Research to industry: four years of observations in classrooms using a network of handheld devices

Abstract

This paper illustrates six areas of impact on education by a classroom network of handheld devices. The author draws from four years of observations of classes using two early network prototypes. Two areas of impact for students are anonymity of data submission to the group and the ability to see their data displayed in the group space. For teachers, the two areas are the ability to instantly assess how all students are doing at any time during a lesson and the case with which the system shares data. Finally, two implications are highlighted. The networks' ability to facilitate exploratory data activities may make these types of activities more accessible to all teachers, and the ability of the network to let all students answer all questions may have an impact upon student engagement in the classroom.