HANDHELD TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION

“Education technology and school construction go together. Modernization, updating education facilities, and making a capital investment in education are all included.” -Major Owens


Handheld technologies bring the power of computing to devices that we can hold in our hands. Handheld devices are characterized by the limited display size. They may/may not have a keyboard or a point/selection device. Examples of such devices include graphing calculators, cell phones, PDA, iPOD, etc. This report takes a look at three such devices that are continuing to make an impact in education.


GRAPHING CALCULATORS


Graphing calculator is an advanced calculator that could be used to perform complex mathematical functions and analyze function graphs.

Graphing calculators are commonly used and widely popular in schools. Many manufacturers market them as educational tools. A number of high school teachers encourage students to use them. A wide variety of programs and classroom activities for its use is readily available on the web. Advanced programmable calculators offer a lot more potential in learning and understanding complex math. They could also be used to take notes, to keep a personal grade book, or to store phone numbers. Interestingly, calculators were the among the first few of all hand held technology used in schools that also came under intense scrutiny for decades. Teachers and parents wondered if an entire population would become machine dependent. Nevertheless, teachers, students, parents, and schools have come such a long way that the age old scrutiny seems almost irrelevant in this day and age.



iPOD

iPOD is a combination digital audio player and portable hard drive with a reputation for being very user-friendly.

iPOD, being popular among students already, offers itself as a good educational tool for teachers to connect audio and visual learning in a portable environment. Teachers are beginning to see a wider usage for it in many subject areas in classroom activities. Downloadable study guides and review notes are just some of the examples. Pod casting is now considered by many teachers and technology proponents as an effective interactive technology tool. iPOD could also be used to give PowerPoint presentations and keep track of phone numbers, email addresses and schedules. It is also being experimented as an assistive technology tool for special education students.


PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)


PDA is a term for any small mobile hand held device that provides computing, information storage, and retrieval capabilities for personal and business use. It is often used for keeping schedule calendars and address book information handy.

PDA is gaining popularity as an educational tool with a lot more teachers experimenting its use in the classrooms. PDA is being recognized by many teachers as a good collaborative learning technology tool. Many technology proponents believe that since a variety of educational applications now exist for PDA, a number of students could benefit by its use in classroom activities. Students could use PDA to take notes, track assignments and even finish home work. It is believed that such activities with the use of a PDA also help enhance organizational skills in students.


BENEFITS

Handhelds are not likely to replace other technologies currently used in schools. Instead they can address specific needs. Handhelds give students more opportunity to learn and explore through problem based investigations. They encourage ubiquitous learning and customize to some extent learning to their individual needs. Handheld devices increase productivity by reducing factors such as installation time and elaborate computer labs. Devices such as PDA are also a relatively low cost alternative to laptops for use in simple classroom applications. Handhelds being portable, not only help students to familiarize themselves with the latest advances in technology on the go, but also to get comfortable with them. They also have a great potential to make a huge impact on learning, teaching and understanding with special needs students.


“…The first true step for school leaders is to take comfort in the realization that a willingness to learn anything about technology is a step toward the integration of technology in your life. Because the technology integration process is multidimensional rather than linear, we have to remember that each participant in the technology revolution approaches this culture in a different way. That is why there is no clear global definition of technology integration. And like so many other issues related to the evolution of a school, the job of figuring out how technology plays a role in student learning and achievement is up to the leadership team of a community to decide.”
– Prof. Chris Dede, Harvard Graduate School of Education



Citations and interesting links:

Graphing calculators - wikipedia

Graphing calculators - Texas Instruments

Impact of hand held graphing calculator use

Learning with handhelds - Berrien County project

Wichita public schools Technology curriculum

iPod for learning

Effects of handheld computers on teaching and learning - by Elliot Soloway & Cathie Norris

Article: Future of hand held technologies in education

Article: Educational PDA games

Article: The paradox of integrating handheld technology in schools

Projection Keyboard