Wireless Networking and Handheld Computers in Lecture and Lab University of North Carolina at Wilmin

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Wireless Networking and Handheld Computers in
Lecture and LabUniversity of North Carolina at
Wilmington

• Dr. Ron Vetter, Department of Computer Science
• Dr. Barbara Heath, East Main Educational
  Consulting

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Outline of Presentation

• Historical Background
• Numina I
• Brief Overview of Handheld PC
• Classroom Use
• Numina II
• Pocket PC vs. Handheld PC
• Pocket PC Applications
• Conclusions

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History of Project Numina I

• A multi-disciplinary team (Chemistry, Mathematics
  and Statistics, Computer Science) has been
  working together on technology projects for about
  10 years.
• Student role is generally passive
• Tests do not contain multimedia
• Computers are not available for calculations and
  modeling in large classrooms
• Faculty/student interaction is difficult in large
  classroom settings
• Funding obtained from Pearson Education and UNCW
  to explore the use of handheld computer
  technology for teaching science and mathematics.

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HP Jornada 720 Handheld Computers

• StrongArm CPU 206 MHz
• 32 MB 48 MB of RAM
• WinCE (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Explorer)
• Hyperchem, FTP, SRS, Textbook

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Cisco 340 Wireless Network

• 802.11b Standards-based network
• 150 range around access point (indoors)
• 11 Mbps throughput
• Capability for wireless Web access via mobile
  digital telephones

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eBook Chemistry Textbook

• Chemistry The Central Science 8th Ed.,
  Prentice-Hall Publishers
• HTML format entirely editable
• Fully illustrated
• Recently added problems, appendices, links
• Access to Prentice-Hall Web site

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GraphData Graphing for Pocket Excel

• Pocket Excel has no graphing capability
• GraphData uses data copied to the clipboard from
  within Excel
• The graphs from GraphData can be pasted into
  Pocket Word

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Pocket Hyperchem from Hypercube

• Pen-based interface
• MM and Semi-Empirical Calculations
• Standard functions for general, inorganic, and
  organic chemistry

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Project Numina II

• Internal seed grant obtained to study the Pocket
  PC as an alternative to the Handheld PC.
• Is it possible to do serious teaching and
  learning on a Pocket PC?
• This depends on both thehardware and the
  softwarethat are available.

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Pros and Cons of Each Platform

• Keyboard
• Size Weight
• Features of OS
• Expandability
• TFT LCD Display

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Pros and Cons of Each Platform

• Handheld PC has backlit TFT display
• Pocket PC has backlit / reflective TFT display
• Pocket PC can be viewed in direct sunlight

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SRS Student Response System

• Interactive classroom questioning
• Completely Web-based system
• Student feedback is anonymous
• Data are available for later analysis

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SRS Student Response System

• Student view is synchronized with classroom view
  through the Web-based database
• IP address of Jornada is used to prevent multiple
  responses to the same question

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SRS Student Response System
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The ABCs of Wireless Networking

• Personal Area Network (e.g., Bluetooth)
• Local Area Network (e.g., Wi-Fi)
• Wide Area Network (e.g., Cellular)

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Conclusions

• Little is known about the potential impact of
  mobile wireless technology on teaching and
  learning.
• Anecdotal evidence suggests that students enjoy
  the technology and become more active in their
  learning when handheld pocket computers are used
  in the classroom.
• There is every indication that in the near future
  wireless data devices will be as widespread as
  wireless voice devices are now.

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• Acknowledgements

Project Funding

• National Science Foundation
• Pearson Education
• Hypercube
• UNCW
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Division of Academic Affairs
• Information Technology Systems Division

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Acknowledgements
Collaborators

• Department of Chemistry
• Dr. Charles R. Ward
• Dr. Jimmy Reeves
• Dr. David White
• Dr. Barbara Heath
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Dr. Gabriel Lugo
• Dr. Russ Herman
• Computer Science
• Dr. Ron Vetter

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Collaborators
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Handout the Computers Here How to use the
HPC? How to use the PPC?
http//aa.uncw.edu/numina