the classroom can be projected and, given permission, anyone can write on the projected tablet from his or her tablet. Electronic files can be sent to one or all tablets, surveys can be spontaneously generated (using the tablets as "clickers"), and electronic quizzes requiring drawings of complex chemical structures can be given. The instructor can lock out programs such as game software or the Internet, allow student chat, send and receive messages and take control of any tablet at any time. Using the recorder function a movie file can be made of any strokes made on the tablet, allowing a student or instructor to record a mechanism or equilibrium problem for later playback. Students can save their work to a server for later viewing. POGIL in a Networked Tablet Classroom The networked tablet classroom was used in POGIL chemistry classes at Eastfield College in Spring and Summer semesters in 2006. Although there



163 were enough tablets for each student to use, Mewhinney chose to assign one tablet to each group of three, limiting the resource so that the students would be forced to work together. However, each student was given a tablet for individual electronic quizzes. As class began, students used the tablets in the homework assignment discussion. A student with a homework question opened the OneNote™ software to the worked problem and the instructor projected it to the screen in the front of the room. Using the tablet, the structures did not have to be rewritten, and other students modified the answer using the tablet in front of them. A quiz was given after the homework discussion. On the occasions when an electronic quiz was given, each student received a tablet from the storage cart. At that time, any files needed for class were sent to their computers. During most of the class the student groups worked the critical thinking questions from the OneNote™ copy of the graphics from the activity book Organic Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry (7), shown in Figure 4. Each student had a paper-based book in which they worked their own answers. The scribe for that day was responsible for recording the consensus answer on the tablet. The instructor observed the class's progress from her tablet and sent messages as needed. At logical points student work was projected to the front of the room and was discussed by the presenter in each group, and occasionally the instructor gave a mini-lecture. During class discussion the presenter in the original group, another group or the instructor amended the student answer

Figure 4. Student OneNote document complete with notebook organizational structure


164 projected. During these discussions the scribes were able to insert additional notes directly into their electronic document next to or on top of the model being discussed. Highlighting and drawing tools permitted notations, as one would do in the margin of a textbook, with the added benefit that any amount of space could be created wherever it was needed.


Impact on Learning Since Mewhinney has used POGIL techniques in her classes for approximately 5 years, she was able to make some comparisons regarding teaching a POGIL class with and without this technology. Technology problems in the early networking phase detracted from the class. However, when the networking problems were resolved, the technology had a positive impact on the class. Several observations were made concerning the tablet classes versus POGIL classes in prior semesters. Some student behaviors changed. With the tablet in front of them students demonstrated improved focus on the material and tended to stay on task for longer periods of time. In prior semesters students tended to work individually in their workbooks for several questions before discussing answers as a group. With a single tablet as a focal point group members tended to stay in a discussion of one question until reaching a consensus before moving on to the next. In prior semesters, answers written in notebooks were often truncated and superficial, but, when using the tablets, scribes wrote more complete and in depth answers, as seen in Figure 5. Perhaps this was a result of not knowing when their work would be projected to the whole class (even anonymously), or perhaps because each scribe received a grade for the thoroughness of their answers based on the instructor's review of the group's work posted on the web site. More students were involved in their groups and more active in whole class discussions, and seemed to enjoy the class more, as seen in Figure 6. However, there did not appear to be increased interaction between groups, perhaps because of the lack of emphasis on this classroom capability by the instructor. Managing the classroom efficiently and effectively was much easier for the instructor. Monitoring the groups' progress and determining the extent of individual student participation was relatively easy. In prior semesters "reporting out" of student answers and homework discussions was very time consuming as the presenter in each group had to rewrite the scribe's work on the board or on a transparency before reporting. This duplication was especially time consuming in organic classes where structures must be repeatedly redrawn. Using tablets, reporting out was much more time efficient because there was no need to recopy student work. The discussions were deeper and more students participated, perhaps because the projected answer was clearly written and visible. The student-archived work seemed to help students organize their notes, and was an effective tool for assessment of understanding and individual participation. A l l



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Figure 6. Projecting student work stimulated whole class discussion

in all, the interactions in the classroom were easier to manage and more time efficient, and more students were active participants in the process. What was the POGIL tablet class like for the students? Members of the Summer 2006 pilot class responded to a survey (8) regarding their experiences. There were five response choices: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and


166 strongly disagree. For simplicity, the two 'agree' categories were combined and the two 'disagree' categories were combined in the bar charts of Figure 7. Students were asked to agree or disagree with the following statements: 1.

Writing on the tablet PC in my group helped me focus on the material.

2.

Writing on the tablet PC helped my group stay on the same question until we agreed on an answer.

3. 4.

Writing on the tablet PC in my group helped us organize our class notes. Seeing student's worked out solutions projected to the front of the room


from their tablet aided in understanding whole class discussions. 5.

Seeing the instructor's worked out solutions projected to the front of the room aided in understanding whole class discussions.

6.

Using the networked tablet PC classroom made the class more interesting.

7.

Using the networked tablet PC classroom helped me learn better.

