Janet

Every Palm Handheld comes loaded with many applications geared to the average adult consumer, but are not necessarily useful to the average 3rd grader. Clever educators have not let that fact come between students and their handhelds, however. Each of these applications can be adapted as useful and innovative teaching tools for children of all ages. Following are some of the uses I have discovered:

Checkbook: One of the literature reponse assignments that our third graders do each year requires that they “spend” $100.000 on 5 different projects that would make the world or their community a better place to live. The initial planning would be done on KWL or Inspiration, and the actual journaling on Memo Pad. But, before the project is final the students can actually put the $100,000 into their checkbook and “draw” down the amount for each project to determine if they actually have enough money to fund it. This is an excellent lesson in economics as well as philanthropy!

Address Book: There are many actual uses for the address book. Students can practice typing skills while putting in the names and phone numbers of their classmates, their own emergency numbers, as well as phone numbers and snail mail/email addresses of persons they need to contact for specific assignments. This is also and excellent way for students to learn how to spell the full names of their classmates and become familiar with the last names. In addition to the traditional uses, because the address book is a database it can be used for collection purposes. Field names can be edited for vocabulary words and definitions and these items can be sorted, categorized. This is a great way to keep a year-long list of math terms and definitions, definitions of the parts of speech, or a running list of all the books a child has read or the read-a-louds heard in the class. Wonderful tip: when time becomes an issue with the slow typists, the faster students can be allowed to beam a completed list to another student.

ToDO or Tasks: These can be used to generate electronic flash cards. Review questions, vocabulary words, or math facts can be written into the ToDo/Task with the answer or definition added in the “note” option. All of the ToDo/Task programs allow categorizing, so many different subjects can be stored in an individual handheld. If it is important to have the questions in a specific order, the prioritizing option can do that for you. Viewing the answer requires a “tap” so the student can take ample time to determine an answer before tapping and showing the answer. This application works very well with social studies and science vocabulary where the definition tends to be lengthy.
Date Book: The handheld is the best way I have ever found to have multiple month, current calendars on the desk of every child. Every math curriculum requires some lessons in calendar use, but textbooks calendars are printed non-year specific, so the child who is wise enough to look at the wall calendar will be mightily confused. Handheld Date Book can keep the entire class on the “same ” page.

Additionally, students can learn the skill of planning their time for long-term projects by using the calendar options. Key dates in a project timeline can even be alarmed to give the student a wake-up call as a deadline approaches. The infamous mile-run that comes up at the end of every month in P.E. can be put in the Date Book so the children don’t have to keep guessing which day it is going to happen.

Note Pad: Note pad is a perfect tool for children to have in hand while listening to a guest speaker. With some prior practice they can use Note Pad to jot down some of the burning questions that pop into their minds before the speaker says “Are there any questions?” at the end, and thus prevent the distraction of hands waving in the air for attention during the presentation.

Note Pad is also a handy place to jot down an early morning Thought for the Day that will pop on the screen every time the handheld is turned on.

There must be a million uses for these built-in applications and I expect to discover most of them, one at a time!

Article Review for Integrating Handhelds Professional Development class, SJS, July 7, 2006

THE Journal
November 2004
The Paradox of Integrating Handheld Technology in Schools: Theory vs. Practice
By Autumn Tooms, Michael Acomb & Jason McGlothlin, Kent State University

This article explores the problem that many schools face; technology is made available yet it remains on the shelf unused. The authors chose to do a very informal survey, i.e. beverages at the “local watering hole,” to discover why some administrators continue to rely on a leather datebook despite having training and access to a PDA or handheld.

The authors suggest that administrators need to understand the history of education technology in order to introduce new ideas and learning opportunities to students. The article goes on to outline the four major phases of computer technology that schools are all familiar with, but never does explain why it is necessary for administrators to ‘understand’ these phases. From my standpoint, administrators might gain a clearer understanding that computer technology is here to stay in all facets of life and probably should be introduced during the most formative years of a child’s life.

Citing research published in 2001, the article informed me that with handhelds:

• schools no longer spent time installing wires for computer access
• there was no longer a need for computer labs, thereby freeing space for classroom instruction
• student productivity increased
• and the cost and time of photocopying decreased due to a paperless system

I am fairly sure they were talking about a school district that had received grant money, because to blanket the entire school with a wireless operation tells me that they had ample money to upgrade as soon as wireless technology was available. The statement that computer labs were no longer needed implies that classroom teachers were trained at a very high level of competancy and were able to access further training as the technology changed. I can agree with a sweeping statement that student productivity increased. Because most students are dealing with technology at home, they are more than ready to plunge into technology at school and translate that energy into increased output in their educational accompliments. I think that the impact on the cost of photocopying would be minimal, unless there was an understanding that all lessons would employ the handhelds or there was a “paperless” goal set for the school.

