I went through learninginhand’s Web Links section recently. It was actually very fun to visit some of the sites I had not been to in a long while. I’ve also removed some sites that were either gone, outdated, or contained information that could be found in other sites. I try not to include sites that are simply links to other sites. Instead, the sites in Web Links offer original content. Additionally, I added several links--see if you can find them. I also reorganized the Schools section. Now the page is divided into sections based on who maintains the site: an organization/university/company, school district, or classroom teacher. My favorites are the web sites by classroom teachers because these sites are by people who are using handhelds everyday with their students!

After having so many web links about educational use of handhelds to go through, it reminded me of time when all of my web links fit on my homepage for handhelds in 2001. I had placed about a dozen links to articles and sites at the bottom of that page of Planet 5th by April 2002. (Click here to view a PDF file of that page--ah, memories!) I remember wishing there were more resources to help me teach with handhelds--and my wish has come true!

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NCLB) puts a special emphasis on implementing educational programs and practices that have been clearly demonstrated to be effective through rigorous scientific research. Federal funding is to be targeted to support such programs. If use of handheld computers is demonstrated to be effective through rigorous research, think of the funding for handhelds that would pour in! Of course, doing scientifically based studies is difficult to do in classrooms for many reasons (mostly because there’s a classroom full of students to teach). However, many university researchers and some classroom teachers have begun to share their research studies on the web. Although many of us know that handhelds have transformed our classroom for the better, these studies can be important for justifying why we use handhelds and for funding.

I have added a page to learninginhand’s Web Links section. The Research page provides links to sites and PDF files that contain research study results. I have to admit, there’s not many scientifically based studies there yet. Much of the research is coming from Kent State University, thanks to Mark van 't Hooft. I’m confident that in the near future I’ll be able to add several links to studies that find a clear link between effective handheld use and increased academic achievement.

Todd Fishburn is a technology integration specialist working with secondary educators and students in Seaford, Delaware to use Pocket PCs. Learn more about Todd’s project here: http://www.seaford.k12.de.us/it/pda/home.htm.

Todd has been kind enough to periodically send me links to Pocket PC freeware that he finds. I just added links to more software to learninginhand’s Pocket PC Software pages, and many of the new links are Todd’s suggestions. Here are a few examples:

ScrabblCE
Play this version of Scrabble against the computer or another person.

Anagrams
Anagrams gives you a word and then your job is to make as many words as possible using the letters in the given word.

Notes Quiz
This program is designed to help beginners improve their knowledge of the standard music notation as well as train their memory. It presents students with random notes to identify.

Physics Help
Lists dozens of constants and quarks, accessible through a single tap.

Jack's Jingo
Guess a five-letter word in five tries. Jingo lets you know when you have the correct letter in the wrong place or if you have the correct letter in the correct place. It's like the game Mastermind, but with letters instead of colors. This is my favorite application out of this list! Try it—it’s fun and challenging!

My school just purchased 30 Tungsten E handheld computers. I'll use these handhelds with students in first through fourth grades, and I'll be responsible for keeping their batteries charged. I've written an article about a way I turned a $4 toolbox into a multi-charger that greatly reduces cable clutter.

After getting the 30 new handhelds charged using my new toolbox, I spent a couple of hours today loading software onto the Tungsten Es. I have to say, that without Grant Street Software's SD Deploy, it would have taken me at least the entire day to load all of the software and set preferences for each handheld. Here's how SD Deploy works: I created "master" handheld by getting it just right. That means I loaded all of the software I wanted to have on the handheld, turned the sound off, wrote Willowdale Elementary in the owner field, etc. Once my master handheld was just the way I wanted it, I inserted the SD Deploy card. SD Deploy made copies all of the information from the master handheld. I then insert the SD Deploy card into another handheld. It quickly turns the new handheld into a clone of the master handheld. This was so much faster than synching or beaming all of the applications, documents, and settings, that's for sure! SD Deploy retails for $249. That sounds expensive, but if I add up all of the time that little card has saved me this school year (and years to come), it's well worth the investment!

One of the reasons I enjoy using and reading about technology is because there’s always something new! Here are three new things in the world of educational handheld technology:

There’s a new book by Carolyn Staudt of the Concord Consortium titled Changing How We Teach and Learn with Handheld Computers. According to Corwin Press, “In this resource, educators learn how to build learning experiences that use technology to support thinking, data analysis, and information retrieval and sharing for standards-linked learning both in and beyond the classroom.” Find links to other handheld books here.

There’s also a new online discussion forum based in the United Kingdom called the Handheld Learning Forum. It’s just starting off, but already there are some good posts to read! Lots of knowledgeable educators have already contributed to the discussions. Find more discussion forums linked here.

My final new item to share is useful for educators who are new to handheld computing. It’s a series of 23 free video tutorials for Palm OS 5 from Atomic Learning. Topics covered include digitizing the screen, changing font size, and deleting items. Find links to more tutorials here.

Got something new to share? I’d love to share it with the readers of learninginhand! Email learninginhand@mac.com.

There's a new 2-minute video about using handheld computers in schools online. I really like this QuickTime movie because it's from the United Kingdom! Not only do I adore the British accents, but the video is mostly about a Year 6 student, Brandon, and his successes with his Tungsten T2. Brandon is the classroom T2 troubleshooter and has gained a great amount of self-confidence being an advocate for handheld computers. View the Dudley PDA Project video here.

There are many more video about handhelds in education in learninginhand's Web Links - Videos section.

GoKnow is running another Sketchy animation contest! The contest starts today and runs through March 25, 2005. Teachers can submit their students’ Sketchy animations in one of these categories: Science, Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Other. First prize is a palmOne Zire 21 handheld computer! Also, winners and honorable mentions will be posted to GoKnow’s site for all to see. Click here for details. Click here to view last spring's winners (and notice that some of them are from my school – Willowdale Elementary).

The fourth annual Michigan Handheld Computer Conference in (snowy) Holland, Michigan was a great success! I had the pleasure of speaking to over 200 educators from around the country about handhelds. There were 35 wonderful breakout sessions and friendly exhibitors. It’s a great feeling to be around others who are interested in using handhelds with students. Many enthusiastic educators flocked together to share great ideas! Click here to view web sites and handouts from the conference. If the opportunity presents itself, attend a handheld conference—you’ll be glad you did. There aren’t many conferences around that are specifically for educational handheld technology, so you might have to do some research to find them.

If you are organizing a conference, please contact me for announcing your conference on learninginhand.com or to invite me to speak at your event.