Abstract
This study investigated
how students in a middle school in Alberta, Canada along with their
teachers and parents perceived the usefulness of PDAs for student use.
Three group-specific questionnaires were employed to gather data. Students,
parents, and teachers all strongly agreed that PDAs helped to enhance
and support students in the areas of: a) collaboration, b) work effectiveness,
and c) technology knowledge. Results of the study were inconclusive,
however, and possible areas for improving the PDA program were suggested.
Introduction and Framework
The Alberta Department of
Education, called Alberta Education, mandates the curriculum and framework
for the education of K-12 students.1
Recognizing the critical role of technology in today's society, technology
learning is part of every student's basic education in Alberta. The
Alberta Information and Communication Technology (ICT) program of studies
is a prescribed curriculum for K-12 students that details the technical
and communications knowledge and skills required of all Alberta students.2
It is intended that students receive a wide range of technical concepts
and activities designed to increase their technical competence, literacy,
and understanding of the ways technology impacts them and society in
general. The curriculum is not stand-alone but is integrated within
other curricula, especially the core subjects of English, mathematics,
science, and social studies. Above all, the ICT curriculum emphasizes
using technology as a tool for problem solving (Jonassen, 1996).
A number of school districts
in Alberta have started technology projects in support of the ICT curriculum.
One such project involved the use and integration of personal digital
assistants (PDAs) into a middle school environment. 3
Two classes (one 7th grade and one 9th grade) of Alberta middle school
students in a large urban area were involved in the study. Students in
this study used PDAs throughout the school day and at home. Data could
be stored on their PDAs directly, and stored or retrieved wirelessly from
the school server.
The 26 students in
7th grade were nearing the end of their first year of study with
the PDAs intervention, and the 25 students in ninth grade were
nearing the end of their third year of using PDAs. Participants
in this study were drawn from these classes as well as the students'
parents and school staff and were comprised of: 24 of 51 students
(47%), 14 of 24 families (58%), and 6 staff (100%). |
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Literature Review
Many earlier technologies adapted to education, such as radio, filmstrips, tape recorders, and 16mm films were considered sufficiently important to be capable of changing educational methodology (Saettler, 1990). However, the projections and plans of technology advocates, promoters, and early adopters have not always resulted in the changes anticipated – or even in any change at all in educational practice. For example, the psychologist Gordon Allport, commenting on the slow deployment of educational radio stated, “Educators are confronted with a new medium for public instruction whose magnificent possibilities daze them, but whose technical and psychological peculiarities they do not yet fully understand” (Cantril & Allport, 1935, p. 248). Nonetheless, the ability of new and especially networked technologies and their capacity to extend and expand both communication and information processing continues to inspire and challenge educational leaders to consider such technologies to be at least a component part of education innovation.
One of the more recent technologies
to extend and expand communication and information processing is the
personal digital assistant (PDA) or handheld. Particular to educational
applications, PDAs afford a number of potentially useful activities
and interventions. For instance, data are efficiently recorded and analyzed
using PDAs as compared to using pen and paper. Portable and lightweight
handhelds can be carried in pockets or purses into almost all environments
of learning or research. In comparison to desktop computers, PDAs offer
improved portability, accessibility (low cost), mobility, and adaptability
(Ray, McFadden, Patterson, & Wright, 2001). One of the key reasons
for using PDAs in the classroom is that every student can have immediate
and personal access to computer technology, and this particular computer
technology can also be taken home easily (Brown, 2001). In order to
have true technological innovation in schools, computerized devices
should be readily available ( Buboltz, Young, Wilkinson, & Thomas,
2002; Ray, McFadden, Patterson, & Wright, 2001; Education World
e-Magazine, 2001) preferably at a one-to-one ratio of student to
device. Handhelds are an economical way to make technological innovation
more available in schools, and the Palm web site offers successful
accounts of handhelds being used in educational environments (Palm,
Inc., 2006).
One challenge for PDA use in education is that designing instructional programs for PDAs is a relatively complex task for teachers. Nevertheless, Son, Kim, and Park (2004) point to eight positive characteristics of PDAs that outweigh the complexities and give credence and a rationale for the use of handhelds in educational domains. Their key point is that technology tools such as PDAs encourage and support students in changing their learning behavior.
Other authors have described
strategies for successfully introducing and integrating PDAs into classrooms.
Pownell and Bailey (2001) generated 13 themes for successful integration.
A key theme was the ability of a leader to develop a vision for a successful
handheld program. Too few school administrators at present seem capable
of initiating and sustaining technology programs, suggesting a need
for changes to administrative preparation and professional development
(University of Minnesota, School Technology Leadership Initiative 2004).
The Maryland Technology Academy, in collaboration with John Hopkins
University, Towson University, and the Maryland State Department of
Education, was established to develop recommendations and professional
development programs for administrators who would be technological leaders
in their schools (STLI, University of Minnesota's School Technology
Leadership Initiative, 2004; Wizer and McPherson, 2005).