A 2003 article was cited as saying that teachers who had ready access to computers had their children use the computers. This statement was a given to me. When the technology is readily available, both teachers and students are more likely to take advantage of it at the exact time and place they can have the greatest impact on learning. If technology use requires running down the hall and interrupting the flow of a class or the established demeanor, teachers are less likely to employ handhelds. Many good lessons can be accomplished with preplanning for handhelds, but I have found that some of the best lessons are the spontaneous ones that just seem “right” at the moment. The spontaneous lesson can also catch the student by surprise and liven up a slogging lesson. I have also found that the students will come up with possible used for the handhelds in the middle of a lesson. Having the technology at hand is very important!
This article labels schools as either “integrated or not” with the deciding factor being the pressure to add the phrase “integated technology” to their mission statement. The authors suggest that too often the decision to be “integrated” ends after the “how-to” meetings are done and little professional development ever happens. By embracing the term integrated technology, the school system sounds “scholarly, cutting edge and important.” Meanwhile, the teachers in the trenches are left struggling with little training and support. The authors suggest that the heart of technology, just like many currricular issues, is centered on the commitment of school leaders. Before administrators can facilitate a turn to technology, they must commit to what technology means to them. Furthermore, they must consider how technology is valued in their personal lives, as well as how they see it’s value in their schools.

When discussing the integration of technology into a school and into the culture of a faculty, the authors suggest that the plethora of digital choices might be seen as a vast buffet table. They see some people going for the fried chicken/pork roast area, some concentrating on the salad bar, and some heading straight for the desserts, while others pick little bits off each of these tables or perhaps just stick with their old favorites. And another popular scenario is that once a person is confronted with the overwhelmingly huge number of choices they lose all desire to “dine” at all. We have all seen our professional peers fall into any of these categories. We all know who to go to for help in speciality areas and who has had experience solving the kind of problem we are experiencing. As the authors say, there is no “clear global definition of technology integration.” Like so many other curricular issues in our schools, the job of figuring out technology’s role in learning and achievement is up to the leadership team of a school community. It seems rather important to spread the word that there is value in “digesting” even one part of the buffet of technology and alleviate the widespread feeling of guilt that hinders so many educators because they don’t have a handle on the whole picture.

The article concludes talking about the importance of an “initial investment in quality technology training - in a context that is relevant for the leaders.” It suggests that making the time for this to happen is often in the category of “some is better than none” and often serves to alienate and further frustrate administrators.

The article reminds all educators, not just leaders, of the importance of being willing to “sacrifice a little efficiency for a lot of effectiveness in the long run”, to look for small things that can employ technology right now today, and to look for tasks to learn for the long-term future by starting small and working the way up by baby steps.

The authors suggest that administrators and leadership teams ensure that they themselves, as well as their staff, are serious about embracing technology by sharing expectations with the staff and include those expectations in the teacher evaluation process. “Without that effort, there is no sense of accountability or assessment.”

On Earth Day the handheld class dealt with the earthly topics of Quizzler, Docs to Go, and the joys of gaming on a handheld.

Quizzler is a simple, yet very effective program on the handheld for presenting either a final evaluation or drill and practice to students. It works well for social studies, science, language skills, vocabulary, and much more.

Creating a Quizzler program is quite simple, yet requires precise steps.

- Create a new Memo document
- Create a title using these steps:
- Line one=#quizzler name of quiz
- Line two=#name name of quiz

- Now type in the questions, without hitting return, with the correct answer directly after the question and all other choices after that. There must be a semi-colon after each answer.

- Hit return to begin the next question.

- When quiz is finished, go to the Quizzler program.

- On the quiz list screen,go to the menu and choose Import Memo.

- Your quiz should appear on the list,unless you have goofed when typing.

- Go back to Memo and write DONE behind the quiz,as all quizzes appear in the Memo list with the same name and you may be confused when you need to choose the next quiz to import.

See how easy that is? Happy Quizzlering!

