Jason Cring teaches Special Education to 11th & 12th grades at Hilton High School in Hilton, NY. He has a Masters Degree in Special Education from Oswego State University and is certified to teach K-12 Special Education and Social Studies. His average class size is eight students per teacher due to the needs of the students. He has been teaching at Hilton High since 1997.

 His philosophy and goal at Hitlon has been to provide a computer to all his students and achieve 1:1 computing. He began researching the use of handhelds in 2003 and used Tony Vincent’s website to help him learn how to use the handhelds in the high school. Today, Cring has his own webpage that helps others to learn how to use handhelds in the classroom (http://schoolcenter.hilton.k12.ny.us/education/projects. You could also just type his name into Google and click on his site. He states that now, “His students could take the computer to work, instead of bringing their work to the computer.” This meant the students could use their handhelds anywhere, anytime, any place. For his special ed. students this was extremely important.

Organization, time management, and completing tasks on time were some of the problems Cring’s students had. The handheld gave them an electronic, fun way to solve their problems. He uses the handheld to keep track of schedules for his students, to track student goals, and save memos and distribute them using Documents to Go. He does not have a wireless system, so he has limited use for communication and collaboration. He uses the handhelds to teach the students the importance of planning their time wisely, therefore the built-in calendar is one of his biggest tools. The calendar is helpful to schedule appointments, tests, and assignment due dates that occur in the future. His students were in the habit of living on a day to day schedule and losing track of what was due, coming up without the work done on the due date.  He also uses Inflation Master to illustrate how inflation effects the cost of items over time. He teaches a variety of subjects including Geometry, English, US History, Economics, and Government and he takes a multi-disciplinary approach to his teaching when using the handhelds. He has put the schools rules into Documents to Go, writes hall passess using Litenotes. In English class he uses Bookslog to record facts about books; in Math he uses Animate Me to help teach mathematical concepts. Students also track current events they find on TV, newspapers, and online sources keeping a daily log in memos. Cring lists his assignments on his web page and students download them to complete them at home using the handhelds and keyboards and print their assignments on an IR-ready printer.

Cring also uses handhelds because he feels a paper calendar or other items such as planners can be lost easier. “His students would lose paper items, but they can’t lose digitalized documents,” he states. Think about how many times we have all heard our students say, “I lost my homework. I lost my planner. I lost my bag!” Wouldn’t the handhelds help with this. Think of the cost of planners for the school…could we save some money if students had handhelds instead? At their expense or maybe a discount if purchased through the school?

I asked about his students’ reactions to the handhelds. His response was that they really think it is cool, but soon the novelty wears off and he must think of new, novel ways to make them interested again. I don’t think this is any different, though, than any other method we use as teachers. The same approach day after day, no matter what the method, can become dull and boring. As teachers, we need to mix our methods up to stay fresh for our students anyway.

I also asked about training and he stated that he had used a handheld for personal use before he began teaching with it. So he is self-taught. He uses a Treo 90 as it has a keyboard, which he felt was much faster for entering information than using graffiti. He felt these were especially helpful for students with special needs. For his students, he spends about 4 hours total at the beginning of the school year and gives them time in class to enter information they need.

An anecdote he shared with me was how to use the handhelds to help with a discipline problem–tardies. He put a timer in the student’s handheld and the timer would go off one minute before class started. When the alarm went off, they knew it was time to say goodbye to their friends in the hall and go to class. So the handheld can be used to help students with time management.

His recommendations for schools who are considering the implementation of handhelds was that you give the students time to play with the handheld, show them how to use the basic options and make them a meaningful tool to use. He has found that using handhelds for teaching and learning motivates the students and reduces discipline issues. “When my students are using handhelds, they are engaged in reading, writing, and enjoying what they’re doing. Typing is alot easier than writing by hand…and the quality of work turns out better.” (palmOne, Inc. 2005)

So from one teacher to another, handhelds have many uses; and for those students who have time management or organization problems, they could be a welcome solution to end their fears of “I lost my ____, again…now what do I do?”

