We are the SLICE research group at the University of Illinois Computer Science Department. Our goal is to develop tablet apps for use in education. We have developed the SLICE development framework, used it to develop a variety of apps for use in classes, and studied their impact.

The SLICE framework is scriptable and multi-platform. Apps are created by writing XML files and JavaScript functions, and they will run on a variety of devices with very few - usually no - changes.

The idea is that, by allowing for ease of development and customization, we can promote testing of tablets in classes - whether informally or formally - including completely new apps and small variations on existing apps (which can make a big difference!).

Most of our apps are intended to enhnace communication in classes. To use these, each tablet will need to be connected to a wireless network. After that, they all communicate through the SliceCloud server, which makes the connection simple: all tablets supply the same "class name" to the server, and they are all connected.

If you want to use one of the apps in our gallery, go ahead and download SLICE from our download page. If you want to develop your own apps, or customize one of ours for your particular needs, let us know - we'll help as much as we can.

Sam Kamin
Wade Fagen
slice@cs.illinois.edu