CASE STUDY: Handhelds are Making for a Whole New Kind of Science Lesson

By Linda L. Briggs

"Kellie Doubek doesn't mince words: Full-size computers don't belong in the field. "You can get a handheld to do the same thing for a fraction of the cost," says Doubek, an educational consultant who advises Midwestern schools on implementing technology.

Out west, at Seaside High School, right outside Monterey, CA, students in grades 9-12 are proving Doubek right. Seaside students are using handheld devices and wireless probes to measure temperature, stream flow, pH, and other factors at Seaside State Beach, as well as in Yosemite National Park. The study was made possible through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Palm-based devices with wireless probes are tremendous student motivators, according to teacher Pam Miller, who also serves as science department chair at Seaside. "We're able to get much more meaningful data, and we're better able to share access to the data." The sophistication of the data-gathering devices makes a real difference, she says. "Kids like to feel like they're doing real science, and this is real science."..."