Teachers Wanna Hold a Handheld

"Texas Instruments also hopes to expand its image beyond that of a graphing calculator for science and math classes to that of a handheld that can be used in other subject areas.

Many schools already use the devices and could download new applications onto them for use in other classes.

'We're not focused on doing PDAs for business,' said Tom Ferrio, vice president of education for TI. 'This is specifically designed for students.'

The company introduced a new, durable keyboard that is built to withstand the hazards of a backpack. It's packaged with a word processing software application so that students can take notes. Other new applications include customizable flashcards and multiple choice questions....

In the fall, TI will introduce a product called the TI Navigator, a wireless hub for teachers that can collect student work stored on the individual TI-83s, then move them to the teacher's computer to be evaluated." [Wired News]

What I don't think we're working enough on is the support from the school and public library for kids using these handhelds. Ebooks are the most obvious applicatiobn, but few implementations are even integrating them. Then there's wireless access to remote databases, bibliographies on-the-go, "ask-a-librarian" text-based chatting, integrating due dates into the calendar (yes, I know Innovative is working on this), and other mechanisms the library could support.

Maybe we can convince TI to help us develop some library apps for PDAs.