Palm goes to college - Product news: higher education and technology products, projects, and services - Brief Article

Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Education, Sept, 2001

Look in the backpacks of all freshman undergrads and first-year law and medical school students at the University of South Dakota of Vermillion this semester and you'll see Palm handheld computers. The university has become the first institute of higher ed in the United States to mandate the use of handheld computers by undergrads.

The models being distributed are the new Palm m500 and the m505. Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard expansion slot, a Universal Connector for hardware add-on modules, and Internet Connectivity software are among the new features of the m500 series.

The expectation is that the products will help the students stay organized. They will also be preloaded with information about the university and students will be able to read and send e-mail via their Palms.

"Regarding more academic uses, there are several required freshman courses that are being mandated to use Palm handhelds to deliver course content," says Mark Pike, co-director of the Center for Instructional Design and Delivery and director of the Educational Media Center.

"This content may take different forms but I expect it to run from the simple, such as merely providing the course syllabus, to the complex, such as class notes and assignments and simple quizzes. We expect some faculty to use the handhelds more than others. All faculty members taking part in this program will receive training in putting course content onto the handhelds."

At press time the school had not settled on the software it needs to accomplish its goals, but various applications such as document readers, e-mail clients, scientific or financial calculators, and reference materials (such as a dictionary and thesaurus) are being investigated.

Students will own the Palms, which they will pay for in four installments of $32 each. For more information, visit www.palm.com.