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[Technology 939] Handheld discussion day 3Marilyn Williams williams_ma at 4j.lane.eduThu Apr 19 10:07:53 EDT 2007
We’ve talked a little about some of the benefits, obstacles and outcomes of the Palm project but I’d like to expand on some of those today. I’ll start with the negatives. I don’t think it’s possible to use technology without running into obstacles! Something always seems to freeze or crash or disappear into Neverland! However, I think those situations have been pretty minimal considering how much the Palms are used. One problem is that if a Palm loses its charge completely, the information, and any new applications which you installed, will be lost. The way to get around this is to have students regularly HotSync (upload their files to another computer) their data and then it can be retrieved. This is a good lesson for students and does more to remind them than telling them over and over to be sure to keep their Palms charged. Palms do freeze on occasion and, again, if you haven’t backed up data, it’s lost. Sometimes, they can be reset and the info is still there but sometimes it’s gone. On the plus side of that scenario, a student can easily retrieve general information, like a worksheet or vocabulary list, from someone else. Palms are small, which is a benefit but they can easily be left on a desk, on top of the locker or in a pocket. So far, knock on wood, we’ve always had Palms returned to us. At this point, some of our keyboards are wearing out and have lost some of their keys. The stylus is also easily mislaid, misplaced or lost, as well. That being said, the benefits have far outweighed the obstacles, in my opinion. Those of you who work with students with learning disabilities have probably found that writing can be especially painful. I often experienced a lot of frustration on the student’s part in trying to get thoughts recorded. Then, after finally getting something on paper, any revision or editing suggestion which involved erasure or rearranging was very difficult. I found that students were much more willing to alter their writing when doing it in an electronic format. It’s much easier to copy and paste or cut and paste than it is to erase and remember what you wanted to write. Students also use colors to highlight places they want to reconsider which is an effective peer revision tool. One strategy we use a lot is to develop an outline in Inspiration (sometimes I give them the topics and they fill in the details and sometimes they come up with everything on their own) and then transfer the outline to Documents. Once in Documents, they just write their paragraphs from the outline that they can refer to easily. Then, they delete the outline and they’ve got a paragraph (or 2 or 3). Once written, their work can be beamed and printed and look just as good as anyone else’s. I think the Palms have really helped generate more equity in my classes. Sometimes it’s a not so academic student who is helping to figure out how to troubleshoot a problem. Every person’s work can be easily read and shared by others. Papers don’t become dog eared and left on the floor as they are all stored in the Palm. Some students, and their parents, worry about the cost of replacing their Palm if it’s lost or damaged. So far, we’ve only had to deal with this once and we had the student come in and do some kind of work for us at school. I hope you’ve gotten a glimpse into the potential of using these devices in a classroom. Please let me know if I can clarify or expand on any of the information I’ve shared. Thanks! Marilyn Williams 6th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies Kennedy Middle School Eugene, OR
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