8.

It was easy to use the Microsoft OneNote software program.

9.

It was easy to use the SMART Notebook software program.

The students were positive overall regarding the impact of the technology on their learning. There was a clear majority (if not unanimous) of Mewhinney's students who responded positively to all questions but two: writing on the tablet helped them stay on the question, and helped them focus on the material, the neutral responses to these two questions may reflect the technical difficulties the class experienced as the tablets were brought onto the network.

Flying Solo with a Tablet PC It is unlikely that an institution's entire student body has tablet PCs to utilize in the classroom and for study. Until colleges and universities replace laptop and desktop computers with tablet PC's through attrition, the networked tablet technology as described above will be out of reach for most instructors. Still, a single tablet or a tablet monitor in the hands of an instructor can influence the classroom in many ways. Ztickerman has chosen to employ a tablet PC due to the out-of-class advantages of the platform, such as note taking in meetings, portability, and constant access to all work files. The alternative to the tablet PC, a tablet monitor installed in a classroom, has the advantage of being available to any instructor using the room. Zuckerman has utilized a tablet PC in his classroom for 4 years in classes following both traditional lecture and POGIL methods. In each scenario, one must now imagine a classroom with a single tablet, tethered to the front of the classroom via a cable connected to the projector—wireless connection to the projector is currently unavailable at Augusta State University (ASU).


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POGIL in a Solo Tablet Classroom One of the advantages to utilizing POGIL is the flexibility that exists as to how an instructor implements and facilitates their student's learning experience. At ASU, the tremendous variation in student skill sets and background knowledge must be considered when planning any lesson. Thus, depending on the concept and topic being covered, Zttckerman's class utilizes POGIL as (1) a POGIL activity designed for the entire class time, (2) a 20-30 minute POGIL activity sandwiched between short 'mini-lectures' or other activities (such as a simulated experiment), or (3) several short 5-10 minute POGIL activities contained within lecture notes. The seminal reason for the tablet in the small to medium classes at ASU is to ensure that the students leave the classroom with confidence that they have the correct answer in their activity. As the SALG data from Eastfield College displays, students consider the availability of correct answers vital to their success in the course. Prior to using the tablet PC, Ztlckerman's non-major physical science students did not employ the POGIL-like activities (P) when studying outside of class, citing inconsistencies in their answers (as compared to classmates from other groups) as the cause of their lack of confidence in the concepts portrayed in the activity. As one might expect, there is a major pitfall to supplying answers to critical thinking questions in that some students or entire groups will do nothing until the answer is presented to the class and simply write down the answer provided. This is counterproductive, as the student is even less active than in a traditional lecture course. To combat scribing, Ztickerman does not provide answers to any critical thinking question until each group has made an attempt at an answer. Another advantage of utilizing the tablet PC in the POGIL classroom is that any discussion that arises in class (or at the start of class) can be compiled in one place, along with each activity and any accompanying notes. This may include email correspondence and office hours documents generated outside of class. Assessing the effectiveness of an activity or the response to questions is far easier when the instructor has all of the information in one or two files. The digital ink used to annotate files or in a digital whiteboard can be searched for keywords, facilitating faster research of ones topical coverage. A typical day in Ziickerman's POGIL classroom following option (2) from above begins with a short, traditional lecture of no more than 10 minutes. Notes for the class, which may include the POGIL activity, are made available online prior to class and are required for the student to participate in class. Upon completing the mini-lecture, a single focus question, designed as a 'big picture' conceptual question, is discussed in the groups. Whole class discussion of this question is done later. What follows is the POGIL activity. When all the groups have completed the activity, a few multiple choice questions designed to check for conceptual understanding are projected and discussed, first in groups and then by the class. Finally, the original focus question is discussed in groups. The class is then completed by either continuing with new material or moving



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170 more into applications of the concepts covered in the POGIL activity. Only rarely does a 50 minute class allow for multiple concepts to be covered in one period with multiple POGIL activities. Yet, it is commonplace for the concept and application portions of the activity to be broken up such that the time after the initial activity employs a second POGIL activity concerning with the mechanism of solving problems. Often, science students are hesitant to trust instruction that is not presented in the traditional lecture format. More importantly, not all students are prepared for taking ownership of the learning process as freshman. For both reasons, implementation (3) is used to 'acclimate' students to the benefits of the POGIL activities during the first semester of general chemistry. After midterm, the focus shifts to implementation (2). The second semester of general chemistry is generally a mixture of implementations (1) and (2). The tablet PC plays an integral role in the success of the above POGIL implementations. The use of digital ink allows the instructor to enhance any lecture portion by writing with color, highlighting regions of text, sketching diagrams and even opening a new blank page to diverge from the prepared materials. Software such as Classroom Presenter™ is designed to allow quick deviation from the prepared notes by either scaling down die projected image (leaving blank space surrounding class notes), or by generating on-demand digital whiteboards. The whiteboard ability of most ink enabled presentation software generates flexibility in the classroom that was otherwise unobtainable, especially in the large lecture format class. Instructors can now respond to student questions and focus class attention to the projected discussion not provided in the printed class notes. Additionally, instructors may generate 'on-the-fly' questions based upon the discussion within and amongst groups. The projection of the on-the-fly question ensures that each student has a proper copy (it is seen and heard) and, by the act of writing, the question is seen as relevant to the course. The mini-lecture time may also be used in an alternative manner, such as using so called "mind mapping" software, as shown in Figure 8. Mind maps can be employed to capture student preconceptions about a topic or to visually organize relationships amongst concepts to be covered in a chapter, section, or

