The University of South Dakota, Palm Initiative:A Two Year Experiment

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Roberta Ambur, CIOJoe Collette, Manager of Internet Services

Cheryl Tiahrt, Manager of Technology Services

Copyright Roberta Ambur, Joe Collette, and Cheryl Tiahrt, 2002. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.

USD: PDAs and Education

• The Concept• Planning• Implementation• Key Issues• Assessment and Evaluation• Future Goals• Lessons Learned

The Concept

• A Novel Idea• Administrative Support• Key Elements

Spring 2001

Planning

• The Unveiling– External & Internal

• Administrative Steering Committee– Academic/Instruction– Technical Support– Financial/Procurement

Summer 2001

Implementation: Phase I

• Early Issues/Decisions:– Who gets PDAs?– What software?– What technical support?– What training?– How distributed and billed?– What academic uses?

Summer 2001

Implementation: Phase I

• Software Selection -- Palm OS– NearSpace– AvantGo– Multimail–Palm Reader– MobileMentor

• PowerOne Calculator• Documents to Go• Thought Manager• 4.0 Student• MobileDB

–Additional software for medical students

Late Summer 2001

Implementation: Phase I

• Early Issues/Decisions:– Who gets PDAs?– What software?– What technical support?– What training?– How distributed and billed?– What academic uses?

Summer 2001

Implementation: Phase I

Application in the classroom• Lecture schedules, syllabi, notes• Quizzes • Web clipping• In action

• USD Handheld Computing Website– www.usd.edu/pda/

Late Summer & Fall 2001

Key Issues

• Education-driven • Student & faculty experience• Student access

– Students without PDAs– Students without desktop PCs

• Connectivity and distribution of material• Support• Rapidly changing technology

Ongoing Fall 2001–Spring 2002

Implementation: Phase II

• Administrative restructuring• Mini-grants• Faculty mentoring• Designation of PDA-based sections• Server solution – XTND Connect• Palm Users Group• Beyond 2002

Ongoing Fall 2001-Spring 2002

Evaluation of Initiative

• Assessment of educational impact– PDAs as catalysts for academic engagement– Classroom results– Student feedback

• Program evaluation– Roll-out, distribution, training– Student and faculty use– Creative application

Spring 2002

Future Goals

• Still evolving• Adaptation to new technologies• Faculty input• Educational software development• Continual assessment• Two tier approach: Beyond 2002

2002 and Beyond

Lessons Learned

• Change/Innovation in Higher Education• Bleeding Edge / Cutting Edge / Dull Edge• Information technology advances and first-year students• At end of Year One, more ? than ! but have made enough progress to be optimistic that at the end of Year Two, conclusion will be !

2002 and Beyond

Join Us!

HandTEd:Handheld Technologies in Education

Conference atThe University of South Dakota

mid-May 2003

2002 and Beyond