B

Learning Connections
Language Arts
Personal T
he fundamental goal of lit-
eracy is to construct meaning
Literacy from language. Teachers help

students become literate by providing
Assistants
opportunities to listen to read-alouds,
by persuading them to investigate
their writing process, by discussing
what they have heard and read, and
Using Handhelds for Literacy Instruction through other activities designed to
attract students to the world of words.
With the emergence of 21st cen-
tury technology and the use of mass
media, a definition of literacy must
include not only the ability to read
and write, but also to listen, speak,
and view. Handheld computers (also
known as personal digital assistants)
can be powerful tools for engaging
students in literacy learning.
The University of Central Florida’s
Instructional Technology Resource
Center (ITRC), the SouthEast Initia-
tives Regional Technology in Educa-
tion Consortium (SEIR*TEC), and
K12 Handhelds teamed to design
a hands-on workshop to help teach-
ers use handhelds to teach literacy.
(Editor’s note: Find these organiza-
tions’ URLs and other resources on
p. 20.) We have presented this work-
shop at various state conferences
and at the 2004 National Educational
Computing Conference (NECC).
Here we provide a lesson plan and
practical guidance for using handheld-
enhanced lessons in classrooms. We
By Donna Baumbach, also mention specific pro-
Toni Christopher, grams you can use with
Karen Fasimpaur, your students. Some of
the software we refer-
and Kevin Oliver ence is free or shareware,
Subject: Literacy but if students are to
maximize the benefits
Grades: K–5 (Ages 5–10) of handheld technology,
some software will need
Technology: Handhelds to be purchased. The more
sophisticated programs, such
Standards: NETS•S 3–5; NETS•T II as assessment tools or commer-
(http://www.iste.org/standards/)
cially published ebooks, must be
16 Learning & Leading with Technology Volume 32 Number 2

Copyright © ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int’l), iste@iste.org. All rights reserved.
Language Arts
purchased, and schools should budget can think of that begin with each of resources for research, including
for those resources. Many of the utili- letter. Ask each student to select a library books, reference books, Web
ties mentioned here are for both Palm specific bug, then use PicoMap or In- sites, ebooks, maps, and CD-ROMs.
OS and Pocket PC handhelds, but spiration for the Palm OS to outline Noah Lite is a free dictionary tool
some are for Palm OS only. Check their selections. Students are asked students can use to look up unfa-
the URLs for each utility to see which if any of the bugs should be grouped miliar terms they encounter during
handheld platforms are supported. together in specific categories (e.g., research. To build phonics and word
bees), and you then map these rela- recognition into the lesson, encour-
A Sample Lesson Plan tionships. The Margi Presenter-to-Go age students to locate and pronounce
To illustrate how you can use hand- connector allows you to display your their bug’s scientific name, sounding
held computing tools to enhance handheld screen through a standard out each phoneme. You could also
existing lesson plans, we introduce LCD projector. use the Quizzler application to cre-
a sample lesson plan from the Great ate “flash cards” for vocabulary. Show
Research. After selecting a specific
Resources for Integrating Technol- students insects in motion using short
bug, students can use iKWL to re-
ogy in Schools (GRITS) Web site. movies on Kinoma Player and pro-
cord what they know about their
The “autobugography” lesson plan vide photos and clip art for student
bug, what they would like to learn,
allows students to touch on many of motivation and use in their reports.
and later, what they have learned.
the components of literacy and to
Next, students research their bugs to Writing and Presenting. To help stu-
combine scientific research with cre-
gather information needed to write dents organize their writing, provide
ative writing. It touches on all of the
autobugographies. Prior to research, a fill-in-the-blank worksheet using
key components of literacy: reading,
use Inspiration for the Palm OS, a handheld word processor such as
writing, listening, speaking, and view-
ThoughtManager, or even the hand- Documents to Go. Students write
ing. Each participating class explores
held’s to-do list feature to provide stu- down the information they have
their surroundings in search of insects
dents with guiding questions for their found through research and reading.
about which to write autobugogra-
research: Where do I live? What do I Sentences should be in first person
phies—short stories written from the
eat? What do I look like? and What and written from the bug’s point of
insect’s point of view (first person)
happened to me today? Students can view (e.g., “I am a …” “I live in …”
and accompanied by the insect’s digi-
use AvantGo to move Web pages and “I eat…”).
tal portrait. You can view archived
graphics from desktop computers
student work on the GRITS site. My name is (remember,
to the their handhelds for research.
When your project is completed, you you are a bug!) …
eReader and FlingIt also help bring
can submit your students’ work— My scientific name is …
files from the Web to the handheld.
samples may be added to the archive You can find me living …
Encourage students to use a variety
for others to view in the future.
Introduction and Brainstorming.
First, explain to students that they
will be doing a project about bugs. Beetle, by Dylan
They will write a story from the bug’s I am a beetle. My habitat is dry, dead leaves on the ground. I can also burrow into the
point of view, an autobugography! ground. My menu is other small insects, like gnats or ants. I came from an egg and my life
But first they will need to learn more style is pretty much hunt, eat, sleep, get hunted, run for my life, try not to get eaten, and
about bugs and one bug of their the occasional dodging of humans. My habitat helps me with camouflage. How it helps
me is because my color (red and gray) blends in with the red and dark colored leaves.
choice. To help students select a bug, My life cycle is first an egg, then I’m larva. After that I go to the pupa stage. Next, I’m a
you can use ThoughtManager to cre- nymph. Last, I’m an adult. Now I’m an adult looking back on my life and putting it into this
ate and beam an ABC strategy work- autobugography. Some of my worst predators are those pesky birds. They’re
sheet to their handhelds. The ABC always hunting me and eating me. Well, that’s all I have to say about the story
of my life, so I guess this is where my story ends.
strategy contains the 26 letters of
the alphabet, and students are asked
to brainstorm as many bugs as they An example autobugography created by a fourth grader.
October 2004 Learning & Leading with Technology 17

