This afternoon my district is hosting Will Richardson a Web 2.0 proponent and educational blogger. However, he is offering what he is billing a “Tablet PC teaser.” I am huge fan of ‘Web 2.0′ and do see a real possibility for use in the classroom, however Web 2.0 is platform agnostic meaning there is no reason it has to be done on a tablet. Looking through his agenda it appears he will be offering real-world teaching examples, and will be presenting Microsoft One Note. One Note is a cool app when it works, my experience has been dicey, but that seems to be all the tablet platform has to offer.

We need a paradigm shift in applications before Tablets bring any real benefit over laptops to the classroom. We need a totally new interface, and new applications for a touch based platform. The iPhone works so well because it has an interface specifically designed for the 3″ screen and pudgy fingers. Window’s mobile fails, because it is a desktop interface on a cell phone. We need a tablet with a true Tablet OS, Tablet Interface, and Tablet Software. Not a port of Windows Vista with pen input.

Maybe he’ll surprise me, I hope so.