Roving Reporter Hits eBooking Class

It was a beautiful,sunny Saturday morning in late February. My partner and I had been up since before dawn preparing for the 15th Annual GAIN Dog Show. I had just finished setting up the registration table when I looked at my watch and OHMYGOSH! it’s time to head for SJS and computer class again. Vroooommm!

I knew this was going to be a special class because we were instructed to assemble in rooms 19 and 20 with our desktop iMacs. The list of topics isn’t long, but it is meaty:

1. Sharing time (thankfully not show and tell)

2. eBooks

3. Documents to Go

List looks short huh? Well, I think I could make use of Inspiration to weave all of the various parts together. Lots of parts… Oh, and what sits on a hill, howls at the moon and is made of cement? I’ll tell you at the bottom:)

Keystone effect: Haven’t heard this one since I took Audio-Visual class back in the 60’s. The newer multi-media projectors have an adjustment button to take care of the trapazoid shape or keystone effect that happens when the projector is not sittting level or at the correct angle towards the screen. The adjustment is called the Keystone button.

Bluetooth USb Adapter: I couldn’t wait to find out how to use it. Mac mini has it built in. It looks very like a flash drive. It becomes an antenna that we can us when we create eBooks. Insert it into a port. Look for the antenna icon on your tool bar. Click on it and find stjohnsedu.gu. If you can’t find it look in airport preferences.

Portable Network Graphics: png Images downloaded from the web for use in eBook presentations must be in the png format. Remember that!

breadcrumbs: The trail of little arrows that shows where your web site has come from. If you get onto a site that is set up for PC’s ,God forbid, you can follow the breadcrumbs back a link or so and probably find an option for a Mac set-up.

palmreader=ereader: Just a new name for a new version. Palmseems to be good at this “new name” stuff. Who would ever think it meant reading palms as done in carnival sideshows?

ebook studio works best with “plain text files”. It can open Appleworks and several other commonly used text programs.

globalclassroom.org/2005/ebooks/: A wonderful place to look at some student made eBooks plus a lot of other very neat things. Shows where to find eBooks. If you click on making ebooks you can see a list of reasons to make eBooks.

Three good reasons to make eBooks:

• your students can publish their writing and showcase it by uploading it on a blog
• your want all of your students to have the same material
• you can download free eBooks for your students

What we need to create an eBook:

• Palm handheld
• desktop computer
• Palm desktop software, this where you hotsync, but we used Bluetooth
• eReader
• ereader guide (not essential)
• eBook Studio (downloadable)
• strohhouse.com/ebooks for a demo, click on Mac

Warning: When preparing an eBook text you need to put in all of your titles, chapter headings, photos, etc. before you decide on the page breaks.

• copy the text with edit select all, and edit copy
• choose your eBook Studio off the dock
• paste it to your eBook Studio text editor which appears on left of screen
• highlight, bold and increase size of title, then center
• be sure to put “this eBook was created by…” crediting the web site where you found the materials. Make it smaller text and do not use bold.
• insert photos at this point
• click twice on load_img, if preview doesn’t show, go to view, click on “show view options”, click on “this window only”, click on “show icon preview”,
• go back to book, try dragging pic., it well show an icon if the picture is large, but is the pic.is the right demensions it will show right away.
• you can align pic. just like text
• now do page breaks
• to do page breaks, click on page break at the top, don’t let any single lines hang alone

Creating an anchor within text: this section is not finished!

• click on your pic. or text, highlight it, then choose “book” “create anchor”
• go back to top of page

Time to save:

• create a title
• state “published by”
• option g = makes a copyright symbol; ©, or option r = registered; ®

Make book:

• ready to make it into Palm format
• file “make book”
• press “save”
• it will be in desk top or documents

Transfer into handheld:

• insert Bluetooth antenna, warning; microwave ovens and 2.4 gig phones will interfer
• icon for Bluetooth shows up on upper bar
• activate Bluetooth by clicking on your computer at left side
• in list on right choose applications,open that
• go to bottom of window and click on utilities, go to icon view
• choose view arrange by name, click twice on Bluetooth file exchange
• you will see Cancel and Send
• switch on handheld, be sure you are paired with your computer
• Always leave “discoverable” on yes
• look for Bluetooth symbol to be sure it is on
• be sure you are in Bluetooth file exchange program, drag it to sidebar for shortcut
• click on your folder
• navigate windows to find your pdb. eBook
• drag it over to Bluetooth file exchange.
• you will get “Select Bluetooth device”
• make sure it says “pda” on the device type
• device category should be “discovered devices”
• click “search”
• you will see everyone’s handheld in the classroom
• if your handheld is not showing, that means it is off
• choose your name and send
• use stylus to accept
• open eReader on handheld to check your eBook

If our computers had “infrared out” we would not have to use Bluetooth to transfer files from the desktop to the handheld.