Figure 8. Portion of an instructor created Mindjet MindManager map generated during the mini-lecture portion of class


171 POGIL activity. As suggested by Knight (70), comparing concept maps based upon student beliefs to those created by the instructor is an awakening experience. By generating the student mind map directly from class discussion, the comparison of the structure and connections made by students and faculty can be appreciated by all in attendance. Thus far, mind mapping comparisons have been overwhelmingly welcomed by general chemistry students at ASU.


Impact on Learning Although Ztickerman has not utilized SALG surveys in his class, there are two important observations worth noting. Grades in his sections of introductory chemistry have improved as compared to the two years prior to introduction of both the tablet PC and the POGIL model, especially in terms of the percentage achieving an A or B. The drop rate, however, has reduced by approximately 10% over the same period. In addition, student evaluations of the instructor have been more favorable. However, these same evaluations do not place the activities in as favorable a light. That is, some students do not see the POGIL activities as responsible for their success. Instead, a large number of students view their success as coming despite the POGIL activities. Students continuing their chemistry education do come to realize their improved long term learning and process skills, and often make this point known during advising sessions or informal meetings. As in the introductory courses, the upper level physical chemistry course has seen a significant increase in performance and satisfaction with the professor since introducing the tablet PC and, especially, POGIL. But, unlike the introductory courses, these more seasoned students attribute their success to the guided inquiry methods. One student boasted that he "cannot imagine learning thermo by someone standing infrontof me and lecturing."

Conclusion The tablet PC can be a valuable tool in an active, student centered classroom. Networked student tablet PC's combined with classroom management software can enhance learning, and maximize the efficient use of class time from both an instructor's perspective and the student's perspective. The next step is the scale up of the technology to transform the static teachercentered environment of a large lecture hall to an active, learner-centered environment, engaging students in a way as never before in a class of 500. In addition, heretofore-untried pedagogical uses of networked tablet PC's should be explored. For example, tablet software, which records strokes made on a tablet PC and saves them to a movie file for later playback, could be invaluable in collecting student work that can be studied in an educational research environment. Studying the incremental output of the student brain, may lead to a deeper understanding of how students learn chemistry.


172 Networked tablets could also have a significant impact on distance learning by making it less isolated; small groups of the same class could meet in several different locations with an instructor who can interact with all of them. All in all it promises to be an exciting decade for the integration of technology in the active, learned-centered classroom.


Acknowledgements Christina Mewhinney is very grateful to Hewlett Packard and Eastfield College for support of this work. This project could not have been successful without the outstanding and constant technical support from the IT department at Eastfield College. Eric Zttckerman extends thanks to the Department of Chemistry and Physics at Augusta State University for their support in his applications of technology and POGIL. In addition, Eric is grateful to John Hill at Allegiance Technology Partners for creating the "48 Hour Tablet Demo" program that first introduced him to the benefits of the tablet PC. Both authors extend their thanks to the POGIL organization for extensive help with active, learner-centered pedagogy.

References 1. 2.

Wolfskill, Troy; Hanson, David. J. Chem. Educ. 2001, 78, 1417. Farrell, John J.; Moog, Richard S.; Spencer, James N. J. Chem. Educ. 1999, 76, 570. 3. Hanson, David M.; Wolfskill, Troy. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 120. 4. Johnson, D. W.; Johnson, R. T.; Smith, K. A. Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom; Interaction Book Company: Edina, MN, 1991. 5. Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning, URL http://www.pogil.org. Last accessed, October, 2007. 6. Mewhinney, Christina, "High Tech-High Touch" Mobile Technology: Using Wireless Pen Based Technology to Enhance A Cooperative & Guided Inquiry Learning Environment in General and Organic Chemistry Lectures and Labs, http://www.eastfieldcollege.com/smpe/chemistry/HPGrant/index.html. Last accessed, October, 2007 7. Straumanis, Andrei, Organic Chemistry: A Guided Inquiry, Houghton Mifflin: Boston, MA, 2004. 8. Student Assessment of Learning Gains, URL http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/salgains/instructor/SALGains.asp. Last accessed, October, 2007. 9. Adams, J.; Prather, E. E.; Slator, T.; Dostal, J. Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, 1 Ed; Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005. 10. Knight, R. D., Five Easy Lessons: Strategies for Successful Physics Teaching; Addison Wesley: San Francisco, CA, 2004. st


Enhancing the POGIL Experience with Tablet Personal Computers

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