The article is about the use of handhelds for special education teachers in Pennsylvania. Apparently one of the most difficult tasks for teachers is the monitoring of students’ progress in learning how to read, write, do math and more. The article stated that monitoring was essential to help students succeed in the classroom and in life, but the process of monitoring is time consuming and takes teachers away from teaching. The teachers needed an easier way to monitor the students. So the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Network (PATTAN) part of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Bureau of Special Education provided $93,500 for 110 PDA’s for the pilot project which ran through June 30 2005. The Special Needs Assessment Programfor Progress Monitoring (SNAP-PM) “…was designed to give teachers a suite of technology that includes handheld computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) and desktop computers loaded with specially designed software to collect and report student data” (”High-Tech…”, pg. 1). The project also included three Pennsylvania districts, the Continuing Education at University PArk and a corporation (TekResults, Ltd.) to work together and help the project succeed.

The project included 100 teachers, education consultants, administrative staff, and training by TekResults, Ltd. and Penn State. The article lists several comments from teachers who used the handhelds. Teachers used the handhelds for: 1) to measure students’ progress on goals and objectives; 2) assessment probes were designed to measure reading and writing fluency, math computation and applications skills. Students IEP’s were developed by their teachers and teachers stored specific goals for a student, collect data adn save data about the student’s progress on the handheld. Graphs were created to describe the student’s progress. “SNAP-PM will allow teachers to analyze data abd change educational strategies based on the results to better meet individual student needs” (”High-tech… pg. 2).

With the help of TekResults to train the teachers and create software for the handhelds, the teachers agreed to the project and PATTAN funded the project for one year. Evaluation of the software and training, was conducted with presurveys and postsurveys of teachers and parents. The teachers saw the handhelds “…constant tool in the classroom that a teacher can use to quickly record something and continute on with teaching” (”High-tech…” pg. 4).

I wanted to find the results of this program in Pennsylvania. I would also like to find the SNAP-PM, to see how it would work with our students with special needs. One of the biggest concerns teachers have to do additional, time consuming activities that take away from teaching. I wonder it this program would help us (Michelle Untalan and other counselors) to minimize the time consuming energy of documenting the progress of a student in our program. I was also thinking this program might help with behavior notations for citizenship grades or other rubric-like programs to give evidence for a certain citizenship grade. Something that can be done quickly while teaching would be good. Oftentimes, as teachers, we fail to document the incidents that occur and rely on our memories. It would be good to use the handheld and software for such situations. I will look into this further when I have more time. Something to continue the search to better help the students and teachers at St. John’s.

I began this blog as an article review and then after reviewing EReader I realized this article was the one you wanted us to review for our EReader blog. So I will leave the information I used for the article review and add more about EReader. I will submit another Article Review blog later.

Sier.tec Newswire Vol 5 Number 2 2002

Handheld Techonologies

 This article was written 4 years ago and I am wondering if the concerns for using handhelds in the classroom remain. The article discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using handhelds. The positive remarks were that the cost was much less than buying desktop or laptop computers. Since schools are on a restrictive budget, cost is an important aspect to review. The cost of a handheld for every child in the class is much less costly, than a desktop/laptop. “No child left behind” requires that technology be brought to the students and handhelds are the easiest, least costly methods to comply with the law. Handhelds offer more mobility; they can be taken anywhere with ease. They are wireless and it is easy to transfer data. The wireless feature also overcomes the need for hardwired infrastructure which can be costly to the school. The handheld does not require an additional classroom, which continues to reduce the cost of additional space needed to store them and the materials they need. Using handhelds also promotes collaboration and sharing in the classroom. They encourage students to work together on projects using information that can be beamed from one handheld to another. The handheld is also easy to use and has basic educational applications. Not much time is needed to teach the students how to use the handheld in comparison to a desktop/laptop.

But there were concerns about using handhelds. Compatibility is a concern: are Palm OS and Windows CE compatible, are the handhelds compatible with the desktops at the school, are they more compatible with PC’s than Macs? Since students can beam information to each other, they could also beam answers to tests and quizzes. Schools need to add a handheld policy to their internet policy. Ownership may be a problem–who owns the handheld; should there be a policy for payment when they are lost or broken. What training is available for teachers so students may be trained on the proper use of the handheld. Also health reasons–the screen is small how will it affect eyestrain, carpal tunnel, lighting. The readability of the text and graphics don’t translate well to a small screen. What about security against theft, data safeguards and viruses. Can the handheld be fixed in a timely manner?

This book also gave information about the types of handhelds, the peripherals and wireless networking. Having used the handhelds in the classroom already, it was good to know we were on the right track. We have used them for student’s research on papers and working in groups for projects about world leaders.

