Workshop on the Impact of Pen-based Technology on Education (WIPTE) registration has opened, agenda is posted, and abstracts are available. The deadline for early registration is September 14, 2009. Here is a note from the WIPTE committee:

If you are interested in the use of Tablet PCs or other types of pen-based technology to support teaching and learning in varied disciplines, please visit www.wipte.org to learn more about WIPTE (the Workshop on the Impact of Pen-based Technology on Education). 

WIPTE 2009 will be held October 12-13, 2009 at Virginia Tech.  The workshop covers multiple subject areas and is intended to identify and share best practices related to the use of Tablet PCs and pen-based computing in both K-12 and higher education.  Each WIPTE paper presentation includes an assessment component as an important part of the presentation. The WIPTE program also includes keynote talks, poster presentations, hands-on sessions and vendor booths.  Corporate sponsors will be providing giveaways including two HP 2730p Tablets, an HP iPaq 910 Business Messenger cell phone and more.

Additional information including the workshop schedule, travel information and links to an online registration form are available at www.wipte.org.  An early registration fee of $50 is in effect through September 14^th. After that date the fee increases to $100.

We hope to see you in October!

Imagine Cup '09 kicks off tonight in Cairo, Egypt with an opening ceremony at the Citadel. Ray Ozzie just told stories about when he was a student at University of Illinois and impressed by the developer of PLATO, innovators like Dan Bricklin, and how these students have an opportunity to solve real issues in the world with software. Joe Wilson is now continuing with the power of dreams coming true and how the world can use some more big, new dreams.

Over the next five days students will compete on how their ideas can make an impact. Good luck to all of these students during the competition.

Learning to write is an intergral part of schooling and with advancements in Tablet technology, the ability for students to learn to write and continue using practical skills like note-taking on a computer is a great opportunity. More work is needed in the area of Tablet technology and accessibility. Microsoft is requesting that students put thought into this area during its annual Imagine Cup competition.

This year the Imagine Cup has a Tablet Accessibility Award with first place prize of $8000, a Tablet PC, and a trip to the Imagine Cup finals in Cairo.  The competition already started and first round ends in 21 days. So please help spread the word to interested students!

Students aged 16 and older must be attending an accredited four year high school or college, either full or part time.  

Imagine Cup Tablet Accessibility Award overview  

The object of the Tablet Accessibility Award is to create a new education application that uses Tablet technology while expanding the possibilities about how a user interacts with the computer. The application should reflect the Imagine Cup theme, “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems facing us today,” as it relates to the United Nations Millennium Goal of Universal Education.

This Award competition starts at 12:01 AM Greenwich Mean Time (“GMT”) on April 3^rd, 2009 and ends at 11:59 PM (GMT) on May 20^th, 2009 (“Entry Period”). The Entry Period consists of two (2) separate Rounds

First Place:

• $8,000 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of the Team
• A Tablet device (Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC) for each officially registered member of the Team. ARV US $ 1,028,00
• A trip for each officially registered member of the Team to Cairo, Egypt to attend the Worldwide Finals. Trip includes round trip coach air travel, standard hotel accommodations and select meals.

Second Place:

• $4,000 USD, to be divided equally among each officially registered member of the Team
• A Tablet device (Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC) for each officially registered member of the Team. ARV US $ 1,028,00
• A trip for each officially registered member of the Team to Cairo, Egypt to attend the  Worldwide Finals. Trip includes round trip coach air travel, standard hotel accommodations and select meals

See http://imaginecup.com/Competition/mycompetitionportal.aspx?competitionId=34 for contest details, rules, and eligibility information.

Panansonic selected InPlay Technologies new digital pen and touch solution for its Toughbook CF-H1, mobile clinical assistant (MCA) for doctors and nurses. See press release for details.

InPlay also recently announced its new pen solution that works with capacitive touch screens, called WriteSense technology. Unlike other products, WriteSense adds pen functionality to capacitive touch solutions that exist in the supply chain. This approach offers a lower cost integration. See press release and product brochure for details.

OQO has been leading the way on ultra-mobile PCs for several years now, with its release of the OQO model 1 in 2004. During CES 2009, OQO officially launched its third version: OQO model 2+. Just like its predecessors, the OQO model 2+ is a full PC, so you can run all your standard Windows applications and be productive anytime, anywhere.

