November 2004 — Features
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The Paradox of Integrating Handheld Technology in Schools: Theory vs. Practice
The annual district leadership luncheon adjourned with administrators agreeing to set another date to meet. Suddenly, you could hear the whir of handheld computers starting up and the flap of leather date books cracking open. Even though the district had earned a federal technology grant three years ago that gave all of the principals handheld computers, it was clear that only some had converted to such technology. Observing this phenomenon, the superintendent even joked, “Jeez, our million-dollar grant brought all of us the latest toys and I still can’t get folks to move away from day planners and pencils.”
The district’s technology director was so intrigued by the offhand observation that he decided to find answers to the questions that were at the heart of the superintendent’s remark. A puzzle of this sort required an honest dialogue with the principals and teachers he worked with. And while this discussion would fit on the “Technology Agenda” at the upcoming district curriculum meeting, the director realized that this was not the proper venue. He needed authentic answers rather than hollow ramblings snorted through a filter of political correctness.
So the idea for a meeting was scrapped, and the decision was made to invite some trusted principals and admired technology teachers out to the district’s watering hole for a beverage. This article frames some of the insights garnered from such informal conversations between principals and technology specialists about what it means to integrate the latest toys from the digital world into schools.
The Evolution of Ed Tech
School administrators need to understand the history of education technology in order to introduce new ideas and learning opportunities to students. Pownell and Bailey (2002) described four predominant waves in the history of education technology: In the 1960s, the first phase included mainframe computers, which allowed for high-speed computation used mostly for administrative tasks. Phase two took place during the 1970s when personal computers allowed administration, teachers and students to have computer access. Phase three allowed the Internet to provide a different level of communication between school personnel during the 1990s. And the fourth phase of education technology is still evolving. The cornerstone of this fourth wave is wireless technology, which is small and mobile. In short, “handheld computers appear to be the hottest emerging technology” (Pownell and Bailey 2002).
Pfeifer and Robb (2001) described a suburban middle school in which 130 students received handheld computers. They found that the following school practices had changed: time was no longer spent installing wires for computer access; there was no longer a need for computer labs, thereby allocating additional space for classroom instruction; student productivity increased; and the cost and time of photocopying decreased due to a paperless system.
Norris and Soloway (2003) surveyed teachers and administrators and found that teachers who had “ready access to computers had their children use the computers.” The authors contend that by providing students with handheld computers, a 1-1 ratio with computer technology is reached that makes them more engaged in “technology-supported learning.”