I wish I had the information about buying a handheld before I purchased the Zire 72 last summer. I like the Zire, but not the aspect of losing all information if the battery needs recharging. It is always good to be informed before you buy.

The interview was also good. It did two things–helped to see that handheld technology is a big consideration for use in districts in the states, and obtaining questions that will help with the interview assignment we can do.

This book had so much information about software, professional development, resources, etc.,  that it was difficult not to spend hours, days using the information to learn more, obtain software, and connect with other teachers who use handhelds.

Using EReader was a great way to read a book. As I was waiting to see the doctor’s office, having EReader allowed me to complete the reading for this assignment. One aspect I did notice was my eyes were not seeing as clearly as they would have with a book. I think they were reacting to screen the same they react if I am using any computer too long.

I began to think about our schools policies, though. How will our policies address some of the concerns about cheating, using others information?  I believe we have answered many concerns, but I do see the need to add Handheld policies to the internet policies of the school. Screens have been improved. Just yesterday I was watching a session of “Will and Grace,” which was downloaded on the Treo that I was viewing. The strain was minimal, or at least no more than spending time watching a screen on a desktop or TV. I don’t believe handhelds should be used for hours on end, but I also don’t believe desktops or TVs should be either. Concerns about security are the same as using the Internet in the classroom or anywhere–a teacher should be vigilant about watching the students access to games, inappropriate sites, and beaming during a test or quiz. I don’t allow students book bags or other items on the desks when taking a test; I wouldn’t allow the handheld to be used either unless a certain program was needed. Then I would add restrictions, the same restrictions I would add if desktops/laptops were used. I think the cost factors, accessibility for students, the wireless abilities, and mobility of the handhelds offset the concerns. The compatibility, professional development, health and safety issues can be solved with a good edtech coordinator collaborating with the teachers. All new electronics cause concerns in their initial stages, think about the commotion the TV caused in the 1950s, and look at how much it is used today. Think about the security and health issues of gameboys and laptops–the eyestrain from these is as great as the eyestrain from handhelds if not greater. Notice how many hours a students plays games on desktops/laptops; notice the strain on the child’s eyes. Hours of play go by and the child thinks they have only had minutes on the computer. Overall when I use the handheld or read about how other teachers use it, I am not fearful of the concerns mentioned in this article. I am positive about the benefits and as with any new electronic item, I am focusing on its use and access to students allowing them a way to work well with others and search for information with ease.

The new ebook assignment looks like it will take some time. My question is do we write our own information in the book or can we copy information from another site, as we did in class. I found this new site on the web called Habits of Mind. I find it very interesting and I think it would be very helpful for St. John’s students. It is very interesting how we often spend too much with paperwork for students and not enough time letting them explore. I would like to use this program for the middle school study skills classes next year. You can find information at www.essentialschools.org/ pub/ces_docs/about/phil/habits.html or http://www.habits-of-mind.net. It is an interesting concept and one I hope to work on it during the summer for next year. I would like to use some of this information for my ebook. I hope this is possible. I have ordered the four books available and I hope these will be helpful in organinzing the classes for next year. I am looking forward to a new and interesting school year.

This site, Class Log, showed us how to write messages on our blog to share with others in the class. We learned to copy the pictures from the Class Log address which shared their class activities with us. They even had food served during the class.

So Rolly were is our food? You know that you can’t feed the brain on an empty stomach. So…after thinking about our stomachs and hoping for some small portions of food, we began to practice our blogging. First a simple messge was written–something personal, something clever (see My First Blog). Then we were asked to find a background for our blog page. Too many decisions to make in one night without carbs to think. Next the “old professor” pushed us even harder, “Don’t give up we have blogging to do, pictures to upload, URL’s to share.” So we blogged… we uploaded pictures. It sure would be nice to have some pictures of famous people…oh wow look who just arrived. Just a hope, skip and a jump to enter this young man’s

 picture from the web site. So I have learned how to add a picture from Tony Vincent’s blog. don’t forget that was the one about food for the students during class. Next I used a URL so teacher’s could find Tony’s blog. then finally I brought you all George W. Bush to remind you that on Feb. 2nd he will deliver his State of the Union address. So thank you Rolly for the new information you bestowed upon us. I will be blogging away for a long time to come.