Tablet Technology in First Year Calculus and Linear Algebra Teaching

Although tablet technology has been around for more than a decade, it seems to be used mainly in niche markets such as arts and design, and it appears to have bypassed most of academia. The purpose of this paper is to show the usefulness and effectiveness of tablet technology in undergraduate mathematics teaching by sharing experiences made using a graphics tablet for lecturing a large first year class. It is meant to encourage discussion of current teaching tools, for instance for lecture delivery, preparation of on-line material and student consultation at a distance. This technology allows writing by hand on the computer as well as keeping a record of what has been written, which makes publication of this material on the course website very simple.