Session S4E ADDING PDAS to YOUR TEACHING TOOLKIT

Session S4E

ADDING PDAS TO YOUR TEACHING TOOLKIT1 2 3 Kenneth L. Alford and John M. D. Hill

Abstract¾This paper describes our experience core information technology (IT) course as a freshman, and incorporating Personal Digital Assistants into computer beginning with the 2003 Fall semester all juniors are science courses in the Department of Electrical Engineering required to take a second IT course as part of their general and Computer Science at the United States Military education requirements. Academy at West Point, New York. All students at our institution are required to purchase a Personal Digital Computing Environment Assistant. The primary goal of this paper is to provide an overview of some of the many ways that handheld computing All West Point students are required to purchase a personal devices can be used to supplement curriculum resources and computer and, beginning with the graduating class of 2003, a presentation in undergraduate education. This paper personal digital assistant as well (see Figures 1 and 2). discusses four kinds of tools that can be used to create Handheld and desktop computer purchases are centrally academic resources for students and faculty: (1) managed, and with very few exceptions all students within programming tools, (2) HTML and XML-based tools, (3) the same graduating class own the same personal version of text tools, and (4) calendar tools. We also discuss benefits computer, PDA, and software applications. Students from providing handheld computing resources and share purchase their personal computer and PDA prior to the lessons learned. beginning of their freshman year, and they receive initial training in the setup and use of the hardware and the Index Terms¾Personal Digital Assistants, PDAs, handheld software applications. There is a mandatory technology computing, undergraduate education enhancement purchase scheduled prior to the beginning of a student’s junior year, primarily used to upgrade equipment so that their personal computer and PDA will remain as current and functional as possible. INTRODUC TION

Computer technology continues to increase in capacity and decrease in both cost and size. Today’s relatively low-cost handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) allow computing capability to be ubiquitous. The developments in handheld computing provide new opportunities for both students and faculty. PDAs can become an extremely effective tool in an instructor’s toolkit. This paper will discuss some of the many ways that PDAs can be used to foster and support student learning.

Background

The United States Military Academy (USMA) is a medium- sized undergraduate academic institution located approximately 50 miles north of New York City on the FIGURE 1. A CADET USES A PDA DURING CLASS Hudson River at West Point, New York. There are approximately 4,200 students, all of whom will serve in the There are currently two different PDAs used by cadets military upon graduation. There are usually 80-120 students at West Point. Freshmen and juniors purchased a Palm m515 who are Computer Science or Information Systems PDA with 16 megabytes of memory. Sophomore and seniors Engineering majors. There are also approximately 200 other purchased a Visor PDA with 8 megabytes of memory. There students who take a three-course engineering sequence are currently no wireless PDA access points. PDAs are (similar to a minor) in Computer Science. All students take a synchronized directly with personal computers. Beginning in

1 The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Military Academy, the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government. 2 Kenneth L. Alford, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Thayer Hall, Building 601, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996, [email protected]. 3 John M. D. Hill, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Thayer Hall, Building 601, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY 10996, [email protected]. 0-7803-7961-6/03/$17.00 © 2003 IEEE November 5-8, 2003, Boulder, CO 33rd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S4E-14 Session S4E the summer of 2002, incoming students purchased laptop SAMPLE PDA TOOLKIT computers instead of desktop computers as previous classes had done since 1986. There are numerous commercial products available to increase the functionality and usability of personal digital assistants. It is important to note, though, that there are also PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND EXPERIENCE a variety of no-cost and low-cost solutions that allow There is a growing body of research and experience instructors to provide similar, if not equivalent, resources, regarding the undergraduate educational use of handheld materials, and instructional products for students. computers. With increasing frequency universities and This section will briefly discuss four categories of PDA colleges are turning to handheld computing to solve tools that can be created: (1) programming tools, (2) HTML problems and provide students with additional resources. and XML-based tools, (3) text tools, and (4) calendar tools. Here are a few recent examples where PDAs have been We will also briefly discuss example products that have been introduced to support university-level education [1]: developed at the Military Academy in each of these areas. · Capitalizing on the infrared capability of handheld Programming Tools devices, Stanford University has created “myStanford” —a web-based portal that allows students, faculty, staff Several software development environments exist for and alumni to access university information through developing applications for personal digital assistants. their handheld computers and access boxes scattered Introductory information can be found online at numerous across campus. websites [2]. Java¾whether in the form of KVM (Kilobyte Virtual Machine), Kawt (an implementation of the Abstract · Beginning with the 2001-2002 academic year, the Window Toolkit for the KVM), J9 (IBM’s virtual machine University of South Dakota requires that all students that is supported by Visual Age Micro Edition), or any purchase a PDA. number of other flavors—is currently one of the most · Penn State Abington has provided PDAs to students in popular languages for programming handheld applications. selected courses since 1999. Application development is appropriate when existing PDA software resources cannot adequately satisfy student · At Central Carolina Technical College students can requirements. At West Point, for example, freshmen (who apply for admission, regis ter for classes, review the are referred to as plebes) must be able to recite the number course catalog, access campus calendars, and read of days that remain until each football game, spring leave, campus news using a handheld computer. graduation, and other notable student activities. Faculty in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science · Medical schools, law schools, MBA programs, and Department created a small PDA program entitled “The numerous graduate schools are also providing students Days” that simplifies this daily ritual for freshmen students. support for handheld computing devices. One instructor uses a PDA to choose which student to

