James Hromadka is a Senior Editor at VisorCentral.com, a meeting place for Visor users and prospective Visor users all over the world. At VisorCentral.com,
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The field of education provides the makers of handheld computers with a wonderful opportunity for introducing their products to a growing, interested, intelligent and technically savvy market: students. Palm is making strides at the University of South Dakota while Bachman Software's PrintBoy application will be used at in Orlando Park, Illinois, and at East Carolina University (ECU), students are using Handspring Visors in courses specifically designed to utilize handhelds. I had an opportunity to speak with Dave Watkins, Special Assistant for Information Technology and Distributed Education Projects and asked him about the university's "Handsprings to Learning" program.
Hromadka: Tell us about the "Handsprings to Learning" (HtL) program at ECU. What is it, and how many students are in the program?
Watkins: The Handsprings to Learning program at East Carolina University is designed to enhance the teaching and learning processes by deploying handheld computers -- and soon wireless connectivity technology -- for faculty and student use alike. Handheld technology has advanced to the extent that the handheld computer now works in conventional and wireless environments and is a cost-effective means of instruction and communication.
Currently, the program has approximately seventy-five students enrolled in 6 courses. Each student uses a Handspring Visor Deluxe including a Springboard backup module; a modem; and MultiMail Pro, QuickSheet, WordSmith, Firepad, Docs to Go and AvantGo software, all of which were purchased by the university. The School of Education offers two on-campus courses. Two off-campus, web-based courses are offered by the School of Industry and Technology and the School of Nursing offers one course. The sixth course is an Honors course in art taught by a faculty member from the School of Art.
This year
Hromadka: Anything new planned for this year?
Watkins: When the fall semester 2001 begins, it is anticipated that at least two new academic offerings will be a part of program. The School of Art hopes to offer a color and design course using the Prism and the Xircom SpringPort Wireless Ethernet module with approximately 100 students. Also, the Sports Medicine option in the School of Health and Human Performance is likely to use the Visor within its athletic training program both for a course offering and in the clinical (on the field or court) setting.
In addition to the above, Handspring, Inc. is partnering with East Carolina University and North Pitt High School in Bethel, NC in supporting a joint venture that will bring the Handspring Visor into the secondary school environment. Participating teachers will receive a Visor, Springboard modules and selected software designed to assist them with their teaching and administrative functions.
Academic content prepared by each course professor is accessed from an AvantGo server purchased through a partnership with Ericsson Communications and a project known as Online Wireless Learning Solutions (OWLS). The Handspring Visor and Springboard modules are being used by faculty and staff, as well as by students at the university. The East Carolina University Information Technology and Computer Systems unit provides training and technical support for the students in the Handsprings to Learning program and for faculty and staff. Web based support is also available.
The goal of the program is to discover just how well these small devices can serve as an academic tool. Periodic checks are being made during the semester and participating faculty are developing a list of "best practices" for use of the handheld computers in future courses.
Students & Faculty
Hromadka: I myself am pursuing my MBA right now, and several people in my class have handhelds. I wish we had courses designed for handhelds like ECU does! How have students responded to the program? Are you seeing an increase in non-HtL students purchasing Visors?
Watkins: Students in the program have responded favorably. Here are a few of their comments on the program:
"I have found the Visor to be quite useful in my studies for DTEC6810. Once I got the hang of configuring and operating my Visor, I found that Hotsyncing to get assignments and grades was quite easy. ... Overall, I have enjoyed [the course], learning about the Visor, and expanding my thinking in terms of digital communications."
"The use of the Handspring Visor has been a very exciting learning experience. My job requires me to travel several times a month. I have used to Visor to check the weekly assignments, the grade board, and my e-mail while traveling without having to carry a laptop around. I learn how to save in telephone charges by quickly downloading e-mail and e-magazines. Then I can read the magazines and respond to e-mail while flying and setting in the airport. You can send your responses by quickly connecting and sending the e-mail. ... I have truly enjoyed this learning experience."
