Digital Communication Tools

Chapter 7: On-Screen Writing--Tablet PCs

Additional Activities

Blueprint

Objective

Design and draw a blueprint for your dream home.

Materials

Tablet PC with Journal installed
Architecture and design magazines
Sample blueprints

Procedure

Imagine your dream home. What rooms would you include? How would you design the dream home?
In a small group, brainstorm ideas and record your ideas on the Tablet PC. Share these ideas with the class.
Look through architecture and design magazines to enhance your ideas.
Study some sample blueprints.
Design your blueprints on the Tablet PC in the Journal program. Be as detailed as possible and list reasons for including certain features.
Present your blueprints to the class. Discuss how ideas changed during the brainstorming process.

Extension

Pretend you are designing a new high school. You are responsible for designing the high school to meet the needs of the students and staff. Call a mock school board meeting with other members of the class. Present your ideas in front of the mock school board.

Survey Results

Objective

Design a survey and ask a population of your peers to answer the questions. Create a bar graph on the Tablet PC and record your results.

Materials

Tablet PC with Journal
Examples of various types of graphs displaying the results of surveys

Procedure

Study various types of graphs displaying the results of surveys. Discuss the information contained in these surveys.

How was the information gathered?
What can you learn from these graphs?
How might the graphs be deceiving?

Design a survey based on a question of your choice or the following question: “What is your favorite day of the week?”
Ask fellow students at school to answer the survey question. Record your results in the Journal program of the Tablet PC.
Discuss with your class what type of graph would best represent the results. Consider using a bar graph or a pie chart.
Design the graph in the Journal program of the Tablet PC and use various colors to enhance understandability.
Discuss the results of your graphs.

Are there differences between the graphs?
Why might these differences exist?
How might the graph be different if you interviewed a different group of people, such as police officers, doctors, or parents?
How would the results be different if you interviewed a larger group of people or a smaller group of people?

Extension

Design a survey to address a question of your choice. Share results with the class.

Tourism Maps

Objective

Discuss the important landmarks or tourist destinations in your community and create a map labeling these sites.

Materials

Tablet PC with Journal
Pamphlets of various tourist destinations in your community obtained from your local tourism department or business bureau

Procedure

Brainstorm places visitors to your community would like to visit. Some places could be local, state, and national parks, historical sites, museums, lakes, rivers, and shopping areas.
Share your ideas with the class.
If possible, visit these sites to gather more information regarding these sites. Students can interview workers at these sites to find out more about the people who visit these sites.
Create a tourist map of the community and include important visitor sites. Add details such as hours of operation, cost of admission, and other important information.
Print and share the maps with the class.

Extension

Share the information you gathered and maps you created with your area's tourist office. These maps may provide valuable sources of information to visitors in your area.