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April 15, 2003
Software for Handhelds
By Michelle Thatcher
We survey over 50 assessment, productivity, and curriculum applications for educators and students.
Though affordability and portability have always made handheld computers an appealing option for schools, the relative dearth of educational applications for these devices has been a significant obstacle to classroom integration. In the past few years, however, software publishers have developed a multitude of education-specific handheld applications. Assessment has been the fastest growing category, with educators using handhelds for on-the-go evaluation and instant data reporting. But beyond data collection and analysis, handheld offereings now inlude everything from e-books to vocabulary games, and star charts to musical scores, to be integrated into the curriculum.
For this article, we narrow our focus on assessment tools for educators, curriculum products for students, and productivity tools for both constituencies. Below you'll find a sampling of such applications, most of which are freeware or shareware (prices listed are for the full-featured version of the product). All the software is available for the Palm operating system-the dominant platform for K-12-specific software. However, some of these programs are also available for Pocket PCs, which are slowly gaining a foothold in the education market as well (visit publishers' Web sites for platform information, or search pocketpc.com).
Of course, there are thousands more products available than can be listed here. To investigate others, including personal information management programs, software that works in conjunction with data collection probes, and data management tools for administrators, check palm.com/education, palmgear.com, tucows.com, or handango.com.
Assessment
Assessa/EyeCues offers Assessa PDA, which allows educators to build multiple-choice or short-answer tests from a database of 50,000 questions. Scoring, analysis, and visualization tools help teachers interpret data; artificial intelligence-based scoring and behavior profiling are also available.
Conduct real-time student assessment and provide instant feedback with LearnTrac from eLearning Dynamics. Students respond to questions on their handhelds, with results beamed to the instructor's desktop computer.
LearnStar's eponymous product lets teachers create interactive, real-time quizzes using content from the LearnStar library or their own questions.
With Classroom Wizard from Scantron Corporation, teachers can create a variety of quizzes for students to take on their handhelds. Answers are beamed back to instructors for instant scoring and results analysis; scores can be uploaded to grade book applications.
MCLASS:Reading from Wireless Generation enables K-3 teachers to perform ongoing instructional reading assessments in the classroom. Educators record observations of student reading; the program instantly tabulates errors, calculates fluency, and generates progress reports.
Fine Arts
GoKnow's Sketchy animation tool features multiple pen options, geometric objects, and the ability to create up to 999 frames of animation. Duplication, insert, and delete commands allow quick animation creation.
Use NotePad from miniMusic as a music sketchbook or to introduce music notation skills. Three views allow users to enter and then edit chords, key signatures, time signatures, tied notes, and more. Also included is a library of sample songs. $29.95.
The TealPaint paint and sketch program by TealPoint Software offers full color and grayscale support, text, magnified draw, 16 drawing tools, and more. Included is a desktop image import, export, and printing utility. $17.95.
Wirejunkie's vector drawing tool Leonardo allows budding artists to sketch and edit images directly on their handhelds. Tools include point editing, object resizing, print, export, zoom, and more.
Language Arts
E-Books / Reference
The English Heritage Bundle from Beiks LLC includes an English dictionary, thesaurus, and verb conjugator, as well as the Bdicty Dictionary Reader to customize your dictionary entries. $24.
Also from Beiks LLC, the Student Bundle for Palm Zire offers a standard English dictionary, Bdicty Dictionary Reader, Wordful vocabulary game, and BeSafe security application.
Schools can purchase unlimited access to Palm Digital Media's Classics Collection. Titles such as Alcott's Little Women and Crane's The Red Badge of Courage are optimized for Palm Reader. Licensing fees apply.
Palm Reader from PalmSource, Inc., allows users to view texts on their handhelds. Readers can bookmark pages, annotate text, change font size or page orientation, and export notes to the desktop.
Proporta offers TomeRaider, a cross-platform reference viewer that provides access to encyclopedias, dictionaries, novels, and other texts on handheld devices.
