I began using a handheld computer in August of 2000. As a student at Millersville University that needed more organization and less paper, I decided to go to a PDA to be my tool for note-taking and contact orginization. I first saw a Psion PDA in my PreCalc class the previous fall semester, and thought that it was really cool that the guy was able to take his notes on it and still read it. He let me play with it for some time after a class and after that I was hooked on getting myself a PDA. After seeing what was out there, I decided to purchase a Palm IIIx. For me it combined the best of expansion ability and pocketability; and since I had already started to use Outlook on a more frequent basis, it thought that this would be a great way to take Outlook with me without lugging around a folder or a laptop.
I chose the IIIx becasue of its versility. I would be able to add a keyboard or modem. And it had an internal expansion slot that could have plenty of future uses. Little did I know, the IIIx was being discontinued for the IIIxe. Therefore when the summer came around I was left with a decision again, get the V, get the IIIxe, or wait for the Vx and get that one. I got impatient and decided on the IIIxe. It was perfect for me. I began using it in my college algebra class, first as a calculator and then as the notebook for the class when I got a handle on using Graffiti. I then began looking on the web for palm sites which would help me get the most out of my purchase. I found sites such as pdaED.com, PalmInfocenter, and PDABuzz, which led me to sites where I could download more software for my IIIxe.
When I got my IIIxe, it came with Documents To Go, which was cool, except it did not have Word to Go with it. Therefore I could not create and edit documents. This led me on another great software search that has led to me becoming the PDA know-it-all at Millersville. I discovered that there was loads of software out there, some of it not so good, but there was so much out there just willing to be tried and accepted. I settled on the up-and-coming Wordsmith word-processing program and have since been able to use it for all of my document needs. It has become my notebook, e-book reader, and memo-pad. Other software found during my quest was AvantGo, which become my newpaper and new toy (I design websites for use with AvantGo software for the website design company that I work with); and OliveTree's bible reader which has become my bible. It is funny to see the reaction of people when I visit churches and they see that I have the whole KJV bible sitting on the PDA (currently, I have also managed to squeeze a NASB version on there as well). It makes for great conversation and usually ends up with the person considering to purchase a PDA for themselves, even if it is just for PIM management.
One of the places where my PDA has come in handy the most has been in my upkeeping of notes in class. I am the type of person that has not needed to take many notes to understand what was being said in a discussion. Therefore, my notebooks were always spacey and unorganized. Having my Palm has made me pay attention to what is being said in class and to think more critically of what is being said. For example, one professor used the Greek word logos to mean language, to me that did not sound correct. So I looked up the word in my lexicon that came with my bible reader and found that he used the incorrect word. He meant the word diakletos (meaning discussion words, or language) and that granted me some extra credit for that day in class.
Of couse all of my experiences with PDAs in class haven't been great. I was in a computer science class where the professor stated that she didn't understand how I could write notes or study using a PDA. I explained to her that I only use the PDA to write notes on, and then print the notes out so that I can study later. She, like some other professors that I have spoken to, see the PDA as an unnecessary computing accessory that only adds complexity to an already changing educational landscape. Though I acknowledge that PDAs aren't for everyone, I do believe that if people understand the use of a PDA as an accessory to other forms of computing and orgainizational hardware, that we will all benefit from that understanding. My goal in college has been to gain a better understanding of what I already knew. Computers I know, and PDAs help to give me a better understanding of their roles in our society.
That being said, the general reaction of most people around Millersville is that of amazment that such a small device can do so much. Millersville is in rural Lancaster county, so for most of them, to see a student buying a computer out of their own money is a bit much. As a university, Millersville is moving to a more mobile educational experience. We have distance learning classes and online classes that would probably benefit greatly if PDAs were implemented into those respective programs. Also, our business and nursing students will be seeing this technology, so I see the need for students and the university community as a whole to push the envelope of how a PDA can be used as an educational device. With students and professors jumping on the PDA and mobile computing bandwagon, it can only help if all of us understand computers and each other better.
Overall, my experience with my PDA has been awesome. Besides my outlandish claims that I could sell almost 20 PDAs a month if I had the hardware, I really see university students using them more. Even now, when seniors get their class rings, they are given Palm m100s along with their rings. People are finding out that PDAs can only help one become more organized and accessible. I personally have never been this organized and productive. I like what my "Palmie" has done to help me in that area. I still find that I stuff too much into my schedule (made evident everytime more than one alarm goes off around the same time while I am in class e-mailing my boss about some new idea for a website that I just finished drawing thumbnails of on my Palm). But the benifits have far outweighed the overloading; and I look forward to upgrading my Palm IIIxe to a new model to exploit even more out of the platform.
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Antoine Wright is a senior at Millersville University (Millersville, Pa.) with a major in Speech Communication. As one of his side jobs, he designs websites and teaches children how to properly use computers to enhance their educational experience.
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