"Do not go where the path leads;
Rather, go where there is no path and leave a trail."
-Emerson

Happy New Year to subscribers everywhere! The search for sites on wireless keyboarding led me to that many more resources on handheld devices - or PDAs (personal digital assistants) - somuchso that it was worth devoting an entire issue on the subject! PDAs are small, portable, and can fit in the palm for your hand. They connect to your desktop computer so that you can easily share information between computers. Most importantly, they can run standard productivity applications like Word and Excel and the newer generation of PDAs includes wireless communication, as well. Not familiar with the range and scope of PDAs? Check out Ready or Not—PDAs in the Classroom http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=6705 from Syllabus Magazine. And if you really want a peak at a totally wireless classroom, you must see the Kentucky Migrant Technology Project's Classroom of the Future page http://www.migrant.org/project_info/pda/cotf.cfm !

With all the potential these mighty mite computers have for instruction, no wonder schools are beginning to explore the possibilities in the classroom! This week you'll find twelve great resources on using PDAs with students. Thanks to Jerry Blumengarten and Nan Williams for their recommendations on the topic!

This is the last week to register for this year's eIditarod project. Registration closes January 11th. We're up to 300 classes enrolled for this year and the list continues to grow. If you know of a teacher who would be interested in participating, please point them to http://surfaquarium.com/e_iditarod.htm where they can read about the project and register. Thanks!

Electronic Text Center - http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/ebooklist.html

The University of Virginia houses this archive of some 1,800 publicly-available e-books including classic British and American fiction, major authors, children's literature, the Bible, and American history; see also http://www.bookspot.com/features/fulltextfeature.htm for more titles.

Instant Answers With PDA Pop Quiz - http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54183,00.html

Don't settle for the handheld as just another techno-toy.....the instruction's the thing! And this article from Wired News shares how Wake Forest University has developed software that turns a PDA into a wireless Web server so students can view Web pages created for the class on their PDAs.

Jumbo.com - http://www.jumbo.com/pda/palm/

Jumbo offers downloadable freeware and shareware titles for handheld devices covering calculators, communication tools, connectivity, documents, games, graphics, utilities, viewers and wireless; check out My Scribe, the Pilot PDF Creator and FontAgent Pro for Mac OSX.

KPBSD Palm Page - http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/tech/palm/

The Kenai (Alaska) Peninsula Borough School District has put together this page to support the use of handheld computers by their teachers. It covers instructional and administrative uses, as well as research, ideas and resources. Check out the overview for a rousing rationale for using PDAs.

Learning at Hand - http://www.learningathand.com/index.php

Monthly reviews of educational software for use with the Palm Operating System and lessons and tips for integrating handheld devices into instruction; discussions and commercial links help round out a useful site for teachers.

Learning in Hand - http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/p5/handhelds/index.html

Tony Vincent has PDAs for all of his students, and this site shares his class's experiences in learning to make use of them in learning. Here you'll find sections on applications, activities, classroom management, 'how-to' videos, a photo gallery, and more.

Learning in the Palm of your Hand - http://www.handheld.hice-dev.org/

These pages are presented by HI-CE and the University of Michigan to promote the use of handhelds in education. It brings together articles, images, downloads, a monthly newsletter and message boards to help keep teachers in the loop on what's going on with PDAs in education.

Palm Education - http://www.palmgrants.sri.com/ideabank.html

SRI International hosted this competition which invites teachers to submit innovative uses of handhelds in the classroom; the Idea Bank is a collection of great ways to make use of PDAs in different subject areas, in projects, and as a way to address academic standards.

Palm Powered Lesson Plans - http://palm.atu.edu/lessons.htm

Arkansas Tech University presents two-dozen lessons ready to use with a Palm handheld computer. Lessons cover astronomy, the stock market, musical chairs, collecting traffic data, nutrition, civics and even classroom management.

pdaED - http://www.pdaed.com/vertical/home.xml

A commercial site, pdaED also houses a learning center with helpful "how to" tutorials such as the PDA Buyer's Guide and Downloading and Installing Software. There's also a nice collection of articles on how to integrate handhelds into effective instruction.

Pebbles PDA Project - http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~pebbles/index.html

Carnegie Mellon University has created the Pebbles software for handhelds that allows them to communicate with a desktop computer, other PDAs, telephones, radios, and even household appliances. There's a section specifically for classroom use and a download site if you're interested.

ProbeSight - http://probesight.concord.org/

Here's a wealth of information on probes that can be used with handheld devices to extend their usefulness both in and out of the classroom. There's a supplier index and a wealth of curriculum ideas including sensor suggestions, links and sample activities.

Find More Great Resources at

 

Next Week's Topic: "Iditarod 2003"

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