In addition to adopting Intel Atom Z540 (1.86GHz) or Z520 (1.33GHz) processor, the OQO model 2+ features a 5" WVGA OLED display, which offers a beautiful viewing angle and rich colors. It also has a touch screen, which supports stylus and finger entry.

Size comparison of the OQO model 2+ with the Apple iPhone. Though these two products compliment each other, as the OQO model 2+ can run iTunes and be the PC to which you sync your phone, they are also similar in size.

The keypad, which slides behind the display for compact travel, offers full number pad, cursor joystick, and standard QWERTY keys.

  Full specifications on OQO.com

Kevin Huang, Senior Marketing Director at ASUS, and I were talking about how important it is for OEMs to incorporate feedback from end-users. ASUS is known to many as the #1 motherboard manufacturer and they've been working hard to let people know that they are successful with mobile PCs, and want you to join them in producing the first community designed mobile PC.

ASUS is partnering with Intel on WePC.com, where you can send in your ideas about a dream mobile PC. This banner at ASUS's #ces09 booth shows real concepts. Do you see the one you submitted?

ASUS & Intel are partnering to help bring people's dream PC to reality. Submit your ideas at WePC.com.

Current submissions are displayed on this banner. Many have to do with using PCs in new and modular ways.

Creating the book paradigm -- or breaking the PC paradigm is a repeated design concept.

This user submitted concept will look familiar to those who use convertible Tablet PCs.

More multiple screen, slate, or dual screen concepts.

HP's incorporation of natural interaction with PCs has hit a new high, with its successful TouchSmart PC and TouchSmart TX2 Tablet PC. The TouchSmart PC offers large viewing space, with its 22" or 25.5" display. People could easily see benefits of saving space by getting rid of an old tower, as well as being able to point and go. "I can get this for my parents," exclaimed one person playing with it. Later same comment came from people at CntrStg, who were using a TouchSmart PC running Windows 7 beta and multi-touch.

Both TouchSmart products are offered through HP's consumer division. Interestingly, we heard several comments from people interested in buying it for enterprise and education clients too. Will HP listen and as a result expand what they offer to their business clients?

HP TouchSmart PC and TouchSmart TX2 Tablet PC featured on the "Touch" rounds.

HP TouchSmart TX2 displayed as a slate.

 
HP TouchSmart TX2 in notebook mode. Writing with fingertip using Microsoft Journal.

We opened Journal for the first time on a couple of TouchSmart TX2s. (We knew it was the first time because Journal asked if we wanted to install the print driver.) People looked over our shoulders to see what we were doing, and I think were happy to see ink in addition to touch. Our goal was to answer how well we could write with the HP TouchSmart TX2. A quick check of the digitizer is scribbling all over the edges in Journal. The good news is no rogue lines!

I am looking forward to trying Windows 7 beta on the TouchSmart TX2, as it will support more than two finger multi-touch.

TabletPc2.com started to post its 6th annual List for Santa: Holiday Gift Guide. With over 160 products, items will be added to the list over the next several days. Tablet PCs, Entertainment PCs, Mini-Notebooks are already up and Fun & Entertainment and Digital Cameras are going up soon.

On the first day of WIPTE (Workshop on the Impact of Pen-Based Technology on Education), attendees decided that on the second day of the workshop that they'd record their own I'm a PC commercial -- describing to the world the value and fun aspects of using Tablet PCs. Joe Tront from Virginia Tech just made this video available on YouTube. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to do this. This is my favorite "I'm a PC" story yet.

What do they describe as benefits? Here's a list:

1. Touch
2. Take notes
3. Record lectures
4. Share ideas
5. Make music
6. Can make eye contact and write
7. Engage students in learning
8. Annotate on diagrams
9. Help achieve dreams
10. Help teachers teach and students learn
11. Do the twist ;)
12. joke about lost pen
13. Do physics!
14. Use it

As the Zvi states in the video, "Tablet PC, that's the way to go!"

In flipping through feeds today, I've run across some very nice comments about Tablet PCs. Here are three from twitter.

OpinionatedGeek: @scribbl - I'm not sure how much serious work I could get done on my iPhone, but boy is it handy! I do love the Tablet PC interface though.

songsnchaos: @rasrasras I got tired of scanning. But I saved up and bought myself a tablet so I LOVE the PC now.

bmcbreen: @stephaniehayden Don't tell Uncle Steve, but I am enjoying my new tablet PC + MS OneNote combo; but if that pen works, it's got competition