What the resource is:
This project explored the potential for Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to support trainees in school. 14 PGCE science students were given either a Windows Pocket PC or a Palm OS based handheld. Useful technical detail underlying the decisions to use these two is reported. Trainees received four hours of training in 10 aspects of potential support from their PDAs and also in their use.
It was intended that the trainees used the PDAs on their school experiences. Some but not all were able to do so and to access many of the supports offered by the PDAs. Difficulties included getting on-line.
This is a summary report of a research project supported by a TDA Research and Development Award. These Awards were designed to contribute to the knowledge base in ITT and to provide an opportunity for those new to ITT to collaborate with more experienced colleagues in research in areas relevant to their practice.
This project was well executed and is clearly reported.
The aims of the resource:
This project explored the potential of two different Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to support trainees in school.
Key findings or focus:
- Three applications (calendar, spreadsheet and word processor) were useful to trainees in managing learning.
- The' Person Plus' /distributed cognition function of the internet access was valued by trainees.
- E-mail contact with tutors and other students was important for trainees in school.
- The internet connection was not reliable in either of the systems tested. The trainees using the Microsoft Pocket PCs got further than those using Palm based systems.
- The socio-cultural context generated a range of issues which by and large trainees managed satisfactorily.
The quality, authority and credibility of the resource:
14 PGCE science students stratified for subject and gender were selected from a cohort of 55 and given either a Windows Pocket PC or a Palm OS based handheld. Trainees received four hours of training in the use of the PDA in which they were made aware of the potential of the PDA to support them in ten areas.
Trainees' experience was tracked by a weekly on-line survey, a web log (blog) and an exit interview.
A strong part of the report is the technical detail
The implications for ITE tutors/mentors:
This project marks an important exploration and the same researchers have continued to work at the forefront of using ICT to support trainees. The technical detail behind decisions is useful and clearly reported.
The PDAs showed potential for supporting trainees in school adding to support in terms of trainees being able to access information and support from tutors and peers.
Trainees were able to use PDAs to manage pupil learning.
A limiting factor was difficulty in getting on-line.
The relevance to ITE students:
The ten ways that a PDA might support science and other trainees in school explored in this project were:
- accessing the university's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) ‘Blackboard' discussion groups and email;
- accessing course documentation (on PDA or via Blackboard or via synching);
- just in time acquisition of knowledge from the web;
- acquisition of science information from e-books and encyclopaedias;
- delivering accurate figures for scientific constants and formulae;
- organising commitments, lesson plans and timetables;
- recording and analysing lab results;
- recording pupil attendance and grades;
- photographing experiments for display and reinforcing pupil knowledge;
- maintaining a reflective web log (blog) to record lesson evaluations and other reflections on their teaching.
This work was supported by a TDA Research and Development Award. These Awards were designed to contribute to the knowledge base in ITT and to provide an opportunity for those new to ITT to collaborate with more experienced colleagues in research in areas relevant to their practice.
Reviewed by:
Hilary Constable
References:
Becta (2003) Handheld Computers PDAs in Schools. Coventry: British Educational Communications and Technology Agency. Available at http://www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/docs/handhelds.pdf [accessed 29.9.04]
Kukulska-Hulme, A. and Traxler, J. (Eds) Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers. London, Routledge.
JISC (2005) Innovative Practice with e-Learning. (Bristol, Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)). Available online at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/eli_practice.html [accessed 6 March 2006]
Manhattan Research (2002) Taking the Pulse: Physicians and Emerging Information Technologies. Available from http://www.manhattanresearch.com/.
Naismith, L., Lonsdale, P., Vavoula, G. and Sharples, M. (2004) Report 11: Literature Review of Mobile Technologies in Learning. Bristol: Futurelab. Available on line at http://www.futurelab.org.uk/research/reviews/reviews_11_and12/11_01.htm [accessed 24 July 2006]
Perkins, D. N. (1993). Person-plus: A distributed view of thinking and learning. In G. Salomon (Ed.) Distributed cognitions (New York, Cambridge University Press), 88-110.
Ramsden, A. (2003) Evaluating a Low Specification Wirelessly Connected PDAs as a Means Supporting Learning. Paper presented at LTSN-ICS Mobile-Learning, Telford, UK. Available at http://www.ics.ltsn.ac.uk/pub/m_learning/ [accessed 27.4.05]
Wertsch, J. (1991) Voices of the Mind; A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action, Harvester, London.
Wertsch, J. (1998) Mind as Action, Oxford University Press Inc, USA.
Related Resources:
This project appears as a case study in Fisher, T., Higgins, C. and Loveless, A. (2006) Teachers Learning with Digital Technologies: A review of research and projects. Report 14. Bristol, Nesta Futurelab . Available here.
Wishart, J. (2006) Identifying the Potential of Handheld Computers with Internet Access to support Initial Teacher Training. Workshop held at the 2nd Annual ESCalate ITE conference, Friday 19 May 2006
Wishart, J., Ramsden, A. and McFarlane, A. (2006) Using PDAs and Handheld to Support Initial Teacher Training in Science. Paper presented at ASE, 4th-6th January 2006, Reading, UK.
Wishart, J., Ramsden, A. and McFarlane, A. (2005) Using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) with Internet Access to Support Initial Teacher Training in the UK, Paper presented at Mlearn 2005, 25th-28th Oct, 2005, Capetown, S.Africa Available at http://www.mlearn.org.za/CD/papers/Wishart.pdf
Wishart, J. Ramsden, A. and McFarlane, A. (2005) PDAs in Initial Teacher Training, Handheld Learning Symposium, Goldsmith's College, October 15th-16th, 2005.
Wishart, J. (2005) PDAs in Initial Teacher Training, ITTE Newsletter No 49 ISSN 1362-9433
Wishart, J. Ramsden, A. and McFarlane, A. (2005) PDAs and Handheld PCs: Does Potential Equate To Practice In Initial Teacher Training? Paper presented at World Conference on Computers in Education (WCCE) 05, Stellenbosch, S.Africa.
Ramsden, A., McFarlane A. and Wishart, J. (2005) Mobility, communication and information management: observations from Initial Teacher Training in science. Paper presented at Computers and Learning (CAL) '05, Bristol, UK.