Topic 3; Documents to Go

Files that on on SD cards cannot be printed. You must move it to the handheld.

MS word takes up more space but it is possible to sync it with your desktop. If you do have a document in another text type you can switch it to MS word later.

Don’t forget to save!

Needed:

• Printboy program which costs $99.99
• Actisys jr. interface connection to printer

Now, go forth and make an eBook! Use DtG! Do it all! Now! Before you forget it!

Oh, it’s a coyote! I just threw in the cement to make it hard! Just like this class.

It has been an ordinary week in 3rd grade math class, but today’s lesson turned out to be extraordinary. Handhelds made it happen.

We have been working our way through some basic geometry lessons: line, line segment, end point, ray, angle, right angle, radius, diameter, center, etc. Each lesson opened with listing the vocabulary words for that day in our Math Journal. Then we used our textbooks to familiarize ourselves with the definitions and the visual of each term; talking through each one by identifying a similar example in the world around us and also drawing them in the air or on the desk with our fingers.

Next we wrote the definitions into the journals and did the usual workbook pages for each lesson. Pretty humdrum,huh? Well, the fun was about to begin.

Now, enter the handhelds. With the advice of a trusted colleague, I invited the children to try creating and labeling the new math vocabulary on Novianimator. Within a couple minutes some of them had the first figure drawn and were trying to label it. Labeling did not go very well when writing on screen, so soon there was some noise about it being hard. (They assured me that they were not whining!) It wasn’t long before they were asking if there was an easier way. I suggested that we look for a text option, and away they went.

In less than one class period, we had done textbook and journal stuff, and several of the children were finished with the nine slides and ready to run them in a slide show. Of course, the slide show flipped like a runaway rabbit, so they had to figure out how to slow it down.

Cries of elation were heard; “I’m done”, but the ever-ready teacher said, “How about a title?” or “I wonder if you could use color to make it more interesting?”

In truth, they were more ready to accomplish this project than I, but with a little bit of encouragement, they searched out solutions to their own problems and there was no lack of help when someone was stuck. Bits of advice were flying about the room like Bluetooth transmissions.

This lesson was double-edged; it was a terrific experience for the students. I don’t think they will have any trouble remembering these terms. For me, it cemented the belief that technology belongs in the classroom,not just as an occasional treat,but as a constant resource.

Handhelds are clearly the answer to the prayers of a lefty with a broken wrist!

So, after a long day of Valentine excitement with a passel of 8 year-olds, a meeting with the Trustees Committee on Education, and a quick catch-up with what I missed at the Lower School Faculty meeting, I landed on both feet in Handheld class! What a day! But, all was not lost; Norman arrived with a plate full of chocolate covered strawberries! Did we have food in the lab? No! Of course not!

Topic 1 focused on eBooks. What fun! I can easily read on the handheld screen, but had trouble getting just the right speed on the auto-scroll option. It was either too fast or too slow for my taste. I think my reading speed would increase if I forced myself to use a faster speed than is comfortable right now!

I have several plans for eBooks already. I can see their use in:

• downloading tourist info off the web for my Chaing Mai trip
• some of the current articles I want to read about Barack Obama
• things that I accidently run across that are not on the topic of my current search, but would like to read later.
• brief current events articles that I would like my class to discuss/debate and then journal on.
• things that would be best read while waiting in line at the post office
• Macworld magazine!

Zinio reader for Mac sounds interesting. It turns the pages for you.

Remember that when you download an ebook it will be a pdb. file

Something to try: Look for video.coogle.com and then type in “handheld”
Topic 2 was the video presentation of Handheld use in Upper and Middle school. This was the first actual visual that I had seen with older students using Handhelds. We were all “keen eared” because we all chuckled when a “learned” member of the board referred to the “Palm Pilots” that they were funding for the school district! Vocabualry is really important when one is dealing with a relatively new form of technology. A lot of time is wasted trying to talk about problems, programs, or experiences when we don’t call things by the correct name and the “techi” can’t understand what we are trying to say. I’m guilty!

