PDAs Latest Technology Used as
Teaching Tool in Department Classes

By Katherine Peters
Telecommunication Senior

COM 114 Course Supervisor Melanie Morgan, an assistant professor, looks over one of the PDAs given to students.

When student Frank Lattyak needed a cue from his speaking notes during his speech in Colleen Brown's section of Communication 114, he didn't fumble around with handwritten notecards. Instead, he simply got a reminder from the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) he was holding.

According to Assistant Professor Melanie Morgan, course director for COM 114, each student in Brown's section of the introductory public speaking course required for most freshmen was given a Hewlett Packard Jornada PDA to use for a semester. They were allowed to keep it all semester long, so they were able to use it in all aspects of their academic life.

This new project was funded by Instructional Computing Services, the instructional arm of Information Technology at Purdue (ITAP), with the idea that students could benefit from learning how to use new technology in the classroom. Use of innovative technology is a key part of Purdue's new strategic plan. Essentially, this was a part of an idea to encourage incoming freshman to purchase a PDA instead of a computer.

While there were technological snags during the inaugural semester, "the response from the students was overwhelmingly positive," Brown said.

According to Morgan, the PDAs were used for attendance, group work, sending reminders, checking e-mail, taking notes, research, and critiquing speeches, which provided the students with immediate feedback on their work.

The PDAs replaced the old paper attendance sheet that used to be passed around at the start of each class, Brown said. "Students seemed to like it because they were no longer afraid of missing the sheet as it came around," Brown said. "This also allowed each student to view their attendance log to better keep track of their absences, especially since attendance counts for points in COM 114."

Because the PDAs were a part of the wireless network, the students were able to use their PDAs to get access to the Internet in their dorms, in Beering Hall, and in the Union.

The PDAs that were issued were top of the line, and students began to become reliant on the PDAs. The use of the machines enhanced the learning experience, according to Morgan, because of the immediate feedback and access to a variety of different informational sources.

For instance, Brown said, a student giving a speech was able to review all feedback electronically after a speech, rather than waiting for students to fill out peer speech evaluation forms on paper. Students simply rated different aspects of the speech on a one to five scale on the PDAs. "This was by far the students' favorite use of the device," she said.

There were some negatives, though. Brown said some students felt the devices were too small and didn't like to surf Web sites or check e-mail because navigating the information on the small screen was more difficult.

"Other students simply found they were not ready to retire their paper calendars and learn a new type of technology," she said. "They did, however, all realize that devices such as these will likely be commonplace in their lives after college, so all in all they appreciated being able to use them and test the waters."

Although the class is not currently being offered, there has been testing in engineering and math classes, and there are plans to offer the use of PDAs in the classroom in the future.

"There are definite possibilities, particularly in classrooms that aren't equipped with state-of-the-art computers and projection screens," Brown said. "We would like to more fully integrate the PDA into classroom instruction and projects and are working toward coming up with new ideas. Ultimately, the PDA could become as crucial to student academic life as pens and pencils."