The tablets weren't forced upon the students or faculty members, the researchers note.
"We gave them the tablets and said, 'Use it any way you want if it increases your productivity,'" Chhajed said. "We didn't say, 'Don't play games or watch movies,' or put any other prohibitions or restrictions on it. We gave them the tools and then let them choose how to use it. And they used it for the things that mattered to them."
The results were more positive than were anticipated by program administrators, said Norma I. Scagnoli, director of e-learning with the College of Business and co-author of the paper.
"As someone who comes from the e-learning field, it was very interesting to see how students responded to what was then a new technology," she said. Scagnoli, also a research professor with the College of Education, said it was an enlightening experiment to see which aspects of the technology worked for students -- as well as which didn't.