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PDAs in the Classroom

We love PDAs, but suggest you think twice before using them in the classroom.

PDAs for LEARNING
  1. PDAs, like off-Web computers, are best suited for solitary, isolated learning.
  2. In the classroom, PDAs are like iPods: a distraction from collaborative learning.
  3. PDAs are much more expensive than learning alternatives such as books.
  4. PDAs wear out or become obsolete more quickly than alternatives such as books.
CHOOSING PDA HARDWARE
  1. Paradox: cheaper PDAs have longer battery life, and thus are more useful day to day.
  2. Palm is easiest to use. See Mossberg's authoritative reviews in the Wall Street Journal.
  3. Best value as of August 25, 2006: Zire 22, $99.
CHOOSING PDA SOFTWARE
  1. Look for collaborative features that mirror normal classroom work: one-to-many (lecture) or many-to-many (study group).
  2. Avoid features that distract the student from listening or talking with the teacher and other students -- this describes nearly all software.

ADDITIONAL REMARKS

Don't pay more than $100 for a classroom PDA. It would be wasteful, because the cheapest Palm is under $100 and has all critical features. Corporate sales teams push more expensive hardware because their job is to sell things.

Consider alternatives.

$100 = 3 new textbooks
$100 = 1 used desktop computer
$100 = 3 months of broadband internet
Since these quantities of textbooks, desktop computers, and internet all have higher educational value than a PDA, it would be a better use of public funds to fully supply the district with all of these things before buying a single PDA.