Early Learning
Build early literacy skills in English and Spanish with Ani Learn Together from APTE. Students can trace letters and create songs; teachers can read aloud the story of Ani. $9.95; lab packs and site licenses available.
Robert Jen's Alphabet Rhyme Time teaches the alphabet to young children using music, graphics, and an original poem. Students learn both upper- and lowercase letters.
CopyWrite from Revelation Computing Pty Limited helps beginning writers by highlighting problems with stroke order and direction, jerkiness, and pencil lifts.
Vocabulary Games
Three word games from Astraware Limited can help kids practice their literacy skills. In WhatWord, users search for words on a grid of letters. Text Twist challenges users to create as many words as possible from six letters. Link Letters asks users to form chains of words by altering single letters.
Students can sharpen their word skills with Literati from Beiks LLC. This Scrabble-like word-building game offers a database of over 100,000 words and two difficulty levels.
Beret Applications offers Words 2 Grow for improving vocabulary through interactive play. Variations on hangman and tic-tac-toe combine with Study List and Review functions to help students recognize word meanings, synonyms, and antonyms
Math General
Math Class from Evans Software includes addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication drills. $15.
The ImagiMath suite from ImagiWorks provides three math applications: ImagiGraph for plotting explicit functions and parametric equations; ImagiCalc calculator with support for trigonometry, statistics, and finance; and ImagiSolve, a worksheet and equation solver. $39.
Calculate the area, volume, or perimeter of shapes with Palmway's GeoPro. Explore additional geometric functions including triangles, plane areas, polygons, solids, and centroids. $9.99.
Calculators
Creative Creek's One Plus One turns your handheld into a full-featured scientific and financial calculator. Solve math, engineering, and science problems with over 80 scientific functions. $19.95.
PowerOne Scientific from Infinity Softworks is a scientific calculator program with functions for advanced math, powers, logarithms, trigonometry, and Boolean logic. $29.99.
From Revelation Computing Pty Limited, CalcWrite is a Graffiti-based handheld calculator. Write math problems directly onto the handheld screen; the program calculates the answer. CalcWrite supports basic operators, including percent, square root, and brackets. $24.99.
Early Learning
Arcade-style ArithmeFish from AcroDesign Technologies helps kids memorize addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Each subject has multiple levels of play for various skill levels. $7.95.
With Herbert's Math Time from Beret Applications, youngsters can solve math problems to earn squares in Tic-Tac-Math; hit the bug with the correct answer in Whack a Bug; and review difficult problems with the AnswerTrack flash card application. $14.95.
Graphing Software
The APTE Internet Coach Graph Maker helps elementary students develop comparative reasoning skills as they view data in vertical, horizontal, and line graphs or in pie chart form. A Show Stats feature provides median, average, and minimum/maximum components of the data.
Make your handheld a graphing scientific calculator with powerOne Graph from Infinity Softworks. View multiple function, polar, and parametric graphs simultaneously, and analyze graphs for integrals, derivatives, intercepts, roots, and more. $49.99.
Productivity
General
Create and share multiple documents with BeamBooks from Applied Thought. The program uses the beam function of handheld devices to synchronize shared documents.
Wirelessly print appointments, addresses, or memos directly from your handheld with Bachmann Software's PrintBoy. The print utility is compatible with a variety of third-party programs in addition to native Palm OS applications. $39.99.
QuickNotes note-taking application from Communication Intelligence Corporation allows users to capture and save handwritten notes and drawings without converting them into type.
Cutting Edge Software offers Quickoffice Pro, which allows handheld users to edit, create, e-mail, and present Microsoft Office files. Create documents, spreadsheets, charts, and presentations and synch them to your desktop computer. $49.95.
Documents to Go Premium Edition from Dataviz provides access to Microsoft Office files from a handheld computer. View pictures and PDF files, and create charts. $69.95; multiuser versions available.
