Are you trying to meet state technology expectations with too few computers? I have a prospect you may not have considered: personal digital assistants (PDAs). These small, yet powerful, handheld devices have very few drawbacks and offer a great deal of application for the classroom. They are priced far below desktop and laptop computers yet offer many of the same characteristics and features as their big brothers.

Handheld, personal digital assistants (PDAs) can help stretch limited technology dollars by allowing flexibility in the deployment of computers in a school. What's more, many educators have found that the freedom of movement provided by handheld technology fits well with individualizing student curriculum.

What can Students Do with PDAs?

Handheld devices are proving to be ideally suited to use in schools. Students can use PDAs to:

• access the Internet,
• take tests,
• practice assignments,
• do flashcards,
• perform science experiments,
• keep schedules,
• track grades and assignments,
• take notes,
• graph data and perform calculations, and
• do word processing.

Even better, each student can work at his or her own level.and there are literally hundreds of programs written for PDAs.

The Benefits of Using Handhelds in the Classroom

How do handheld devices help students and educators in the classroom? Some of the benefits for schools include:

• Greater availablity. The cost of the devices is lower than larger computers, and there is lower downtime for repair because the devices require less maintenance.
• Schools can achieve a much wider distribution of technology resources using limited funds. Providing more students the opportunity to work with technology, more often.
• More students or teachers are provided with their own computing tools.
• PDA handhelds enable a wide range of classroom configurations and mobility for students and teachers.

PDAs have an amazing ability for information transfer. Each handheld has an infrared beaming capability. The teacher can load information, collect test scores, or add worksheets with no wires, simply by pointing at the other unit and beaming the data.

Mobile Computer Lab

Some schools have developed a "rolling computer lab." PDAs are stored on a rolling cart with enough handheld computers for every student in class. The cart is equipped with a hub or router plugged into the wall Internet or LAN connection. Each student can then access the internet at his or her seat.

This makes sense economically. The cost of a full scale computer lab may cost over $100,000 as well as take valuable student classroom space. The rolling cart costs a fraction of that (often less than $12,000 for a top of the line cart and the latest PDAs loaded with software). And the cart is usable in any part of the building and accessible to all.

The cart lab is a very creative and proven idea. These PDA carts give every student access to the opportunities that come with technology. Students don't lose time walking to the computer lab. Technology is integrated into the curriculum and the classroom. Students can use the technology to solve problems as they come up and enables them to meet future challenges.

We'll discuss PDA applications and programs available to the classroom teacher in our next article... Stay tuned!

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