Monday, November 5, 2007
Personal Digital Assistants for Students
Offering quality training for teachers and time to work with any new technology prior to its implementation is very important for ensuring success of the program. That’s why I propose running a pilot program of placing PDAs in the hands of a select group of teachers before implementing throughout the building. This pilot program will: 1) provide critical feedback prior to implementation, 2) model the effectiveness of the tool to those more skeptical, and 3) build enthusiasm for the PDA among teachers and students alike.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
PDA Software for Teachers
One site that I particularly like is Handango which is well organized and allows you to search by PDA type and/or by interest. One such category is Education and also breaks down into several subcategories including teachers and students. This site also provides many free trial versions which allows you to test the software to verify that it will truly meet your needs. I utilized this option recently with a 30-day free trial of a “Teacher Tool” which I plan to purchase as it has been very useful in tracking/documenting student behaviors in my classroom. Basic features include the ability to create/review a list of students, performance notes, student/parent contact information, incident records including warnings.
Another site that offers great tools and downloads for teachers is Hands High Software. I found a free trial version of “Participate” which provides an easy way to track (adding or subtracting) participation points for your students. I have provided a few more links below that I thought would be useful to teachers, but have fun searching on your own to find the tools that will work for you. And please leave me comments and links of any more sites and tools that will make our teaching tasks easier.
Handmark – offers a variety of software easily organized by PDA type
Download Pipe – can download manuals for various software (i.e. Excel, PowerPoint, etc)
MemoWare – free ebooks; browse by category
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Which PDA should I select?
- review the reason for using
- ask other's opinions
- compare costs
It is not possible to identify one particular PDA that would fit the need for all teachers. It is important to review the purpose of the PDA when selecting. A good first step may be to decide between a regular PDA or a smartphone (cell phone and PDA all-in-one). I originally thought that the smartphone was the only way to go; however, since buying my used PDA to test the waters I have found that the regular PDA really serves my needs just fine for now. Nonetheless, be sure to carefully review your own needs and uses when deciding on the right tool for you.
The links below can help guide you through the next steps of gathering opinions from others and comparing costs. Although you do have to pay a membership fee to utilize Consumer Reports, I especially like their reviews which include quick recommendations, ratings, explanations of features, and the "How to Choose" section. So take some time to read over the reviews at the following links to help in selecting the right PDA for you.
Consumer Reports
MobileTech Review
Brighthand
Friday, November 2, 2007
How could a PDA be useful for Teachers?
Stay tuned for future posts that will offer helpful links to choosing the right PDA for you and where to find valuable downloads and software to easily accomplish the tasks mentioned above.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
What's a PDA?
Use the link above if you just need to find out more about a PDA and be sure to check out my next posts for some ideas on how teachers can use this terrific tech tool to streamline the most mundane and tedious tasks!