PDAs in Primary Classroom and Maintenance/Protection of PDAs

Teach 2 posted a great comment on my blog. Teach 2 wanted to know how to use PDAs with primary students and wanted to know if classroom management and maintenance of PDAs was a nightmare.

Before doing research on ways to use PDAs in the primary classroom, I’m not sure I could have answered your question appropriately. But now, it’s hard to stop adding to the list below. So, here are some ways PDAs can be used with primary students as taken from "PDAs in the Classroom: Integration Strategies for K-12 Educators" by Beverly Ray, Idaho State University (http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ijet/v3n1/ray/index.html):
(1) "Students work together in small groups to create a poem, acrostics, biocrostics, or other creative writing tasks using their PDA’s memo software or word processing software. One student begins the writing activity by writing an entry into the file. This student then beams the document to the next student. That student adds an entry before beaming it to the next student for further work. Once completed, students can share the written work among the group before beaming the finished product to the teacher." (In a primary classroom, I could see this activity going over several days or a week, but it would be doable, creative, and fun.)
(2) Journal Writing beamed to teacher. Teacher responds and beams back. Students could also edit their writing.
(3) “The teacher creates text files that allow students to edit paragraphs for punctuation, capitalization, and spelling on their PDAs. The text files are beamed to individual students for revision. Once revised, students beam the file back to the teacher’s PDA (or print hard copies for submission). Over the course of a semester students create a document that contains basic grammar and punctuation rules and examples. A variations on this activity would require students to sequence paragraphs in a story by using the cut and paste features.”
(4) Spread sheeting activities – collecting, counting, sorting, weighing
(5) Observing and documenting science experiments
(6) Collecting survey data – Going around school or at recess asking survey questions and inputting responses
(7) Drawing – For example, 2-D or 3-D shapes, showing concrete addition/subtraction examples, pictures and then writing stories about them, drawing feelings for the day, the weather of the day, seasons, parts of plants, favorite penguin (just for you teach2!), etc.
(8) Teach to use the reference tools
(9) Counting, adding, subtracting
(10) GAMES for academic use!
(11) Any freeware developed daily for use on the PDA
(12) So on

Now, to answer the hard question – According to “PDA Maintenance and Security” by Rob C. Wood (http://ezinearticles.com/?PDA-Maintenance-and-Security&id=97923), if you own a PDA, you have to take care of it and protect it. Just like computers, a PDA must be protected by attack. He points out a money saving tip – when you buy antivirus software, make sure it is compatible with a PDA. He also suggests the PDA has a soft or hard protective cover so that it is protected for unexpected misuse. He further states that hard covers will protect the PDA better and increase its life.

As a teacher, I know I don’t want any more work to do or do I need it. Since PDAs are not normally purchased in school districts (like mine), it would be up to me to find monies to purchase the PDAs, as well as maintain and protect them. Since my district would then not support my technical needs, then yes, I do believe this would cause a lot of work for me. I guess then it would be each individual teachers choice in deciding “Does the implementation of PDAs as a learning opportunity outweigh other avenues of teaching digital technology along with the maintenance and protection of the PDAs?" This leaves a big question in my mind.

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

Thanks teach2 for the questions!