.KEYWORD education
.FLYINGHEAD EDUCATION ADVANCES
.TITLE Palm broadens options in education
.OTHER
.SUMMARY From a key spot at the National Education Computing Conference to a West Virginian program to provide educators statewide with the skills and strategies to help them teach in student-centered, high-technology classrooms, June was a big month for Palm in the field of education. Steve Niles has a summary of the recent announcements Palm made regarding its broader choices in mobile products for education.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
June was a big month for Palm in the field of education. Not only will the company be providing handhelds for a special program aimed at school superintendents and principals, but at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC), PalmSource, Inc. told educators to expect broader choices in mobile products for education. Palm and InSTEP (Integrating Strategies and Technology In Education Practice) also announced that Palm handhelds will become an integral part of InSTEP’s program to provide educators throughout West Virginia with the skills and strategies to help them teach in student-centered, high-technology classrooms.
.H1 NYTALKS and Palm handhelds
It all started with Palm’s June 3 announcement that the company expects more than 5,000 Palm handheld computers to be purchased for a three-year grant program designed by the New York State Council of School Superintendents, the SAANYS (School Administrators Association of New York State), and the SED (State Education Department). The program was developed to help education leaders throughout New York state begin to explore technology as a catalyst for organizational growth and student achievement.
The program is called NYTALKS (Technology, Achievement, Leadership, Knowledge and Skills), and it’s designed to give superintendents and principals access to quality leadership and technology training. The three organizations were awarded a $7.5 million State Challenge Grant for Leadership Development by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and NYTALKS was developed as a result. The terms of the grant required the program to use a digital tool, which is where Palm comes in.
The first phase of the program will begin on July 28 with orientation and Palm-sponsored basic training. The Palm handhelds will include Palm’s Mobile Mentor Software: Educator Edition CD, containing various software programs aimed at school leaders. The handhelds will be configured, preloaded, and delivered by Pomeroy Computer Resources, Inc., a provider of enterprise IT solutions. The second phase of the program includes a series of regional "learning experiences" provided by SED’s Leadership Academies, including technology fairs, local workshops, business and school site visits, and other leadership enhancement activities.
.H1 Expect broader choices
On June 17, at the NECC (National Education Computing Conference), David Nagel, chief executive officer of PalmSource, Inc. (the Palm OS subsidiary of Palm, Inc.) told educators to expect broader choices in mobile products for education. In the coming months, Nagel said, Palm OS platform licensees, such as AlphaSmart, are going to be bringing new products to market. PalmSource is the
In fact, AlphaSmart (at http://www.alphasmart.com), a provider of technology solutions for education, has already unveiled its new Palm OS based product called Dana. The device is one of the most unique designs ever for a Palm OS device. It combines the convenience and affordability of a Palm OS handheld with the ergonomics of a lightweight laptop. It’s pictured in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A AlphaSmart’s Dana is a new take on the Palm OS handheld.
To demonstrate the increased emphasis on mobility in education, Nagel cited a press release from IDC that said, "The K-12 market is moving from desktop PCs toward notebook computers and smart handheld devices, a shift expected to rapidly accelerate at the start of the 2003-2004 academic year."
Nagel also discussed how new technologies included in Palm OS 5 will enable new types of educational solutions. The new OS should offer faster processing, greater security of information, and new wireless support for better communication inside and outside of the classroom. In addition, new sound and multimedia capabilities are supported, and as these technologies evolve, applications will begin to support capabilities such as interactive video, speech recognition, voice applications, electronic paper, and other features that Nagel says will stimulate inquiry-based learning and collaboration in education.
Mike Lorion, vice president of education at Palm, Inc., also spoke at the conference, saying, "Palm OS products are going to be an important part of the education computing continuum because they offer education cost-effective, sophisticated mobile tools that make a computer for every student and teacher possible."
Lorion noted that Palm was using the conference to showcase the versatility of Palm OS products with new applications from various education developers. Those developers include AlphaSmart, Bachmann Software, Century Consultants, Cutting Edge Software, Electronics for Imaging, eLearning Dynamics, Grant Street Software LLC, Handmark, ImagiWorks, Inc., Infinity Softworks, Inc., PalmSource, Inc., Pico Communications, Scantron Corporation, Trivantis Corporation, TruSmart Technologies Corporation, and Wireless Generation.
.H1 Get InSTEP
Lorion also announced that Palm handhelds will become part of a West Virginia professional development program called InSTEP (The Integrating Strategies and Technology In Education Practice). InSTEP (at http://www3.cet.edu/instep/) is designed to provide educators statewide with the skills and strategies to help them teach in student-centered, high-technology classrooms. The program is designed for K-12 math and science teachers and university educators who are preparing new teachers to focus on problem-based inquiry learning rather than the traditional method of simply lecturing to impart knowledge.
At the beginning of each training session, educators choose an appropriate technology tool from a range of options given to them by InSTEP. They choose a technology based upon what they want to accomplish with problem-based learning. Of the nearly 400 teachers expected to participate in the eight, one-week programs this summer, so far, nearly half the teachers have chosen Palm handhelds.
The tool is given to the teacher to keep and use throughout the program, which includes a week of technology training, development of an instructional plan, and actual classroom implementation of the plan. Regional coordinators are assigned to the teachers to provide year-long support. The regional agencies also have technology tools available for teachers in the region to borrow, including six learner sets of Palm handhelds and ImagiProbe sensor-based data acquisition systems from ImagiWorks (at http://www.imagiworks.com), and a class set of 30 Palm handhelds available through the Center for Educational Technologies.
According to Lynn Blaney, InSTEP’s professional development coordinator, "Using technology that enhances a student’s learning experience contributes to achievements and shapes lifelong success and lifelong learning. We want all math and science teachers in the state to have this experience."
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on AlphaSmart, visit http://www.alphasmart.com.
For more information on InSTEP, visit http://www3.cet.edu/instep/.
For more information on ImagiWorks, visit http://www.imagiworks.com.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
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