There has been a significant surge in the purchase of the Handspring handheld and its Springboard modules by students and faculty alike in our College Store. All Handspring handhelds except the Edge - Solo, Visor Deluxe, Prism - are available. Many Springboard modules are available too. As soon as the Xircom SpringPort Wireless Ethernet module comes on the retail market, its expected that sales will become even better. With ECU's extensive wireless Ethernet network in place that includes many academic buildings, residence halls, dining areas and external corridors, its anticipated that students will move to the handheld computer rather than a notebook system for accessing e-mail, the web, chatting (AIM), course content, etc.
Hromadka: Excellent! Now that the program has been running for several semesters, what are some of the challenges you have faced in the program? Has there been any resistance from any faculty members in using the Visors?
Watkins: There have been many challenges to face, none of which has been insurmountable. The biggest decision was in deciding whether to use the Visor or the Pocket PC. We chose the Visor because of its stable operating system, the track record of Jeff Hawkins and his team with US Robotics/3 Com, its cost vis-á-vis the Pocket PC and its expandability with the Springboard module.
Faculty members across the campus have been very receptive to the using the handheld computer once the word got out about its potential. In fact we have faced little or no resistance to the initiative once the project was funded. We are now finding more faculty wanting to use handheld computers with their classes than we can support. It's likely that we will move to a handheld computer requirement of some sort for our students in the near future.
The Future
Hromadka: It's good to see that the program has the faculty's backing. Have you been contacted by any other universities about the program?
Watkins: Yes, in fact we have had many institutions contacting us about what we are doing. For example, one of our faculty members will be presenting about the program at the University of Southern California at the end of the month. Two weeks ago, other two other faculty members were making presentations on the Handsprings to Learning program in Atlanta and Seattle.
HromadkaPrograms like "Handsprings to Learning" are a great way to get students started with handheld technology. It always amazes me how the initial concept of the PalmPilot has ballooned into a technology platform that universities and corporations alike are using in ways that no one could have imagined. I recently attended the Shell Houston Open and saw some amazing ways that the PGA Tour is using handheld computers. IBM updates the in-progress leader boards instantaneously by using a technology called SHOTlink, which wirelessly updates the players' scores after every stroke. I watched as an official scorer followed behind the golfers and tapped onto her Palm V after each stroke. This information was fed to another person farther down the fairway. He then used a distance measurer that was also connected to a Palm V to update a special web feature of the PGA that allows golf fans to see exactly where their favorite pro is hitting the ball. I've seen commercials for a similar program for baseball fans, and to me this is a fantastic way to utilize handhelds in the enterprise market.
So what does this mean to Visor owners? You could start seeing your favorite handheld computer being used for everything from golf tournaments to hotel registration. We've seen news items on Bluetooth demonstrations; now it's time to see the Visor in action. The scorekeeper I saw had a "fanny pack" that held the wireless equipment, but a Visor solution could incorporate the technology into a Springboard module.
We should also start seeing handhelds used more in programs such as the one at ECU. No more standing in long lines for last-minute registration -- just hand out a few wireless-enabled Visors and let the students register for their courses with a few quick taps. It will be interesting to read this article again in about five years and see how far we've come in handheld usage.
Watkins: It is an exciting time for all as we see the power of the handheld computer take hold in the education and corporate environments. None of us truly knows what the future will hold when it comes to communicating with information technology tools; but it is becoming more obvious everyday that the handheld computer, in whatever form, will be a device that will transform how we educate and do business.
For example, wireless Ethernet networks on college campuses and elsewhere may soon be so pervasive and used so widely that students and faculty will no longer be tethered to desktop computers. They will have teaching and learning opportunities occurring in new environments (independent of the traditional classroom) because of the mobility that wireless connectivity permits. This may likely be true for the corporate setting too.
Smaller and less-heavy notebook and handheld computers will be the tools of choice as more wireless networks become available. Soon persons will be able to eat lunch in a McDonald's or have coffee at Starbuck's and access the Internet to exchange email, browse the web, work on course assignments, forward sales data, file reports, etc. at speeds far faster than are currently available using a VisorPhone or a Prism with Yada Yada.
James, thank you for your time and thanks to VisorCentral for the positive impact it is having on handheld computing.
Hromadka: Thank you, Dave for providing students with an excellent foundation in handheld technology. It won't be long before handhelds become as common as binders in American schools. If you would like additional information about ECU's program, you can contact Dave Watkins at watkinsd@mail.ecu.edu.
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