The purpose of this page is to provide support information for the
District 230 Handheld Program.
Here is what is on this page:
Frequently asked questions for parents and students.
Frequently asked questions for Technology Coordinators
List of software and hardware used in the program
FAQ for Parents
and Students
What
is a Handheld computer?
A handheld computer is a small handheld device that has more computer power
than the original Apple IIe. It is about the size of a 3 by 5 card
and about ¾ of an inch thick. It is widely used as an information
manager to track daily appointments, contact information, and task
lists. Because it is a computer, other kinds of software applications
can be
loaded, making it much more useful. Today, most types of
applications that are available for desktop computers are available for
handheld computers in a scaled down version. Some examples are word
processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphing calculator software,
offline Internet browsing, and many other educational applications.
What can it be used for in class?
Word
processing, data collection using probes, data analysis using
spreadsheets, collaboration using the beaming capabilities, document
analysis using document reader software and key word searching
capabilities.
How
much do handhelds cost?
From $100 to $400 depending on the features.
How
is the program working?
We have found
that the program works best if students own the handhelds and can take
them home to continue to work on class work. At this time all of
our usage is with class sets. Students can use the handhelds in
class but do not take them home. For special projects
students can take the handhelds home for a limited amount of
time.
What
have been the greatest technical difficulties?
Getting
software that can not be beamed on the student handhelds.
Server solutions - There are several server
solutions but we did not have much luck with these.
Software solutions - Using the bundled hot sync software to a PC
can work but you would have to work out the issue of how many students
can hot sync in one class period to one PC. If it is a networked
PC you will have additional issues with making this work. Make
sure you are backing up the data on the PC if you are hot syncing to the
C drive.
The simplest solution is to use an application called
Beam Pro http://www.ecamm.com/palm/beampro/
This application allows you to beam multiple applications in one
shot. You can create an assembly line and "ghost" many
palms at one time with an image.
Hardware solutions - There is a product called memory safe that
is the size of your thumb and attaches to the bottom of the palm.
You can create one image on a palm and then use the memory safe to back
it up and then copy it to another palm.
Glass
screens that crack. It is
highly recommended that you purchase or have students purchase handhelds
with plastic screens. Several models are available at this time.
How do students back up their
data?
Students can do this at home on their own PC's. As mentioned above
you could have many students backing up to a PC in the classroom but
there are time issues. There are also server solutions but we have
not looked at these in a year or so. They most likely work better
than they did so it would be worth looking into.
Links
Roger
Liska's palm page
Carolyn's Stoudt's Palm
Education Tools page
ISTE Page
with Software
Mobil Inquiry
Technology Math and science
ProbeSite
Information about using probes in class
Current list of Software
that we are using in the project.
Vendors of products District 230 is using as part of our project
Landware keyboards
Tribeam Infrared wireless
device for connecting any Palm handheld to the internet or your network
Palm,
Inc. Palm
handhelds
Imagiworks Software
and interface units for handhelds
Vivonic Fitness
software
PFU America Keyboard
cradles for standard ps2 keyboards
Cutting Edge Software Excel
and Word compatible applications
Four.Zero
Student organizer
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