Hearing this gave me a good feeling about humans again. LOL Some progressive thinking, and the idea put into place. Even with a risk the kids will do things they shouldn't, because they will anyway if they so desire, it's brought technology & a new way to think to the kids. SUPER JOB! I wish those people success!
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It is a good opportunity for children to gain hands-on technology experience. I am growing sick and tired of adults that are scared to learn the true capabilities of their cell phone and of people graduating high school who still have no idea how to use a computer or even how to do a simple internet search. Technology like this in the classroom will make sure that students graduate with skills the workplace is asking for. Plus, just the act of learning how to put game software on the Axim and other fun items will teach them alot. It's a heck of a kot of work to load an Axim (somoething most of us on Aximsite take for granted).
Also, I'm not sure the students actually *use* the Axim for the tests. I believe the use of the handhelds during the teaching process is what increased the test scores. That stands to reason. The handhelds more than likely piqued the student's interests while enabling the teacher more options for homework then the same old boring routine of go home, read this, answer these questions.
One other thing, in addition to the academics, the children are learning a lot of reponsibility. Axims are expensive items and I'm sure they have to be replaced by themselves or their parents if lost or stolen. What a great way for children to learn responsilibty - somthing our country is severely lacking.
i'm a college prof at the borough of manhattan community college in nyc. i have had a few students use laptops/pda's in class and i encourage any technique that will advance learning.
now, that being said, unless scientific studies are conducted to determine whether grades do improve because of new technology, it really is unclear as to their value. however, i recommewnd that all students "tape" my lectures to avoid the difficulty of writing and listening at the same time; and in that regard, axims are great for that purpose.
my tests are open book and i allow anything that will enable them getting the correct answer. i believe that knowing where to find the correct info is far more important than memorizing it. one is temporary, the other encourages utilizing a variety of resources.
it turns out that any electronic device used on a test really slows down the proces as i only give about a minute per multiple choice question. students have tried and tell me that they simply do not have the time.
i do not worry about cheating. if people beam answers to one another or use them to make fun of me so much the better. a new skill has been mastered. and in the future, i believe that a paperless school is going to happen.
i rely heavily on my axim and see no reason why others shouldn't
this is too funny man........axims at school and i have an x50v and im like the envy of afterschool at my highschool. i wonder what type theyre using x51s? x51v's or some older model....power of bluetooth is nice.....pair with cellphones to get a fair quality internet thing
lol seeing frenchy's monkey was too hilarious.....guess ur a legend of axims worldwide :D
yeah when the accidental hard reset occurs then thats the equivalent of "the dog ate my homework" lol and for having open book or open axim/computer assisitance on test is a great idea because its more important that you know where to look to find a solution than trying to memorize every solution when I was in the air force their training test were open book for all the formulas you had to use but in the field you use "to's" or tech orders which were books that gave you a step by step procedure to diagnose any problem that you would normally encounter and in your jobs you use manuals and schematics and diagrams to fix problems so anything that helps you find the solution is a bonus which is the end result that you want
dam i wish my HS was like that i mean like theres only 540 kids in the entire school and they are banning us from using cell phones and etc. But dam me if the school allowed pocket pc's especially the Axims oh forget it the entire school would be like a little business environment students sending each other SMS's HW lol. But not to get off track, they are beneficial, i wish i could carry mine without the hassle of txtbooks and notebooks =)
I hope someone should teach them how to make a full backup on the SD card, otherwise when they come home, the WSOD will appear and then a hard reset and then crying the whole afternoon. Just kidding.
I think it's great that more Axims are used at schools nowadays, sometimes the problem is that the teacher will not understand the technology and probably will prohibit students to carry their Axims, thinking that they are cheating. I use to have a Scientific calculator with Basic and the Engineer who was my teacher never let me use it because he fear of everything he did not know. :hide:
I used the hp48gx (scientific calculator) for cheating (university), in fact i buy for this reason.
You have no idea how much this pisses me off. Here public schools are crying and moaning that they don't have enough money to simply teach our kids, yet here's one (I checked, it is public) that seems to have thousands of extra dollars to buy every student a PDA. This year it's only (only) 250 handhelds. Next year it's going to be 1000. Where is this money coming from? Probably from a federal grant the local congressman took out of YOUR pocket.
Somebody please show me a study that says computerized classrooms lead to increased learning, because otherwise I might think this school just wasted a whole lot of taxpayer money. And note that I said INCREASED LEARNING, not higher test scores. Because you can put anything on a test, and point to higher scores to show how well the teachers are doing.
Fact is, most of these are just going to turn into high-tech cheating machines. A lot of the others will probably be broken.
My two cents. Use them to buy your own PDA.
As to what borderline said...I have actually implemented several PocketPC applications into schools.
First, the comment on money. Yes, it does come from grants. One school of hand, the superintedant tried for a couple years writing letters in attempt to receive a grant. Finally he decided to take courses on how to write grants and worked his butt off to provide an oppertunity for the kids. He started to get the grants. Most of the grants applied for, HAVE to be used for technology. So he upgraded technology and did a massive overhaul on how the kids learn. The school as several awards for technology and raising school-college percentage. So yeah the money comes from grants, but instead of getting mad at schools that are getting the grants, we should be getting mad at our local schools for not taking action to get the grants.
Second the benefits of having technology in schools.
A. As stated earlier...you get a higher rate of high school to college percentage. Kids are not just getting out of school and going to work at the mill.
B. Full class participation...A teacher asks what is 2+2? The kid who knows it will raise his hand and answer...wow, one kid learned/knows something, the kids who do not know will not raise their hand or even pay attention, BUT if the teacher sends out the question through the pocketpc to EVERY kid in the class...EVERY kid will answer the question and not be embarrassed in they do not no the answer because the answer is between the teacher and that student. FULL CLASS PARCIPITATION!
C. Instead of students forgetting homework, not doing it, or the teacher spending HOURS grading papers, the students can bluetooth their assignment to the teacher. Save time, and kids are learning technology and homework at the same time. This could even lead into the teacher providing custom assignments to address each students needs individually, instead of a mass-produced general assignment.
D. Some school districts DO NOT have teachers to teach certain classes that the students will need in a certain college or work enviroment...BUT with technology grants, that school district can network to another disctrict via high speed internet for a video conference and that student (s) can receive the education they need for their future.
My three points:
1. We are not going back to feather and ink, technology is only going to get more advanced, so why not try to benefit the kids instead of hindering them.
2. Instead of complaining about other disctricts, look at what, not only your school can do, but what you can do to help the kids with this great way of learning and benefiting their future.
3. The ONLY way to make technology to be successful for the school is... CURRICULUM MUST DRIVE TECHNOLOGY...
...TECHNOLOGY CAN'T DRIVE CIRRICULUM
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Just kidding. 
