College Students Trade Textbooks for Pocket PCs

Students in Bentley College's experimental "IT 101 intensive" course have traded their textbooks for a Pocket PC. This introductory course uses leading-edge technology in a creative way to engage self-proclaimed computer wizards fresh out of high school. It challenges them to think creatively and to discover how mobile computing devices can solve a myriad of challenges. In the process they learn about wireless technology, programming, web logs and other technologies they will be using throughout their academic careers.

Bentley is a business university just outside of Boston with about 3,900 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students. Its curriculum emphasizes fields of knowledge emerging at the intersection of business and the liberal arts: business and information technology, ethics and social responsibility, and global commerce and culture.

"We're seeing a growing number of students coming to Bentley with previous computer experience," says Mark Frydenberg, a senior lecturer and software specialist in Bentley's Computer Information Systems department and creator of the class. "They need more challenges than the standard textbook-based IT 101 course offers. I want students to feel comfortable using technology both in the classroom and in their lives. To that end, whatever we do has to be engaging, relevant and hands-on."

Amy Siwick, John Ross, and Mark Frydenberg engage with Pocket PCs in "IT 101 intensive"

The idea for using handheld technology for this course came to Frydenberg when he realized that for not much more than the cost of the required textbooks, students could purchase a handheld computer and learn about technology by experiencing it rather than by reading about it. Bentley purchased Dell Axim X30 Pocket PCs because they were the most cost-effective; "Cost was a major factor as we considered different handhelds; I wanted them in line with the cost of the textbooks used in the standard sections of the course," says Frydenberg. "While there are some Palm devices which are in the same price range as the Dell Axims, there were other reasons that influenced the decision to go with the Pocket PCs."

Bentley students already use laptops equipped with Microsoft Windows XP, Internet Explorer, Word and Excel. The fact that the Pocket PC comes with the Windows Mobile operating system and pocket versions of these and other software packages was definitely a plus. This allows for a comparison of the capabilities and interfaces of these applications on both laptops and Pocket PCs. Using Blackberrys was not an option since many require a monthly service fee for Internet access, and Blackberries with cell phones are redundant for most students, who already have a cell phone. Frydenberg also wanted to offer a unit on software development, and Microsoft Visual Studio with Visual Basic.NET allows for building applications that can run on a software emulator and that will also run on a Pocket PC.

It was also important to Frydenberg that whichever PDA was selected have built-in wireless capabilities to promote experiential learning about networking, security, wireless access, and protocols. Dell's Axim X30 Pocket PCs came with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and proved the most cost-effective solution that met all the requirements. They also were backed by Dell's reputation for solid customer service; as a bonus, they were offered to Bentley at an academic discount. For the first year of the experimental course, Bentley sold the Pocket PCs to students at a further subsidized price, bringing them in line with what textbooks would have cost. But students haven't really abandoned books or reading. In addition to Web resources, course materials include E-Books from Books 24x7 (http://www.books24x7.com) about the Pocket PC, Excel Spreadsheets, and Microsoft Windows XP.