PDA’s: The Swiss army knife of handheld technology for mathematics classrooms

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Ostler, E. (2002). PDA’s: The Swiss army knife of handheld technology for mathematics classrooms. In D. Willis et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2002 (pp. 1102-1105). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/10941.

Conference Information

Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (SITE) 2002
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
2002
  Dee Anna Willis, Jerry Price & Niki Davis
AACE

More Information on SITE
Table of Contents

Author

Elliott Ostler, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA

Abstract

The Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) states "Electronic technologies - calculators and computers - are essential tools for teaching, learning, and doing mathematics." Tools such as graphing calculators are particularly powerful in their ability to provide visual images of abstract mathematical ideas, yet as helpful as these tools have proven to be, they have their own set of limitations. This paper will highlight how one relatively new technology, Personal Digital Assistant's (PDA's) can be used in mathematics instruction in some very engaging and powerful ways. Because PDA's are handheld devices smaller than most graphing calculators, and in many cases costing about the same, they provide students an opportunity to view mathematical ideas in a variety of ways just as graphing calculators do. The many applications now available for PDA's however add a much greater dimension of realism to the mathematics curriculum than is possible with a graphing calculator, and much greater portability than is possible with a desktop computer. The PDA is in essence a kind of Swiss Army knife approach to handheld computing where one very small device can act as many different tools. This paper will provide information and examples in three areas: software applications, peripheral utilities, and case studies from field tests. Software applications will include descriptions of spreadsheets, graphing calculators, simulation software, animation software, and games. Descriptions of peripheral utilities will include temperature probes, digital cameras, GPS, and robotics. Finally, a summary of data collected from mathematics and science teachers will provide perceptions and insights of how PDA's are currently being used in classrooms. The power of these devices rests in the simplicity with which students can switch back and forth between applications within a single lesson. During a lesson, students may collect data on water samples with probe devices, calculate levels of impurity using a calculator, enter data in a spreadsheet for graphing, look up terms in a dictionary, and immediately write up lab results using a word processor. The beaming features of the PDA also make it easy for students to share information. With so many possible features still unexplored, PDA's can almost certainly be thought of as a kind of 21st century Swiss Army knife for classroom technology

Keywords

• Students
• Mathematics
• Computers
• Software

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