Back
in the spring of 2002, Lisa Walters and her husband bought
Palm handheld computers.
The
Bel Air Elementary School counselor and Challenge facilitator
thought the device would help her be more organized.
A
short time later, she attended a Nebraska Educational
Technology Association (NETA) conference and noticed
some sessions about the educational applications of handheld
computers.
Tony
Vincent, a Millard Public Schools teacher, and some of
his students demonstrated all the things they were doing
in their school with the technology.
The
rest, as they say, is history.
"I
walked away from that conference saying, 'I will get
Palms and I will get them for all of my Challenge students,' " she
said.
At
the time, her largest Challenge class was 15 students.
Students in the program for gifted students meet with
Walters for 30 minutes once a week to work on enrichment
activities.
The
summer after the conference, Walters began writing grant
applications, looking at the school budget, reading books,
looking at Vincent's Web site and writing letters --
all in an effort to acquire more Palm handheld computers
for her students.
She
also learned more about what they could do.
"I
didn't even really know what I could do personally with
it besides what students could do," she said.
By
the beginning of the fall 2002-03 semester, she had seven
handhelds. A couple were purchased through Walters' school
budget, principal Tim Kwapnioski purchased one with his
budget and four more were donated.
"By
December, I had 15," Walters said.
She
said many local businesses responded to letters asking
for help by donating a handheld or two.
To
recognize their generosity, Walters labeled each Palm
with the name of the business that supplied it to the
classes.
Walters
said the fifth- and sixth-grade Challenge students responded
quickly and positively to the handhelds.
Students
learned the basic skills from Walters and went on to
teach their classmates -- and even their parents.
"My
students were going home and telling their parents how
to do more things with their Palms," she said.
There
are many different ways to use handheld computers in
education, Walter said.
For
instance, the students have used them to write book reports,
using a word processing program. Then they created animation
to go along with the report with a program called Sketchy.
Reports
can be printed out by connecting them to a desktop computer
with a printer.
Nearly
all of the software on the computers is free. Walters
said many programs can be taken from Web sites or "beamed" from
another handheld by simply placing them several inches
apart face to face.
Walters
said she has received many programs from other teachers
at Educational Service Unit meetings. When she gets back
to the classroom, she simply beams the program to one
student who passes it on. In minutes every handheld in
the room is equipped with the program.
With
a program called Quizzler, students have made up science
quizzes from their textbooks and beamed them to classmates.
The receiver completes the quiz and sends it back to
the originator who scores it.
All
this helps students learn -- and they have fun doing
it.
Some
of her students enjoy using the handhelds so much that
they have received them as Christmas gifts from parents.
"They
are just so motivated," Walters said.
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Teachers
Look to Omahan for Handheld Help
Students
are drawn to technology.
Technology,
in turn, motivates students to learn.
"When
that technology is small, portable and personal,
they are even more motivated," said Tony
Vincent, a fifth-grade teacher at Willowdale
Elementary School in Omaha.
Vincent
has been using handheld computers in his classroom
since 2001 when the district bought the equipment
as part of a research and development effort.
Since
then, he has found that even everyday activities,
like keeping a reading journal, are more fun
for students if they can use a handheld's word
processor and attachable keyboard.
"Handheld
computers have brought the classroom of my imagination
into reality," Vincent said.
Now,
he is helping other students realize that dream
as well.
"My
students and I have put so much time into our
Web site because we believe that students around
the world should enjoy learning with handheld
computers as much as we do," Vincent said.
His
class maintains a Web site called Planet 5th.
On it is a section about handhelds called "Learning
in Hand."
That
section evolved from a single page that said
the class was using handheld computers to learn
and loved it.
"After
that, I would get several e-mails daily from
teachers who were either interested and wanted
more information or from teachers who were currently
using handhelds but wanted advice," Vincent
said.
Gradually,
he added to the site. Now, there are answers
to frequently asked questions about hardware,
software and classroom management. There are
how-to videos and Web links.
"The
site is a complete resource for others who want
to know what and how we do what we do in our
classroom," Vincent said.
His
students develop much of the content for the
site.
"It's
great because they are writing for a real audience
. . . The combination of a class Web page and
handheld computers has been quite powerful in
the education process,'' he said.
Besides
getting students motivated, handheld computers
eliminate common problems like rotating students
on one classroom computer or trying to book a
busy computer lab.
Vincent
said few people realize that handhelds aren't
just organizers _ they're fully functional computers
than can run a variety of software applications.
He
estimates students use the handhelds about 30
percent of a typical school day. They have eBooks,
dictionaries and other resources they refer to
throughout the day. When planning lessons, Vincent
said he doesn't purposely insert handheld lessons
unless there is something on them that would
add to the lesson.
He
said students need engaging activities to maximize
learning. Handheld computers are the answer.
"In
a world of Playstations and Sponge Bob, it's
hard for teachers to get learners excited about
curriculum,'' he said. "Handhelds combined
with meaningful, effective activities are the
perfect combination to engage learners.''
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