Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

I was not fortunate enough to be able to attend the open day but I did have the pleasure to see David and some of the pupils demonstrating their work at the Education Show. As a result of seeing their work, I am very enthusiastic about using handhelds as a means of facilitating what has become called 'Anytime, Anywhere Learning'. I  aslo feel that this is a significant step toward personalised learning ... but enough of the jargon!

As well as the portability of the devices and also the opportunities for working (learning) outside the classroom and the school hours, I was impressed by the ability for pupils to share their work and collaborate via a server and the Smartboard. This, again, I feel is a key step because it shows ICT being used as a collaborative tool rather than as an 'individual' tool, which has more usually been the case upto now. The use of collaborative tools, I believe, is significant as it allows ICT to support 'project' or 'team' working, which has long been a traditional approach in teaching.

I have been considering the advantages and disadvantages of using PDAs as opposed to laptops or tablet PCs. The price of most PDAs make them more affordable than a laptop or tablet, though they may lack much of the functionality. Working with a larger screen on a laptop may be considered advantageous compared to the small screen on PDAs. The lack of a keyboard on most PDAs might be considered a disadvantage. The lightness of PDAs would certainly be an advantage, especially to young pupils. On the technical side, I would guess the general lack of viruses and trojans for PDAs would be considered a big advantage!

So I hope everyone who was able to attend the open day has also had a positive insight into the work. I would love to hear what others think about the project.