Introduction to PDA's: - This part of the workshop included a brief introduction to the program and an overview of available PDA technology. Teachers were then given hands-on training in the in the basic operation of Palm Pilots, including navigating the Palm OS, entering text using Graffiti(TM), and using built-in Palm applications. These included the DateBook, Address Book, To-Do List, and MemoPad.

Sharing Information Through Beaming - The workshop also included a section on "beaming", a technology which allows information to be transmitted wirelessly via an Infrared transmitter, in the same manner of a television remote control. Teachers used beaming to send back and forth memos, calendar appointments, electronic business cards, and even software applications.

Using Keyboards - Participants were introduced to the wide variety of PDA peripherals through the use of the Palm Portable Keyboard(TM). This device allows for rapid input of text using a traditional keyboard that amazingly folds into a package a little larger than a deck of cards. Teachers were excited about the ability to use this keyboard practically anywhere.

Measuring Data - Thanks to a generation donation from the Imagiworks corporation, our participants were able to explore some scientific instruments for collecting live data from the environment. The teachers used temperature probes to measure energy transfer in hot and cold water sources. Many of the attendees felt that using PDAs would make for an exciting, effective, and inexpensive way to conduct practical labs in science courses.

'HotSync': PDA meets PC - Our participants, who were also provided with laptops as part of a related grant, were shown how to link their PDA's to their PC's to exchange information between the two. In addition to learning the principles of synchronization, the teachers also learned how to locate and install software on their Palm, and learned to synchronize Microsoft Office(TM) documents using Documents To Go(TM).