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With the military’s increasing emphasis on making education and training possible via interactive and non-interactive handheld computers / portable devices (Blackberry, Treo, Dell Axim, etc.), instructors and designers are starting to think about how they can modify their approach to course delivery. This article explores how one can use the capabilities of the handheld computer / PDA in an expository writing course.

Have Consistent Learning Objectives, Regardless of the Delivery Method:

In this case the learning objectives include:

1—Student demonstrates through the topic selection and treatment of it the ability to write an essay that present an issue from multiple points of view;

2—Student demonstrates through writing a clear, well-organized paper, that he/she has an understanding of the topic;

3—Student collects and presents data that guides the reader to a deeper understanding of the issue;

4—The essay makes connections between the topic and outside references by means of quotes, references, or personal anecdotes;

5—The essay contains a synthesis of ideas, and demonstrates critical thinking skills.

Identify the Topic:

What makes a good interdisciplinary topic? It must be broad enough to engage the reader in a consideration of multiple fields of study or investigation, and it should be complex enough so that a person can look at each argument from two or more points of view.

The topic will have primary and secondary arguments. For example, in the sample outline, the topic is defined as Pet Custody Issues in Contemporary American Society. http://www.beyondutopia.net/writing-survival-guide/sid-unit3/ The primary argument is that pet custody issues do, in fact, exist. The secondary arguments breaking down the original argument into smaller units, and taking a closer look at them from various vantage points. In this case, one can look at pet custody issues from the point of view of people (pet owners), society, and health (pet and owners).

This provides the student with a PDA a perfect opportunity to collect data and define the topic further in the following ways:

1—Take photos of family pets with the PDA;

2—Interview individuals who have pets facing this problem;

3—Research online by using the browser to see if there have been any recent headlines;

4—Listen to weblogs or audio posts that contain interviews;

5—Record movies of a pet owner in a situation that illustrates the paper;

6—Email interviews and share perspectives (collaboration).

Internet news sources can be very useful in developing an interdisciplinary topic. For example, Time ( http://www.time.com ) or Newsweek ( http://www.newsweek.com ). Because of the small screen, one may wish to use a news portal such as YahooNews (http://www.yahoo.com).

Step 1: Find 2 primary references (articles or books)
These are articles that explain the issues and provide background, contexts, and overviews. The student with a PDA can find these using the library’s databases, such as EBSCO’s Academic First Search.

The student can also search archives in PDA-friendly publications, such as the New York Times online. The articles should include definitions of key terms and concepts that are basic to an understanding of the topic and the primary and secondary arguments.

Step 2: Three Main Aspects of the Issue

A) The Family Pet — roles and relationships
Find five articles. In initial brainstorming phases, PDA is best used in outlining, rather in more graphics-intensive applications.

The student can make bullet list of 5 ways they relate to the main topic under study using Notepad or even e-mailing messages to oneself. This is a good place to define the topic and the basic issues.

B) How pets’ roles are expanding in American society— a look at medical care for pets, pet products, the treatment of pets
It is important to clearly define the topic and approach so that it is manageable and easily made into components. For example, the student repeats the process as above, but from a different perspective. Using the PDA, she finds five articles. The student then makes a bullet list of 5 ways they relate to the main topic under study.

C) Pets and human health — psychology, social aspects
The step above is repeated. Images should be saved separately in small files for easy retrieval. The PDA requires a bit of planning — the student needs to develop a file naming protocol that allows easy retrieval.

Step 3: Discussion on the Topic
After reading and researching this topic, what emerges as primary issues and problems? Why? How do you know? Be sure to think of things in terms of the different disciplines. The student should at issues from multiple points of view, and connect one discipline to another.

This is a great time to send messages via PDA to other students. These can be instant messages, or e-mails. Posting on a discussion board is trickier with a PDA, so it may be best to focus on e-mail, IM, or simple bullet points in a separate file. With the PDA, the student can bring the content into the context — which is to say that he/she can interview people and take notes on the PDA. This can include images, text, audio, and small PDA-generated movies.

Step 4: Case Studies that Illustrate Key Points
The topic is narrowed down and key points are highlighted. Now case studies (or research) can be presented to help one’s understanding of the topic. Two or three case studies would be idea. You may wish to use one of the case studies earlier in your paper to help expand your definition of the problem or to illustrate the issues involved.

Step 5: Conclusions and Findings
Here is where the conclusions, findings, and connections are presented. You may wish to conclude with a discussion of where further work could be done.

After reviewing the paper, the student may wish to try additional writing assignments, or the instructor may wish to write more lesson plans. The possibilities are practically infinite.

Further examples include the following:

Here are a few ideas:

1. Research methods classes — collecting field data for statistical analysis later. Busy traffic intersection traffic — collect data (number of vehicles, etc.)

2. Project in Marketing research involving consumer trend micro-research: Taco Bell or other fast food restaurant customers from 10 pm to 2 am Saturday - Monday

3. Geology field trip — mapping the outcrop, classifying fossils that can’t be retrieved by taking a photo of them and annotating the photo by using alt.tags or making a note in the notepad. The PDA may even have GPS which can allow the collection of location data.

4. Botany field trip — magnolia blossoms on a certain date in March

5. Overheard conversations while waiting in line to see a new release movie (support for a movie review, or discussion including a movie).

6. Political campaign poster coverage (shots of the billboards and posters, plus discussion and analysis).

The handheld computer or PDA provides for a multimedia data collection system. It may not be too convenient to type the entire paper with the PDA, unless a small folding keyboard is acquired. Nevertheless, it is possible, with planning. The nature of the interactivity allows for new and potentially limitless opportunities.