What is a PDA? PDA is the acronym for Personal Digital Assistant, a wireless, mobile, hand-held device that can be used for storing and retrieving information. You can think of a PDA as a (very) scaled-down personal computer. PDAs are often known as "Palm Pilots" (although that's just one brand) or "hand-helds." Information is loaded onto - and retrieved from - a PDA using either a keyboard or a special "pen" used on the PDA's sensitive screen. Information can also be transferred between PDAs and desktop or laptop computers, and PDAs are often used as a bridge between the user and their "real" computer. As PDAs grow more and more sophisticated, their potential increases. As Guy Devyatkin demonstrated in The Internet in Action, some PDAs now come ready equipped with Internet capability, and others will accept snap-on modules that provide everything from dictionaries to modems to digital cameras in the PDA interface. In addition to these improvements in the hardware, software is being developed specifically for use with PDAs. The Web site recommended by Guy Devyatkin for PDA software is TUCOWS - http://www.tucows.com. At TUCOWS, you can search for software compatible with specific kinds of PDAs and download it, often at no charge. TUCOWS also rates the software it provides. What are some of the educational uses of PDAs? Because of their small size and relative affordability compared to laptop computers, there is at least a possibility that PDAs will reduce the gap between the technological haves and have-nots in schools and classrooms. If PDAs were widely available in a school setting, students and teachers could communicate directly with each other out of, as well as inside, the classroom. Students could collaborate with each other remotely. Hand-helds could be used on fieldtrips and other locations outside the classroom for tasks such as data collection. PDAs are also useful when the teacher is the only person lucky enough to have one. Teachers can use PDAs to enter students' grades and track progress over a period of time. QuickTime Required Guy Devyatkin  I GUESS FOR MANY YEARS I'VE BEEN USING SPREADSHEETS TO DO MY GRADE CALCULATIONS. THIS WAY, I CAN ADD ANY NUMBER OF ASSESSMENTS, WHETHER IT'S REPORTS, OR STUDENT PROJECTS, OR HOMEWORK, OR CLASS PARTICIPATION. IT REALLY FREES ME FROM HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT DOING ALL THE GRADING AT THE END. NOW, THESE SPREADSHEETS CAN BE COPIED DIRECTLY ONTO A HANDHELD, THERE'S A LITTLE PROGRAM CALLED QUICK SHEET, THAT LETS YOU USE AN EXCEL PROGRAM, DIRECTLY ON THE PALM OPERATING SYSTEM. AND THAT'S PRETTY HANDY, BECAUSE I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN TRYING TO WALK AROUND THE CLASSROOM AND USE THAT DIRECTLY IN TERMS OF MARKING HOMEWORK, INSTEAD OF WRITING IT ON PAPER, I PUT IT DIRECTLY INTO THE SPREADSHEET. For some great insights and advice on using this technology in an educational environment, be sure to check out these two Web sites: PEP - Palm Educational Pioneer Grants http://www.palmgrants.sri.com/ideabank.html In addition to providing information about grants for educators, this site also provides a useful "idea bank" of activities and uses for PDAs. ProbeSight http://probesight.concord.org ProbeSight was developed by the Concord Consortium, which is dedicated to getting the best out of technology in education. ProbeSight offers many ideas for using PDAs in science-based projects.