Graphing Tablets in the Classroom

While many schools have been buying Smartboards, the cost of these devices has made them unattainable for some. The question I am often asked is "how can I get some of the same presentation benefits of a SB without the cost!" Aside from the Wiimote solution, I've been telling teachers to look at acquiring a graphing tablet.  I met recently with Math and Language teachers to investigate this solution

Using a projector, laptop and Wacom Bamboo tablet (any manufacturer will do), teachers are able to get some of the functionality of a SmartBoard at a fraction of the cost. The stylus that comes with the tablet allows for very natural writing and pointing motions and lets Math and Science teachers easily write and solve formulas on the screen. Language teachers are able to annotate, highlight and edit text with a minimum of fuss. Free software (like Sankoré) helps make this very affordable.

Here are my links and notes to the session I presented.