We actually spent some time reading an eBook that Rolly had prepared on a card just for class. I have several things on that card yet to read!

I also learned about a program called Missing Sync that might help me download my address book from the desktop to the handheld.

Tired and happy with a new load of learning, we retired!

AOL@SCHOOL

Type in your entry word. You will get several choices. Choose the one that is best for the information you need.

CyberSleuth Kids

Click on the first letter of your animal’s name. Find your animal’s name in the list and click on it. When you get to the site, look for a “contents” list near the bottom.

dmoz Kids and Teens

Click on the name of your animals. Choose the site that shows your animal’s name.

Yahooligans!

Click on “Animals” or type in your entry words. Read the site choices carefully before you click on the one that is best for you.

Awesome Library

Look under Sub Topics. Click on the first letter of your entry word. Then,look through the list to find your animal.

Animal Search

Type in your entry word or use the list given and click on your animal.

i thak i for KIDS

This is a safe site metasearch engine just for kids. Type in your animal’s name and follow the links to the information.

The Handheld program Giraffe has been instrumental in improving the penmanship of my Third Graders!

We teachers have noticed for quite a few years that the penmanship of our new classes has been neglected. Children are holding a regular pencil at a much earlier age nowadays, and once they establish a habit of gripping the pencil incorrectly, you can’t get them to correct that grip for love nor money. This issue interfers with their ability to form cursive letters correctly. Children who are making the letter o or a in a clockwise motion have a very difficult time forming an unbroken chain of letters when learning cursive.

I used the Giraffe program initially to give my children practice with grafitti 2 on the handhelds. In Giraffe, the object is to form the letter in the graffiti writing area before the letter drops down to the bottom of the screen. If the letter is written with the wrong strokes in graffiti, the falling letter does not “pop” and your score does not build. The only way to build your score is to form letters correctly and beat their progress towards the bottom of the screen. It does not take long before the child is well aware of the exact strokes that make a letter disappear. Correct practice equals high score!

An interesting, and productive use for Giraffe!

When we are teaching children to write, we always try to provide them with an “authentic” reason to write. Now, finally, the teachers are writing (blogging) for an “authentic” audience!

Can blogging really make me miss a meal?

What about a blog themed around my hobby?

Do blogs show up on Google searches? Maybe I have seen them and did not recognize them.

Why can’t I remember how to make bullets appear when I blog a list? Was that so hard?

Do I kinow all the stuff that was presented in the January blogging class?

Can I start a blog that is just for my students?

Topic 1: Issues with blogging. We spent quite a bit of time talking about various problems and issues with our attempts at blogging. One blogger has recieved feedback for someone out in the wider world, so we know we are “reaching out” and touching someone! We explored http//www.splashblog.com/handhelds. This site is free and allows you to easily post up to 500 photos.Topic 2: The big “WHY” question. Why handhelds? Those of us who use them no longer ask “why?” We are too busy scheming ways to get and keep a class set of handhelds and trying out new programs to find just the perfect one to help the students learn a certain skill. But just in cae you haven’t heard all the reasons, I’ll list some of them:

• Handhelds are fully functioning computers.
• The ease of use and the cost of ownership says it all.
• No viruses!
• Can be easily replaced.
• Simple backup procedure/
• Portability.
• Space efficient.
• Free software.

Topic 3 dealt with projection of handheld processes or programs. We have seen our tech. use the Elmo camera set on a tripod. That is doable, but a clear projection is not going to happen. A better choice would be using the multimedia projector connected to the handheld via a Margi connector (no longer available at Palm). This system made it easy for the students to see the steps that the handheld was being taken through in order to set up a preference or to secure the correct word list for a program like Words to Grow. This connector can also be used to link the handheld to an isolated monitor for use in presenting to a small group at a table, etc. The one drawback was that the students cannot see the stylus actually tap on the screen, but must wait for the change to appear on the projection screen in fron of them. Another possibility was the Mirror program which allows you to drag programs right off you desktop onto the presentor area which is an image of a Palm handheld.

Topic 4 focused on current as well as back issues of the publication education In Hand. We discussed several articles and browsed through the featured “New” items that one can invest in. Several ideas for future blogs were generated. We will use the example of the “Handheld Diary” for one blog in which we will record all the uses of a handheld throughout the course of one day.

Blogging could become addictive! I was reluctant to pause and eat a meal as I was working on this!