Pocket Classroom

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://pocketclassroom.wfu.edu/">http://pocketclassroom.wfu.edu/</a><br /><br />If Pocket PCs are ever going to be fully embraced in the field of education, they have to do more than let students keep track of their schedule and carry eBooks. Pocket Classroom looks like an incredible application that takes Pocket PCs to a new level in a teaching environment - very innovative thinking behind this application!<br /><br />"PocketClassroomTM is new proprietary software developed by the Research and Development team in Information Systems at Wake Forest University. It turns a PocketPC equipped with a wireless card into a web server, a presentation controller, and a feedback device for a classroom instructor or for any speaker making a presentation to an audience. By incorporating all these functions into one program, it allows you to 'put class in the palm of your hand' as you move freely around the classroom."<br /><br />• An instant-on, easy-to-manage portable web server that is completely under your control <br />• A text feedback mechanism that enables your students or audience to submit questions or comments that show immediately on your PocketPC. <br />• A feedback meter that enables students to submit numeric responses (range: -10 to 10) according to your directions. These submissions show as a continuous curve on your PocketPC and are useful for quick assessments. <br />• Presentation capabilities that enable you to use the PocketPC as a remote control to navigate to a PowerPoint presentation on your desktop or laptop computer, start and manage the presentation, and see slide text and speaker notes on your PocketPC. <br />• Easy access for students to materials or links on your websever, including the option to use a folder that requires authentication, easily managed from your PocketPC.

[Scott R]

An impressive list of features. But to make use of this, the device would need to be turned on during most of the class. If this is used at an entire university across multiple classes, it wouldn't take long before the PPC's batteries would die by the time you've hit your second or third class for the day.

Scott

[spg]

My Dad is the CIO at a local university and he also teaches a few classes there (he used to teach full-time). Last year they implemented a laptop program there much like the one at Wake Forest. As a result he traveled to Wake Forest several times to classes there and whatnot. Anyway the point is they gave him this software back about 8 or 9 months ago while it was still under development. He has used it in class several times on his Jornada 568. I must say it is a very impressive piece of software, and it proved to be very useful in his teaching. And about battery life it does eventually run it down to have it on all the time, but it only has to be running on the teacher's PPC. So the students can be on laptops or desktops or whatever. Then the teacher can go back a put it in the cradle. :-)