PDA ~ Personal Digital Assistants
Students and professors are learning to communicate in
new and interesting ways at Wake Forest University using their IPAQ Pocket
PCs. Software programmers at the school are creating programs so that
students can interact during class with the professor. To begin with,
the professor’s PDA functions as a web server. When students enter
class, a series of questions pop up on each of their Pocket PCs. The answers
to these questions are accumulated in a database and sent to the professor
in a graph format. The professor can then decide on what topics the class
needs to focus that day by what answers the students gave on the quiz.
Students can instant message with the professor about questions or comments
on the class. Professors are also using another program entitled Pocket
Classroom to control PowerPoint presentations given from a laptop or pc
through their PocketPCs. This allows the professor the freedom to move
around the classroom instead of staying tied to their laptop or pc. The
software is available for free to download for educational purposes. More
info can be found by following these links: |
It’s not your father’s Apple Newton
Apple introduced the Newton as a first-generation handheld
computing device in the mid-1980s. It fit into the user’s hand and
came with a funny looking stick called a stylus for writing directly onto
the screen. However, it had some problems. First, it didn’t always
recognized the words that were written on the screen. And, its screen
was nearly impossible to see. Finally, it didn’t really fit into
the pocket very easily. These and other factors kept this technology from
taking off 20 some-odd years ago, but now many educators see that Apple
was on the mark with handheld computers. |
21st century handheld computers
A handheld computer is a computer that fits into the palm of your hand and can be used as a calculator, word processor, dictionary, test-taking device, scientific probe, digital camera, digital audio recorder, as well as a calendar and address book. In 1996, Palm introduced its first Pilot series with
a 1000 and 5000 model. These were more like electronic calendars and address
books than powerful computers; however, Palm did not consider its operating
system proprietary so it allowed third parties to develop software applications
for its devices. This approach to developing new technology has allowed
Palm to rise to the top of the handheld computing market. Many different
brands of handheld computers exist in today’s market. Companies
that make handheld devices that operate using the Pocket PC format are
Casio, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba. Palm OS is used by Handspring,
Sony, and of course, Palm devices. |
Price and Portability
The main two reasons that schools would benefit from
handheld computers are price and portability. The price of a handheld
computer ranges from $99 to $500, yet even the most expensive handheld
device is much less than a desktop computer. Another advantage for school
use is that the handheld devices can be taken from classroom to classroom
as well as from school to home and back with great ease. The array of
available software including freeware and shareware that allows students
to create word processing documents, spreadsheets, drawings, and other
digital media is incredible |
Applications in the Classroom
Besides they are easy to carry and cheaper than desktops, what makes handheld computers such a great asset in today’s classrooms? First, handheld devices allow “beaming” which is how the computers communicate with each other. This feature allows students to collaborate on projects since they can write a few sentences about their topic and beam it to their team leader. Then after the team leader has collected all the group members’ input, she can create a group report and beam it back to everyone for approval. Students can also beam their work to the teacher’s device for grading or the printer for printing. Another way teachers and students can use handheld computers in the classroom is for scientific data collection. There are many peripheral probes that work with handheld device which students can use to measure alkalinity, pressure, temperature, and many other types of field data from experiments. English teachers can have students write their papers on their handhelds and then beam them to other students for revision and editing. Then, the student can get his/her paper back from the peer and see what changes were made. This type of technology can encourage students to revise and edit each other’s papers with a careful eye. Handhelds can also be used successfully with elementary students. Amy Nicholas from Mountain Brook Elementary in Mountain Brook, Alabama, wanted to engage her students in a fun interdisciplinary unit called Super Sleuth. In order to do that, she wanted to use handheld devices. So she created a scenario in which the students were looking for the teacher’s lost cookies. The third graders used their handhelds to plan their investigation as well as for math, reading, and research. Students were able to use free applications such as PicoMap and Mr. Sketchy to collect clues in their search. In addition to reading mysteries, Ms. Nicholas’s class wrote their own using the Memo Pad feature on their Palms. After they had solved their lost cookie mystery by collecting and analyzing all the clues on their Palms, Ms. Nicholas’s class continued to learn to use the features such as the date book, address book, and calendar for personal productivity. For more about this teacher’s use of handhelds, please go to http://www.palm.com/education/studies/study11.html For more success stories about handheld computing in education, go to http://www.palm.com/education/studies |
Handheld Devices for Teachers and Administrators
Teachers and administrators can use handheld computers for many tasks including keeping up with attendance, grades, and discipline records. With wireless capabilities, handheld devices can access the school’s administrative program from anywhere in the building. This allows administrators in the hall or out at the bus stop to look up a child’s discipline record on the spot. An innovative program for school leaders was undertaken by the state of Alaska to get a handheld device to all 450 principals in the state by 2004. This program trains administrators how to use the devices and encourages them to build handheld computer networks at their schools. For more information, please visit http://www.palm.com/education/studies/study30.html Other uses for classroom teachers include recording QRI
data for reading instruction, collecting and storing demographic data
about students, and keeping a calendar of assignments and meetings as
well as a grade book. |
Handheld Computing Resources
Handheld Computing in Education from ETTC http://www.lr.k12.nj.us/ETTC/archives/handheld.shtml Handheld Computing in Education http://www.rainbowtech.org/Palm/ Handheld Computing: New Best Tech Tool or Just a Fad? http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=04palm.h21 Handheld Learning http://educatorspalm.org/ HICE Palm Pages http://www.handheld.hice-dev.org/ Intel Education: The Next Small Thing--Handheld Computing http://www.intel.com/education/teachtech/resources/archives/next_small_thing.htm K-12 Handhelds from the Florida Technology Leadership Summit Learning in Hand http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/p5/handhelds/index.html Palm Education http://www.palm.com/education/ |
| References:
Pownell, D. and Bailey, G.D. (2001) Getting a Handle on Handhelds. Electronic School. Retrieved on November 6, 2002 from http://www.electronic-school.com/2001/06/0601handhelds.html
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