Compose over 25 pages of letter-size text on the go with FreeWrite from GoKnow. The program includes a spell checker as well as beaming capability for easy collaboration.
Road Scholar 2003-2004 software suite from Handmark includes several productivity programs as well as a coursework and class schedule manager, e-book creator, quiz tool, and more. $39.99.
Also from Handmark, WordSmith Pro synchronizes with Microsoft Word so documents can be transferred between desktop and handheld with formatting intact. The newest version includes a spell checker and thesaurus.
Presenter-to-Go from MARGI allows users to generate presentation slides from PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Acrobat, and other printable applications. An included cable connects the handheld directly to a projector or VGA device.
Create and beam fully interactive flip chart presentations with Flip Chart from Middle Cross Software. The text slides can be beamed to other devices or exported to e-mail; the product also features password protection. $10.
PalmPrint from Stevens Creek Software offers the ability to print from Palm OS and third-party applications via infrared, serial, or parallel ports. $39.95.
Create digital "sticky notes" on your handheld with TealNotes from TealPoint Software. Add drawings, sketches, and freehand notes into any application that contains text.
Concept Maps
With PiCoMap from GoKnow, students can create, share, and explore concept maps on their handhelds. The program allows users to beam maps, print directly via an infrared port, or post to the Web.
SimTech Systems' MindMapper PDA combines concept mapping functions with a drag-and-drop, color-compatible interface. Users can assign dates to each idea in the map and export files to other Windows or Palm applications for editing, printing, or presentations.
Quiz/Review
Students can hone test-taking skills with the APTE Internet Coach Everyday Skillbuilder. The program offers new content for every day: a practice test question, Today in History facts, Journal Entry writing prompts, and tips for successful test taking. $29.95; lab packs and site licenses available.
Create, edit, and distribute information in review format (question, answer, and explanation) with EdWin from BrainMatrix. Students can use the program individually or collaborate with peers to create a database of review questions. $29.99.
With Bubble Blasters by GoKnow, teachers can create multiple-choice practice drills in any subject area. Students must "blast" an answer bubble before their choices float away.
Teachers can create multiple-choice, flash card, and true/false quizzes using Pocket Mobility's Quizzler. Features include randomized test questions, time limits, and the option to beam scores to the instructor.
Science
Planetarium from Andreas Hofer Software enables users to locateheavenly bodies and calculate twilight times, moon phases, and other astronomical information.
GoKnow's Cooties software allows users to simulate the spread of disease. Teachers set incubation time and immunity levels; students "infect" each other by beaming their handheld devices. The class then determines the initial carrier of the disease and tracks its transmission path.
ChemTable Periodic Table application from Robert Eng allows students to list elements by symbol or by atomic number. Tapping on any element panel will call up a list of the element's chemical and physical properties.
Michelle Thatcher is managing editor of T&L.
Before You Buy
Ask these questions when choosing handheld software for classroom use.
- Is the program compatible with your version of Palm or Pocket PC OS? Some of the newest applications may not run on older handhelds.
- If the software includes a desktop component, does it match your computer's operating system? Many handheld applications only offer Windows desktop compatibility.
- If your school uses older-model handhelds with black-and-white displays, will the software be as effective without color?
- Does the software publisher offer technical support? If not, who will act as the "expert" to troubleshoot technical problems?
- How much time will it take to train educators to use the program effectively?
- What demands might the software make on other classroom resources? For example, find out how to handle 30 kids simultaneously trying to beam files to one printer.
- How will you assess student work in applications that don't offer printable results, such as some quiz software or study games?
Not Your Father's Calculator
Texas Instruments now offers dozens of applications for its TI-83 Plus handhelds. Among the newest is the NoteFolio App, which allows students to take notes and write short essays on their TI handhelds and transfer them to and from a computer. Available soon, TimeSpan App allows history students to compare up to three separate timelines on their TI calculators. Visit education.ti.com for a full list of applications.
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