Chemical experiment and mobile electronic devices
Piotr Jagodziński
Robert Wolski
Teaching is a continuously changing process. The changes are caused by advancement in
the area of educational science as well as by changes in teaching those subjects and disciplines
which might not even have much in common with teaching itself. With the development of
technology it has become possible to change the manners and methods of teaching. We currently
face the development of computer-based educational techniques and methods, especially those
that depend on the Internet. Rapid technological advancement which results in miniaturization
of electronic devices allows their wide use in education. They are user-friendly and lightweight
as well as very efficient due to their excellent technical parameters. Therefore they have become
mobile didactic means which include mpeg4 players, modern cellular phones equipped with
systems like Symbian, netbooks and palmtops – PDA portable personal digital assistants.
A palmtop is a small portable personal computer. It is smaller than a laptop computer and can
be easily fitted in a pocket or in hand (on top of a palm). Palmtops are computers which can be
programmed and where it is possible to install ready-made software, including the educational
one [Harton & Harton, 2003].
Using a palmtop as a multimedia collection of chemistry experiments
Palmtops are equipped with a color touchscreen which is used by means of a special stylus or
fingers. Almost all palmtops can recognize handwriting and some have an inbuilt keypad which
is operated by means of thumbs.
Because of their numerous functions, palmtops can be used in many areas. For instance
they may be used for reading e-books, for storing and viewing photos, editing texts, recording
sounds, playing music files e.g. MP3, watching films, searching the Internet, viewing websites,
communicating via Skype, e-mail, playing files in Flash, using as diaries and calculators as well
as a notebook, etc [Kukulska-Hulme & Traxler, 2005].
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