Newton's Pen: A pen-based tutoring system for statics

We present Newton's Pen, a statics tutor implemented on a “pentop computer,” a writing instrument with an integrated digitizer and embedded processor. The tutor, intended for undergraduate education, scaffolds students in the construction of free body diagrams and equilibrium equations. This project entailed the development of sketch understanding techniques and user interface principles for creating pedagogically sound instructional tools for pentop computers. Development on the pentop platform presented novel challenges because of limited computational resources and a visually static, ink-on-paper display (the only dynamic output device is an audio speaker). We show that a system architecture based on a finite state machine serves as a convenient means for providing context-sensitive tutorial help. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of an instructional model based on a structured solution process with feedback provided at each problem-solving step. This model is designed to match the pentop's unusual user interface capabilities. Our three user studies suggest that Newton's Pen is an effective teaching tool.