11-15-2003
ESC20 Handheld Conference 2003
http://homepage.mac.com/planclos/handhelds
What place do handhelds have in education
Started with HP picture of child with lots of electronic devices (current advertisement)
Question: are you ready for her? or him? Do you have stuff in place so that you can teach to the digital child, so that you can prepare them for their future and not your past?
Patsy's grandchild Brianna
We have a substantial
- perpetuating digital divide
- we are eliminating the digital child?
Are handhelds in education about a REVOLUTION?
- or is it an evolution?
We have not asked enough essential questions about desktop computers, let
alone handhelds
- many teachers are just doing AR, checking email, surfing the internet with
search engines (not finding primary resources), doing some typing / word processing
-- computer is being used as a management tool, not as a tool to encourage
critical thinking, problem solving, etc
- how can educators use handheld computers to improve their learning communities
-- many of us are still sitting in rows, keeping our answers covered, and doing
our own work
-- that would not have solved the problem posed when the astronaut said, "Houston:
We have a problem"
- How can children and adults use handheld computers to enhance learning? (with computers period)
Management tools are wonderful if they save us time, but it really doesn't enhance learning to any extent
- What do information literate people need to be able to do with handheld
computers?
-- this does not happen with just a semester course in junior high
-- by 8th grade should be totally technologically literate, don't need how
to guides, etc
We all have a lot of excuses in education
- teachers are required to teach technology applicatons (but they must know
that themselves)
- teachers must have same mastery level expected of 8th graders (federal government
says this too)
- teachers must regularly integrated technology applications into all curricula
(performance descriptors say INTEGRATE, not teach skills in isolation)
Problem: where is the student access?
- the teacher's computer
- one of two or several in the classroom
- the lab on occasion
- the computer at home
- or no access?
Lab model or garden of computers does NOT give children the access they need to become technolog
It is philosophy not technology that will make the difference
- idea of LOANERSHIP is where we are today: come to the lap, get a mobile cart,
use one of our 3 computers, etc
- need to change this to OWNERSHIP
We need ubiquitous access
- handheld computer is one way to get there (any time, where, place for anyone)
Challenges of desktop computer: cost, size, access, simplicity
- We are today out of space, out of wires, out of money in classrooms / districts
handhelds have a small "footprint" in your classroom
children have access to them when they need them
they are simple, easier to use
instant on
longer battery life
can store huge amount of data, have new expansion cards
connectivity
- cable to computer
- infrared beam
- 801.11b
- bluetooth (many to one technology)
- ethernet
- bluefish
SRI international based out of california, sept 2002
results
- 93% of teachers believe handhelds have a positive effect on learning
- 75% who let students take Palms home report increase in homework completion
- 72% said handhelds are easier to integrate into classroom activities than
desktop computers
- 89% said handhelds are effective teaching tools
we are in this business of doing school: teaching and learning is our business
Mythical barriers
- lack of print capability / beam or capable
- time to input data / keyboards, beam, etc
- cradles are necessary / cables can do the same thing (no cradle)
- small screen / come into the 21st century: use a gameboy!
kids should be able to keyboard 25-30 wpm by end of 5th grade
You (we) are the pioneer
- palm pilot (went out of existence in 1998): first personal digital assistant,
not expandable, not beamable
-- had calendar, address book, and writing pad
-- was an electronic rollodez
3COM separated that part of the company and it become Palm Inc.
- this was the death of palm pilot
Patsy can't even give her palm pilot to any of her grandchildren (no beamable ability)
Now we have handheld computer: beamable, connectable, it is a true computer
Today's handhelds look nothing like that original PDA (palm pilot)
3 years ago Patsy gave up pager, handheld, and cell phone
How many of you nkow that your students have a handheld computer and they
use it for school purposes
- how many of your students have one but are keeping it a secret
Why use handhelds
- support teaching and learning
- manage teacher/administrator workloads
The KEYS
- must have educationally appropriate software, curriculum and professional
development
- these are the keys necessary for bringing the vision of transparent computing
to reality
Jan Mills: Alphasmart 300 is so easy to use, you can hand it to the teacher
and he/she can figure it out
- with the Dana, you MUST have professional development
-- has many more capabilities
Why use a multimedia machine to teach keyboarding? Use a cheaper appliance device!
Where to go?
- palm website
- freeware palm
- planet 5th
- free databases
- go know
- palm source
- handmark
K-8: MS Access is almost inappropriate
- you have some databases you can use on the palm
Getting websites
fling it or avant -go can grab websites for offline use
Programs on handheld
- word processing
- spreadsheet
- presentations
- databases
- graphics
- concept of mapping tools
- 1,000,000s of educational software
Multimedia: take pictures with a handheld computer
- play music, play video
Management software
- Grant Street Software
-- has suite of software that is a real bonanza of software
(deploy, express, manage, assign, remove, splash)
--- have tool like ghost imaging software (SD Deply!)
- this can assist in teaching and learning and distribution of programs
Presenter to Go
- presentation devices don't yet handle video very well
need to pick your niche, what you want to do
David Pownell and Gerald Bailey
Handheld Learning: http://educatorspalm.org/
-12 components to being a good leader and having success with handhelds
- book on "Technology Leadership for Handheld computers"
Book "Administrative Uses of Handheld Technology" (thru ISTE bookstore)
Future:
- virtual keyboards have been invented in England (not for sale in US yet apparently)
Showed Soloway intro movie
- as with mobile phones some years ago, schools will find that pupils own
their own handheld computer (if only a parental castoff)
- educators will have to decide how to respond if they are brought to school
- encouraged or banned?
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