call on in class based on both the frequency they have been called on and the quality of their answers in the past. PDAs have also been incorporated into senior design projects. For example, one student team converted a manual multi-player wargame into a distributed wireless application in which each player used a PDA to communicate with a laptop acting as the server.

HTML and XML-Based Tools

HTML (hypertext markup language) and XML (extensible markup language) pages can be formatted so that they can be saved and read on personal digital assistants. There are numerous ways this capability can be used to support teaching. For example, instructors at West Point have formatted all of the following into HTML and/or XML pages to be read on PDAs:

· Course syllabus and guidelines FIGURE 2. A CADET IS SHOWN GIVING · Course schedules A BRIEFING ABOUT HANDHELD COMPUTING

· Reading assignments extremely useful documents and electronic books for handheld computers. · Projects and other course assignments · Supplemental reading assignments Calendar Tools · Class handouts The ability of handheld computers to hot synch with calendar and other information located on personal · Review information for exams computers makes calendar and schedule applications a · Self-administrated, non-graded quizzes natural target for coursework development. Faculty and students at the United States Military · Web pages, websites, and other HTML documents Academy use CHAOS (Course Hour Appointment for Outlook Scheduler) a Microsoft Visual Basic program for Two of the most popular programs for transforming entering lesson dates, titles, and assignment information into web-ready pages into PDA documents are Plucker [4], a their personal and handheld computers. freeware program, and AvantGo [5], a commercial product. CHAOS-generated files are loaded into the Microsoft Plucker software, for example, allows users to easily Outlook calendar and then synchronized with the calendar create and update PDA-readable versions of single program on student PDAs. CHAOS automates the creation webpages, portions of websites, or entire websites. Users can of lesson dates that are specific to West Point’s One- configure graphic quality and size, timing of file updates, Day/Two-Day lesson schedule. depth of search, and numerous other options. The CHAOS Course Director Tool helps course directors create short lesson descriptions and messages that Text Tools students will see when reviewing appointments using their Outlook and PDA calendars. As an alternative to formatting text into an HTML or XML The Course Director Tool recognizes numerous types of formatted document, there are several text -based tools — course schedules (See Figure 3.): each with its own unique file format—that can be used to develop documents that are readable on a PDA. There are 1. the standard 40 lesson course template several no-cost and low-cost alternatives available for 2. an extended lesson variation of the 40-lesson course developing PDA documents. schedule One of the quickest and easiest ways to send text and small documents to many PDAs is to use the “Memo Pad” 3. courses that infrequently meet for two consecutive feature found in Microsoft Outlook and several PDA instructional hours, such as the freshman Computer synchronization programs. Using Memo Pad is a “bare Science course bones” solution, but it does have the advantage that students 4. courses that always meet for two consecutive hours, can modify the original text they receive. Notes are useful such as the freshman Chemis try course when students are asked to modify and return a document or assignment. 5. courses that have eight lab periods in addition to To obtain increased document functionality, instructors their regularly scheduled 40 lessons, and can turn to freeware or commercial software products such as PalmReader [6], MobiPocket [7], or Adobe Acrobat [8]. 6. courses that meet for 80 lessons.

