November 2003 — Features
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Portable Technology Comes of Age
In the SRI International study (2002), the teachers overwhelmingly concluded (90%) that handhelds are effective instructional tools, handhelds have the potential to have a positive impact on students' learning, and teachers will continue to use the handhelds in the future. The student teachers' attitudes in this study changed for the positive, but not to the same extent as the PEP teachers in similar beliefs that PDAs are effective educational tools (66%) and have great potential for impacting student learning (71%).
The PEP teachers concluded that the main benefits to the students were increased time using the technology, increased student motivation, increased collaboration and communications, and benefits from having a portable and accessible personal learning tool (SRI 2002). Likewise, 67% of student teachers felt that the PDAs increased student motivation and interest, 71% felt that they increased the ability to collaborate and communicate, and 80% of the student teachers increased their productivity by having a portable and accessible learning tool.
On the downside, the PEP teachers found that the major drawbacks to using the handhelds included inappropriate use (especially of beaming), technology management issues (particularly synchronization issues), usability issues (long text input) and equipment damage. The student teachers had many frustrating moments dealing with technology management issues such as loading software and synchronizing with computers. They requested more tech support and recommended a support system that spanned the university. Likewise, they felt more training from the beginning of the course was needed. No inappropriate use of the devices was noticed or reported. Usability issues generally involved having to deal with the small screen and long text passages. Some of the students were concerned about theft of the small devices and were hesitant to carry them around; however, no damage or loss was experienced during the pilot program.
The PEP teachers also reported that having appropriate software and peripherals were key factors to successful implementation (SRI 2002). In this study, student teachers did not have access to the Internet, probes or other peripheral devices that could be used in a classroom setting. They recognized the potential for such add-ons, but did not experience them firsthand.This may be one reason why some student teachers were less enthusiastic about incorporating PDAs in the teaching and learning process. Several felt that they would prefer not to have the device available at all with the current capabilities of the software on the PDA and the lack of peripherals; they saw it as a distraction and a costly use of resources. In addition, some disliked having management responsibilities for devices that students were using.
Conclusions
Handheld computers, such as PDAs, offer some distinct opportunities in education. A few of the advantages include mobility, beaming or the sharing of information and communications, the personalization of student work, and empowerment of each individual having a learning tool under his or her own control. In this study, given the limited experiences of the student teachers in the classroom, we did not focus on the instructional use of the PDA. Instead, we focused on how the student teachers would voluntarily use the devices for personal and learning needs, and how their attitudes toward technology in the teaching and learning process may change as a result of experience using handheld computers.