Language Arts
If you looked at me, you would reconstruct and modify this rubric
describe me like this … for use on the handheld using the
I like to eat … HanDBase database or ThoughtMan-
My worst enemy is … ager. You can sync this data with your
I really like to … desktop computer and analyze it later
My friends are … using a database manager, such as
Access or Filemaker Pro. For reading
When finished completing their
instructors who wish to incorporate
worksheets, students sync them back
a reading assessment into this assign-
to your computer and read their sen-
ment, we recommend asking students
tences aloud. You help students deter-
to read a prepared work on insects.
mine if they have enough information
The Learner Profile and Wireless
to begin creating their stories.
After students finish editing their Generation applications for desktop
stories, they can publish them as an computers and the handheld are ex-
ebook. Students save their word pro- cellent tools for marking student ac-
cessed files in rich text format, then complishment of specific state reading
open them in the eBook Studio pro- indicators.
gram, where text can be formatted in
ebook style. Students sync and install Literacy Terms and Tools
ebooks on their handhelds, then read Literacy is more than just reading.
them aloud to small reading groups. In fact, it is a set of skills, including
Students in a reading group can share reading, writing, listening, speaking,
their ebooks by beaming them to one and viewing. Handhelds can help
another. After presenting their work, teachers teach and assess these skills.
students should complete their iKWL Reading. Learning in all content areas
charts, adding what they have learned is supported by strong reading com-
in this lesson. prehension strategies and study skills.
Assessment. To assess the Autobugog- Students need to know how to apply
raphy assignment, we recommend a variety of reading comprehension
two instruments: a student checklist strategies to different types of texts,
and a teacher rubric. The student analyze the structures and features of
checklist provides students with a way expository (informational) texts, and
to keep track of their progress on the select and vary their reading strategies
project. The student checklist may be for different texts and purposes. Skills
disseminated electronically using the that can be fostered through hand-
handheld’s To Do List application, al- helds include thinking about reading,
lowing students to electronically track predicting, questioning, summarizing,
and check off the project components and retelling. Traditional tools for
they have completed. The To Do these activities are now available in
List application also allows students handheld versions, such as PiCoMap
to take notes on the project com- or Inspiration for the Palm OS. Web
ponents, so when their checklist is clipping programs (e.g., FlingIt) and
beamed back to the teacher, he or she ebook readers (e.g., eReader) allow
can assess the work of the students in students ready access to electronic
greater detail. texts. Finally, reference tools (e.g.,
The teacher rubric provided for Noah Lite) and word games (e.g.,
this project covers two key areas in crossword puzzles from Handmark
assessing student work: technology or Beret Applications) help increase
integration and language usage. It is students’ vocabulary. You can create
posted in the Autobugography sec- quizzes using Quizzler to assess stu-
tion of the GRITS Web site. You can dents’ reading comprehension.