PalmReader provides all of the software and instructions necessary to create finished PDA-readable documents with text and limited graphics. Copies of the reader software are available for the Windows, Macintosh, Palm OS, and Windows CE operating systems. An advantage of using PalmReader or Adobe Acrobat is that the same document can be read on platforms with all four supported operating systems. PalmReader uses a unique tag- based description language that supports text styles, links, graphics, sidebars, footnotes, bookmarking, notes, and other features. MobiPocket provides free trial versions for both a document reader and creator. MobiPocket supports the Palm OS, Windows CE, Pocket PC, SymbianOs, Franklin eBookMan, and Windows operating systems. FIGURE 3. ONE OF THE OPENING SCREENS OF THE CHAOS PalmReader, Adobe Acrobat, MobiPocket, and a variety COURSE DIRECTOR TOOL of similar programs can be used to create functional and 0-7803-7961-6/03/$17.00 © 2003 IEEE November 5-8, 2003, Boulder, CO 33rd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S4E-16 Session S4E

When course directors are finished entering course information in the CHAOS Course Director Tool (see Figure 4), they send the file to a CHAOS administrator. The administrator checks their output file and publishes it on the web so that students and instructors can download it. Students run CHAOS and enter course designations (such as, CS407) into the program. Lesson schedule information is automatically downloaded into their desktop calendar. This system ensures that all students in the same course have the same calendar and assignment information. Instructors select only the hour in which they teach, and

CHAOS handles the administrative details, such as assigning the correct dates to specific lessons, adjusting for FIGURE 5. LESSON INFO RMATION IS LOADED ON STUDENT COMPUTERS AND HOT SYNCHED WITH THEIR PDAS compressed schedule days, etc. Figure 5 shows course information from CHAOS after it has been correctly loaded into a student calendar. BENEFITS CHAOS is a useful tool for entering and synchronizing student and faculty calendars on personal and handheld There are numerous potential benefits for both students and computers. The same results, though, can be achieved instructors that can be gained by using personal digital without using a program like CHAOS. Course directors can assistants. A few of these advantages are that PDAs are create a calendar file with all associated course dates and portable, versatile, support collaboration, low-cost, schedule information. The calendar file can then be emailed maintainable, and easy to use. or otherwise distributed to students and other instructors who can import it into their individual desktop and PDA Versatile calendars. The end result can be the same as if a program like CHAOS was used to create the course calendars. PDAs provide one of the most versatile computing platforms available today. Here are just a few of the many possible

ways that PDAs can be used in and out of class: · To take lecture notes · To record lab data · To schedule assignments and lectures · To perform or check calculations · To easily share data and programs · To edit written work and presentations · To read assignments · And many other uses…

Portable

Personal digital assistants are small enough to fit in pockets, backpacks, and purses, but powerful enough to provide basic computing power almost anywhere. PDAs have even been used to provide progress and status reports during an ascent of Mount Everest and from a Russian Soyuz rocket [3].

FIGURE 4. USING THE CHAOS COURSE DIRECTOR TOOL, Supports Collaboration INSTRUCTORS ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE LESSON INFORMATION TO STUDENTS In addition to being extremely portable, if student Faculty and students at the Military Academy have used collaborative teams are equipped with PDAs and share the this method to create and distribute calendars and schedules same software and files, there is a reduced concern that for student clubs, religious groups, student project teams, overall progress will be impeded if a mishap occurs to an and a variety of other groups. individual team member’s PDA or desktop computer.

Low-Cost is probably unlikely for the majority of undergraduate institutions¾then not all students will have access to a PDA. Handheld computers are much less expensive than portable All student and course resources provided for personal or desktop computers. Some institutions may find it pays to digital assistants must also be provided in another medium purchase several handheld computing devices instead of one or format, which usually means more work for instructors desktop computer in selected classrooms. and teaching assistants.

