"Getting a Handle on Handhelds" by Jennifer Roland

"Getting a Handle on Handhelds" by Jennifer Roland is an article about the benefits of having handhelds provided for students. Being able to provide students with handhelds would be a wonderful thing but could it be a reality at all schools? I have never heard of providing handhelds to students until reading this article. So to find out how these handhelds can be beneficial I researched it and came across a great website called K12 Handlehelds which can be accessed at http://www.k12handhelds.com/. On this site it gives lesson plans using the handhelds and 101 things you can do with your handhelds in the classroom. After reviewing it I realized how useful they can be. With the No Child Left Behind Act it is hard to fit all the curriculum that needs to be taught in one year. With the handlehelds however you can cover the NETS standards along with other subject standards more easily. It also lets the student move at their own pace as they use their handhelds. This also gives the students an opportunity to famaliarize themselves with technology. Many students also complain that they don't have access to a computer to do their homework or are driving around with their parents disabling them from getting it done. With handhelds they can take their homework with them and get done on the go. However, it is hard especially in a state where education always seems to be the first thing to be cut in the budget. There are options such as students sharing handhelds but I don't think they would recieve as many benefits from doing this. The article also stated that schools would lease to students and have parents sign saying they are financially responsible if anything would happen to their child's handheld. In more rural areas this would be a problem because most of the parents would not be able to afford it if anything were to happen. The parents may even refuse to sign leaving their child without a handheld. The concept is good but finding ways to afford it could take years leaving our current students struggling.

Q1: How could this affect my classroom?

Having handhelds would expose my students to technology. This is something that not all students have the opportunity to do especially at inner cities schools. It would also give more ways to teach them.

Q2: How could I find ways to provide each student with a handheld?

A lot of schools are raising money to provide each classroom with smart boards. I could do the same thing to raise money for handhelds. It may take a few years but eventually I think we could raise enough money by doing things such as fall festivals.