Language Arts
Writing. The writing process nor- can be repeated, played through head- several companies produce handheld
mally consists of prewriting, drafting, phones, and adapted to the needs of assessment tools created especially for
revising, editing, and publishing. individual students. literacy, such as Wireless Generation’s
Students need many opportunities to DIBELS and Reading Records.
write about what they are learning. Speaking. Human beings commu-
Writing forces organization. It helps nicate primarily through speech.
Conditions Necessary for
us see clusters of information and Children seem born not just to speak,
Student and Teacher Success
but also to interact socially. Handheld
hierarchies of ideas. Because it is such To implement this lesson effectively,
devices support speaking by enabling
a powerful vehicle for learning and students need access to the appropri-
students to hear stories read aloud. In
thinking, it should be integrated into ate handheld hardware and software.
addition, the built-in voice recorders
almost every aspect of instruction. One of the benefits of handhelds is
in many handhelds allow students to
Computers have been very helpful their low cost, which makes one-
record and listen to their own reading
to some students in the writing pro- to-one student-to-computer ratios
or to practice an oral presentation,
cess. Those who lack the fine motor possible, and this lesson is best imple-
playing it back to critique and im-
skills to create legible penmanship mented when each student has his
prove themselves. These devices are
have found the computer keyboard to or her own handheld. In addition,
an improvement over standard analog
be a welcome assistant. Students who it may be helpful to have keyboards
tape recorders because they allow
once tore their papers while editing available for students. Although our
random access and easy re-recording.
and erasing find the delete key a help- experience is that students are quite
Further, these digital recordings are
ful tool. Spelling and grammar check- adept at mastering the handwriting
easy for students to share with each
ers also help students create more recognition used by handhelds, using
other, post on a Web page, include
pleasing and polished work. Full-sized keyboards gives the opportunity to
in their digital portfolios, and match
keyboards and full-featured word reinforce keyboarding skills.
with the text version of the book to
processing programs are available for Realistically, the full implementa-
create their own talking books.
many handhelds. Handheld programs tion of the autobugography lesson
such as outlining tools and graphic Viewing. Visual images have language
organizers (e.g., iKWL) are also useful
in prewriting and writing. The word
and meaning. Visual literacy can be
defined as the ability to understand Webcasts
processor FreeWrite allows students to and produce visual messages. Hand-
practice and improve their writing. helds support viewing by allowing
students to view pictures and graph-
Listening. Listening comprehension ics. Students can use built-in cameras,
can be defined as the ability to recall both still and motion, to record im-
and understand information that is ages to write about later, to describe
presented orally. This information an activity or share an observation,
might be presented through the oral or to document an event. Images can
reading of a book, film or video, a re- be used in stories, ebooks, or reports.
corded message, or any other auditory Students can use drawing tools to in-
device. Also helpful are the built-in terpret what they have seen, to show To view Webcasts
sound recording and playback fea- understanding of what they have read from NECC 2004, visit
tures on many handhelds. or heard, or to animate a sequence of http://www.iste.org/necc/.
Because research indicates that activities. ISTE thanks MINDS
listening comprehension augments
reading comprehension, it is impor- Assessment. You can use handhelds for providing
tant for professional educators to in- in the assessment process. Quizzes the Webcast software
corporate listening skill development and electronic worksheets can be and filming and
into the curriculum. Because many generated and distributed to student archiving of the video.
handheld devices have multimedia handhelds, and students’ scores with
capabilities, they can record and play item analyses can be beamed back to
sound files, display images, and show a teacher’s gradebook. Rubrics and
animation and film clips—helping checklists can be used in authentic
students to practice listening. Sounds assessment of students’ skills, and