Maintainable Potential for Misuse

Personal digital computers are easy to maintain. Software The ease with which data and handheld applications can be installation, updates, and removal are much less complicated shared¾while being one of the PDAs greatest than on the more powerful personal computers and servers. advantages ¾can also provide the opportunity for misuse. PDAs, for example, should generally not be authorized Ease of Use for use during examinations and quizzes. The ability to Unlike desktop and portable computers which often have a easily, quickly, and silently beam information and answers steep learning curve associated with their use, students can from one PDA to another makes this a temptation best left untried. be taught to use the basic functions of a personal digital assistant in an hour or two. LESSONS LEARNED CHALLENGES Instructors at the United States Military Academy have been PDAs can be a wonderful teaching resource, but there are creating PDA instructional content for several years. Here are a few of the many lessons we have learned along the also several challenges associated with including them in an instructor’s toolkit. Among the challenges instructors face way: are the potential need to support numerous PDA operating · Be aware of size constraints. PDA storage capacity is systems, limitations on power and storage, less than rapidly improving, but it is still a constrained universal student access, and a potential for misuse. development environment. Numerous PDA Operating Systems · Use graphics sparingly and ensure that they have been optimized. If students are free to purchase their own PDAs, there will certainly be numerous operating systems being used at any · Double-check everything, especially links and graphics, given time within a single classroom. At best the presence of before you provide it to students. numerous PDA platforms and operating systems complicates · Always provide non-handheld alternatives for all the use of PDAs in the classroom, at worst it makes sharing resources you develop for PDAs. specific applications and files difficult or impossible. Whenever feasible, institutions may profit from · Recognize different PDA operating systems, screen selecting and publicizing a recommended operating system resolutions, and color capability. Reference to specific for handheld computing devices¾just as many institutions colors in images, for example, is meaningless for currently do for personal computers. students with a 16-grayscale screen on their PDA. It should be noted, though, that the use of intermediate · Eliminate screen scrolling on PDAs whenever possible; programs on personal computers, such as Microsoft Outlook, it is tedious and time -consuming. can alleviate many of the problems of compatibility. · Limit the number of PDA file-reading programs you Power and Storage require students to load on their PDA. PalmReader, Plucker, and Adobe Acrobat, for example, are all PDAs continue to improve in power, storage, performance, excellent programs, but requiring students to load all of and have made tremendous advances in the past few years. It them in order to read a wide variety of instructional is a fact, though, that they are still well below the computing materials for your course could require an unreasonable capability available on most other personal computing amount of valuable PDA memory space. platforms. · You cannot provide too many links within a document. Student Access · Concentrate first-and-foremost on usability. The best Unless the purchase of a personal digital assistant is content available can be rendered almost useless by a poor presentation. mandated and enforced by an educational institution – which 0-7803-7961-6/03/$17.00 © 2003 IEEE November 5-8, 2003, Boulder, CO 33rd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S4E-18 Session S4E

FUTURE RESEARCH

This is a relatively new field of research, and there is much to do. Innovative solutions are needed in many areas, for example: · Improving the programming environments for developing PDA software applications. · Reducing the development time for PDA applications. · Providing additional multi-platform PDA software. · Establishing widely accepted standards for platform- independent electronic books and files.

CONCLUSION

When viewed as another tool in an instructor’s toolkit, personal digital assistants can provide students with excellent additional resources to help them learn. We believe that PDAs and other similar devices will continue to grow in importance and use as innovative ways are found to provide valuable resources and course materials for faculty and students.

REFERENCES

[1] Information about the experiences mentioned, and others, can be found online at http://www.palm.com/education/studies/archive.html. [2] http://www.onjava.com/pub/-a/onjava/2001/03/15/java_palm.html, for example. [3] http://pressroom.palm.com/InvestorRelations/PubNewsStory.asp x?partner=Mzg0TlRFMU1BPT1QJFkEQUALSTO&product=Mzgw U1ZJPVAkWQEQUALSTOEQUALSTO&storyId=46910 [4] The homepage for the Plucker software (which contains programs, instructions, samples, and source code) is found online at: http://www.plkr.org/index.plkr [5] AvantGo is a commercial software product that is often bundled with other PDA-provided software. Their homepage is available online at www.avantgo.com. [6] PalmReader software is available online at: http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/-product/reader/browse/free [7] MobiPocket software is available online at: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp [8] Adobe Acrobat software for the PDA is available online at: http://www.adobe.com