Resources

Fern Faux, Angela McFarlane and Nel Roche, University of Bristol
Keri Facer, Futurelab

The full version of this handbook is available to download in pdf format - see box below. On this page you'll find the handbook's introduction, as well as some of the useful links listed at the end (skip down to links).

Introduction

Why the interest in using handheld technologies for learning?

In this handbook we focus on ‘handheld’ technologies – in other words, portable, mobile technologies which can be held in the hand and which can therefore be used ‘ubiquitously’, that is in any location or context. These devices might include high specification mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or ultra-mobile PCs, games consoles and MP3 players. In this collection we have concentrated on devices that offer access to a set of applications and content that mirror those on a laptop or desktop PC. We have excluded devices that are principally for storing data, eg MP3 players, or those designed primarily as phones even where they do have web access. This is not because we do not believe those devices have no place in education, indeed there are some very worthwhile experiments in progress. However, this handbook reflects the current high level of interest in and experimentation with what we are calling ‘handhelds’, although the users often refer to them as ‘PDAs’.

In this report we are looking at devices that have a general purpose specification and can be seen as offering access to a full range of tools and content, applicable across the curriculum, and that can be seen as offering personal access to the full range of ICT applications. Moreover these devices can be carried around in a pocket, and have a battery life that will last a working day.

A growing number of educators are taking an interest in such handheld technologies for learning, for a number of reasons. First, there is the question of how to encourage personalisation of learning and enhance learner responsibility[1]; second, there are the organisational and logistical difficulties of enabling teachers and learners to use digital technologies to enhance all aspects of learning (the drive to ‘embed’ digital technologies instead of relying on the all-too-familiar computer suite)[2]; and third, there is the challenge of creating coherent links between children’s experiences of learning across different sites and across home, school and community[3].

Handheld technologies, in principle, could enable schools to address these three concerns; they can act as tools that are available to the individual learner to be managed and personalised by them and they are portable, supporting access to information and resources in all lessons and all educational and domestic environments regardless of the availability of desktop computers.

Finally there are, of course, the issues of cost and sustainability. Handheld devices have been cheaper to purchase than either laptop computers or tablet PCs and this alone has acted as an encouragement for some schools and local authorities to start exploring how they might be used in the classroom.

The aims of this handbook

At the present time a number of local authorities, schools, colleges and universities in the UK are experimenting with the use of handheld technologies for a range of different purposes – from teaching and learning, to administration, to widening access to digital resources (see, for example, Perry 2003). At the same time, educational researchers are beginning to generate a body of research evidence to indicate the potential for these technologies to support new approaches to teaching and learning, and developers, practitioners and policy makers are beginning to generate communities in which to share experience and expertise in the field (see Useful links and resources).

This handbook should be read in the context of these activities; its aim is not to replicate the work of these individuals or organisations, but instead, to provide a practical first point of call for those developing an interest in this application of technology to support learning.

The handbook has two aims; to draw out the lessons learnt from experimentation in the area thus far, and to offer an overview of the range of such early trials. The handbook therefore offers a guide and resource for those considering exploring handheld technologies for teaching and learning purposes. Four case reports provide an insight into how different schools, LAs and, in some cases, individuals have attempted to tap the potential of handheld technology for learning. A wider survey of projects in the UK and beyond gives the reader a sense of the range of ongoing handheld learning projects along with contact information to allow those interested in pursuing these ideas further to contact others working with the same challenges.

The handbook therefore comprises:

• Key messages – lessons learnt, guidelines and suggestions for further development based on a series of in-depth studies and a wider survey, aimed at those interested in exploring handheld learning activities.
• Four case reports of handheld learning projects – detailed discussion of the goals of each project, the ways in which they were implemented and an evaluation of the success of the project against its original goals in the views of the participants.
• Directory of handheld learning projects – summary information and contact details for over 35 handheld projects in the UK and beyond.
• Sources of further information.

Useful links

Teaching with Handhelds: Project Ideas to Enhance Learning (2006); Learning with Handhelds, Intel Education Initiative, retrieved 18 September 2006 from:
www.intel.com/education/handhelds/teaching_with_HH.htm
This site contains ideas for teaching with handhelds in humanities, maths, science and social studies.

O’Malley, C, Vavoula, G, Glew, JP, Taylor, J, Sharples, M, Lefrere, P, Lonsdale, P, Naismith, L, Waycott, J (2005). WP4 – Pedagogical Methodologies and Paradigms, Guidelines for learning/teaching/tutoring in a mobile environment. MOBIlearn. Retrieved 18 September, 2006 from:
www.mobilearn.org/download/results/public_deliverables/
MOBIlearn_D4.1_Final.pdf
This MOBIlearn Project paper contains summaries of case studies and clearly relates them to learning theory.

Attwelle, J (2005). From Research and Development to Mobile Learning: Tools for Education and Training Providers and their Learners. mLearn 2005 conference. Retrieved 18 September 2006 from:
www.mlearn.org.za/CD/papers/Attewell.pdf
This conference paper offers helpful pointers for those considering using handhelds in education and discusses the lessons learnt from a major m-learning project summarised in:
Attewell, J (2005). Mobile Technologies and Learning: A Technology Update and M-learning Project Summary. Learning and Skills Development Agency.
www.lsda.org.uk/files/PDF/041923RS.pdf#search=%22mobile%
20technologies%20and%20

Stead, G (2005). Moving Mobile into Mainstream. mLearn 2005 Conference. Retrieved 18 September 2006 from:
www.mlearn.org.za/CD/papers/Stead.pdf
This conference paper is concerned with lessons learnt through the use of learning resources, pedagogical approaches, support systems and devices and how the knowledge can help progress in the future.

Joyner, A (2003). A Foothold for Handhelds: An Inexpensive Alternative to Desktops is Finding a Home in Schools. Special report for the American School Board Journal (ABSJ), retrieved 18 September 2006 from:
www.asbj.com/specialreports/0903SpecialReports/S3.html
This report gives an insight into the development of handhelds as an alternative to desktops. It also gives examples of the types of handhelds being used.

The following books are available through the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE Publications) website www.iste.org:
Williams, B (2006). Handheld Computers and Smartphones in Secondary Schools. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE Publications): Eugene, Oregon
Gramling, A, Curtis, M, Reese, K, Wieczorek, A, Norris, K, Soloway E (2004). Pocket PC Computers. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE Publications): Eugene, Oregon
Pownell, D, Bailey, GD (2003). Administrative Solutions for Handheld Technology in Schools. International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE Publications): Eugene, Oregon
These all give practical advice and guides to implementing successful projects written from extensive practical experience.

The Handheld Learning Website at www.handheldlearning.co.uk is the home site for a growing community of practitioners and researchers interested in handheld learning.

Handheld Computers (PDAs) in Schools, Report March 2003 by David Perry (www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/handhelds.pdf) provides a review of the use of PDAs in schools as part of a Becta/DfES pilot and is complementary in its focus to the issues raised in this handbook.

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