Language Arts
plan would take from four to five than traditional desktop technology,
sessions, depending on student and because the handhelds are small and
teacher expertise with the various mobile. Handhelds represent a new
handheld applications. The lesson tool for teachers though, and teachers
will go most smoothly if students should be given adequate time and
�� have already had experience with
the handhelds and with the programs
support to integrate handhelds into
the classroom.
�� being used.
However, if teachers do not have Conclusion
this much time, many variations on We know that computers can be used
the autobugography lesson are pos- in many ways to promote literacy,
sible. One teacher implemented a however most students do not have
portion of this lesson by focusing adequate access to computers to make
on the brainstorming, reading, and substantial differences in perfor-
�� research part of the lesson, opting to mance. Very few students have 24/7
�� save the final writing project for an- access to technology. Many students
other time. The fourth graders who do not have computers at home. Even
��
participated had not used handhelds in well-equipped schools, the ratio of
��
extensively before the lesson, and so, computers to students rarely reaches
�� one of the lesson objectives was to 1:1. With the increasing power and
�� help them gain familiarity with the decreasing prices of handheld com-
�� technology. As is commonly found puters, students can have access to
with handhelds, the students became computers whenever and wherever
comfortable with the technology very they need them. This makes a signifi-
��
quickly and had little difficulty mas- cant difference in student gains from
��
tering its use. technology use. With the rich selec-
�� You can adapt this lesson plan tion of software tools available and
�� to fit the students’ needs, time avail- thoughtful lesson plans, handheld
� �� able, and resources on hand. Al- computers can be an effective tool for
�� though maximum benefits may be advancing literacy in the classroom.
�� gained by teaching the entire lesson
�� as presented with activities that Resources
�� support all areas of literacy, this ap- Beret Applications: http://www.beret.com
�� proach may not be feasible for every Documents to Go: http://www.dataviz.com/
classroom. Experiment and adapt the eBook Studio: http://www.palmdigitalmedia.
com/products/ebookstudio
lesson so that it works best for your eReader: http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/
specific needs. products/palmreader/free
As with other types of technology, FlingIt: http://www.goknow.com/Products/
professional development for teachers FlingIt/
�� using handhelds is critical. Profes- Florida’s Instructional Technology Resource
Center: http://www.itrc.ucf.edu
�� sional development on integrating FreeWrite: http://www.goknow.com/Products/
�� handhelds into the literacy curricu- FreeWrite
�� lum should include not only technical Great Resources for Integrating Technology
training, but also support on imple- in Schools (GRITS): http://www.grits
online.org/
mentation strategies and classroom HanDBase database application: http://www.
management tips. Because handhelds ddhsoftware.com/
are relatively easy to use from a Handmark: http://www.handmark.com
technical standpoint, less training iKWL: http://www.palm.hice-dev.org/
is required on this, and more time beta.php
Inspiration: http://www.inspiration.com
can be devoted to integration strate- K12 Handhelds: http://
gies. Teachers often find handhelds www.k12handhelds.com
easier to integrate into the classroom Kinoma Player: http://www.kinoma.com/

Margi Presenter-to-Go: http://www.
margi.com/products/prod_ptg.htm
Noah Lite: http://www.arslexis.com
PiCoMap: http://www.goknow.com/Products/
PiCoMap/
Quizzler: http://www.pocketmobility.com/
downloads/quizdownloads.html
SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology
in Education Consortium (SEIR*TEC):
http://www.seirtec.org
ThoughtManager: http://www.handshigh.
com/html/thoughtmanager.html
Using Handheld Technology to Improve
Literacy Skills [NECC 2004 Workshop
Details]: http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/
NECC2004/program/search_results_
details.php?sessionid=28912
Wireless Generation: http://www.
wirelessgeneration.com/web/
Dr. Donna Baumbach has

been a faculty member at the
University of Central Florida
for most of her career. A profes-
sor in the College of Education,
her areas of specialization
are school library media and
educational technology. She is director of the
SUNLINK project, Florida’s K–12 public school
union catalog.
Toni Christopher is program
coordinator for the Florida
Online Reading—Professional
Development (FOR-PD) pro-
gram at UCF. Her experiences
as an educator range from
literacy specialist and Title I
coordinator at the middle grade levels to curricu-
lum writer for implementing reading strategies
in content areas.
A nationally known expert on
the educational use of handheld
technology, Karen Fasimpaur
has worked with schools across
th United States on the use of
handhelds. Ms. Fasimpaur,
president of K12 Handhelds,
is the author of the award-winning book 101
Great Educational Uses for Your Handheld
Computer and has taught elementary and adult
education.
Kevin Oliver, MEd, PhD, is
project co-director of the North
Carolina–based SouthEast
Initiatives Regional Technol-
ogy in Education Consortium
(SEIR*TEC), a grant program
of SERVE. Kevin develops
publications and Web sites and provides evalua-
tion and technical assistance services to state and
local education agencies working on technology
integration initiatives.


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Learning Connections

Literacy from language. Teachers help

16 Learning & Leading with Technology Volume 32 Number 2

October 2004 Learning & Leading with Technology 17

18 Learning & Leading with Technology Volume 32 Number 2

October 2004 Learning & Leading with Technology 19

20 Learning & Leading with Technology Volume 32 Number 2

Dr. Donna Baumbach has

October 2004 Learning & Leading with Technology 21

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