Handheld Devices in the Classroom
When I was in education all the rage was technology in the classroom. The rage wasn’t technology in general but rather hand held devices or palm pilots of some variety. Although I have been removed from a classroom for a couple of years now nothing has changed. PDA’s do not aid in learning.
I’ll start with the devices themselves. In my experience there was a company that offered up devices as part of a grant. The device was nothing more than a palm pilot with a full keyboard built in. Actually worse than that because the screen was smaller. It reminded me of an old electric typewriter. These devices were supposed to revolutionize teaching. How? Good question. No one knew. I was looked down upon in these camps or meetings when I would put down the devices. I was seen as a downer or pessimist when in reality as a problem solver I was looking for answers. A palm pilot will not increase test scores unless the answer key is on it. In the sessions we had to learn how to integrate these devices into the classroom we basically learned how to install drivers and beam things. We learned how to teach how to use the device not how to use the device to teach.
In reality as a business man I saw through the grant. The company that offered up the devices was using the grant group as beta testers. As a technologist they were eager to hear my likes and dislikes on the device so they could go back to the lab and make changes based on me. “Mr. Christensen would you like it better if it was wireless?” Part of the grant was a requirement for such opinions and updates. Hand helds in the classroom is a marketing scheme for technology software and hardware companies to make a buck on an unsuspecting consumer. Generally schools do not know anything about technology so they are easy pickings. Some one comes along and offers an article saying hand helds will raise your scores and boom you’ve just sold a bunch of hand helds.
Now for the education part. I have ready many studies and reports on this topic. All give good examples of how they are used. But those examples do not show in aid in learning or test scores. They show a convenience factor. Like the science student that uses a device to measure the air in a lab for its content. It’s a tool. It didn’t help you learn about air just tell you what was in it which you should have been taught before going to the lab. Some students use the palms to track food intake for nutrition tracking. That’s great but you could keep a journal. Again not learning just more convenient.
I have yet to see how these devices help educate children. They generally learn the device not addition material. I don’t know how to make these devices useful in teaching or learning. I didn’t have a technology device in my programming classes and those were for how to learn to program a computer. I do not see this as a solution to teaching, learning, or low test scores.
Matt Christensen
http://matt-christensen.blogspot.com/
http://www.mattchristensen.net
February 27 2007 05:16 pm | Mobile Computing
