Handheld Learning - learning with mobile and ubiquitous technologies

Hello all,

When you have used PDAs with your students, what training have you given them in the use of the device.
I need to familiarise some Higher Ed students in the use of some PDAs (Palm Zire 72)
What are the basic things they need to know?
What applications do you think students find most useful?

Agree with swalthes comment about tailoring training to need. One thing that appears to be important is discussing with them what sort of tasks do they regularly carry out. The reasoning is that it might not be directly related to the project, however, it might help to get the individual engaged / enthused by the hardware/software so their motivation for using it increases.

From experience of training both students and staff, three lessons have been learnt, firstly introduction session should be long (about 3 hours) and in very small groups, secondly, they need repeat training, and thirdly, don't over estimate people competence and propensity to experiment with the technology. I feel the third point is a crucial ... people have a lot of anxieties about using this technology, and I'm always surprised when I talk to people how have used them for a while to find very few have experimented with the screen settings.

I'm starting to re-think my support, and focus on the idea that I need to create sets of interactive activities / tutorials associated with the device and task. For instance, many people are expected to read on the devices, therefore, I'd develop a generic resource that focuses on enhancing on screen reading, i.e., working through did you know questions, or have you found out how to change the preferences on the device or within specific software packages.

The training issue is crucial because from talking to people, many of the exploratory pilot studies are not producing the results people would like, i.e., enthusiastic and innovative use. However, talking to users a driver for this pattern is the gap between expectations and reality. Initially they thought it was going to be wonderful, however, after a while they hardly used it because they didn't know what to do with it or they lacked motivation to dedicate time to using it. Training can assist in closing this gap, and it should focus on both how to use it and why you might use it.

So I don't think there is a specific of the shelf solution, in future studies I'll make sure I do much more training and increase the remit of the training to include "an inspirational" section.