Many teachers still find computers to be difficult to integrate into their students' learning since computers are often isolated in computer labs or provided in classrooms in insufficient numbers for easy and sustained usage. The more accommodating PDAs are proving useful to language arts, science, and math. In language arts a PDA can support the crucial writing process (Figg & Burson, 2002). While the desktop computer can be considered an instrument for producing the final versions of written assignments, PDAs are an excellent tool for the more preliminary work of the writing process, that of creative brainstorming, drafting, editing, and re-writing. Note taking during class can also be enhanced through collaborative consultation by means of shared text input applications. Students can participate to a greater degree though seeing their individual text entries merging into a collective text (Denoue, Sing, & Das, 2005).
| PDAs are proving to be valuable tools in mathematics and science as well (Ostler, 2002). Software can provide for specialized mathematical programs. PDAs can be connected to peripheral tools and input devices. Examples of software include applications for graphing, simulation, animation, and mathematical games. Peripheral tools include temperature probes, digital cameras, GPS units, and robotic apparatus. |
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An example of appropriate
use of a PDA in a science class is the use of an input probe to capture
information such as temperature, humidity, and motion (Walthes, 2005).
PDAs have also been shown to be effective and efficient tools for presenting
quizzes. This use often results in reduced student time in taking a
quiz, real-time scoring, and less time spent on grading (Segall &
Doolen, 2005).
From an accountability standpoint, there are agencies that attribute increases in student achievement to student use of PDAs. The Consortium for School Networking (2004) conducted a study of the use of handhelds in K-12 schools focusing in part on the increasing numbers of schools that were turning to handheld computers so that every student had a PDA. The study found that PDA use was associated with improved student attention and increased achievement.
Like other aspects of computer technology, the development of handheld
computer technology continues to evolve rapidly. Such developments include
increased capacity and connectivity with other computer devices (Krazit,
2004). New features of some PDAs rival the capabilities of desktop computers
and include: email, text messaging, an organizer, web access, Bluetooth®
communication technology, an MP3 player, and a digital camera (Palm
Products, 2006; Blackberry, 2006). Further, new technical devices continue
to enter the marketplace. The LeapFrog FLY™ Pentop computer has, “an
optical scanner that sees everything you scan and write on special dot-matrix
FLY paper” (LeapFrog,
2006). This device purports to have program applications to assist
children in learning. Berq (2005) believes that the FLY™ Pentop computer
highlights the value of this new form of computing.
Clearly, while improvements in handheld technologies offer educators exciting possibilities there are also new instructional challenges to consider. For example, student cell phones ring during class, record photographs without individuals' knowledge, play MP3 music, and enable text messages. Such activities hardly seem educational, and may, in fact, be disruptive to the learning process. The evolution in handheld devices can add to the problem of finding an adequate supply of educational software applications appropriate for handhelds. Learner support resources are complex issues when considering alternative technical devices such as a handheld (Pasian, Barber, & Siedlaczek, 2002).
In spite of continually changing technology and the problems of implementing
PDAs in classroom activities, the literature implies that the use of such
handheld technologies will likely increase in the future. Rather than dwell
on the disadvantages such technology brings to the classroom, Hirsch (2005)
suggests proactive strategies such as using cell phone accessible sites
such as homeworknow.com, winksite.com,
or rtestedu.com to create cell phone-based
learning activities. Hirsch also suggests using Apple iPods for educational
audio podcasts, a practice begun in some post-secondary institutions.
Methodology
For this study, group specific questionnaires were developed to identify perceptions of the use of PDAs by students, parents, and staff in a consistent manner. The questionnaires were developed in consideration of Guidelines for Designing a Questionnaire (Berdie, Anderson, & Niebuhr, 1986). In addition, the first author used her experience as a teacher to consider what questions would best elicit student, parent, and staff perceptions of PDA devices in the classroom. Topics considered for questionnaires included cost, technical requirements, participation expectations, usefulness, ease of use, comparability to other technologies, time constraints and expectations, and effect on student achievement.
To increase construct and face validity, the instruments were reviewed and formative feedback provided by three individuals: a practicing classroom teacher; a recent graduate of a master's program in instructional technology; and a professor with considerable expertise in educational technology. Given tradition and the desire to obtain the highest return rate possible, hard copies of the surveys were distributed by and completed surveys later collected by the school principal (see Appendixes A, B, and C).
See Appendix A - Questionnaire for School Staff
See Appendix B - Questionnaire for Parents
See Appendix C - Questionnaire for Students
Participants and Setting
Participation rates were as follows: six staff members (100%); 24 out
of 51 total students (47%) from a 7th grade class of 26 students with
almost a year of PDA experience and a 9th grade class of 25 students
with almost three years of PDA experience; and 14 of 24 families (58%).
Students were encouraged
but not required to purchase PDAs. Participation in the program progressed
from partial involvement in 7th grade to complete participation by 9th
grade. Ninth graders in the study had been initiated into the PDA program
during their 7th grade year.
