Project Timeline

October - November 2005: Assess the capabilities of HP mobile technology and work with IST students and faculty to tailor the technology to our program's needs. IST students in IST 225 (PC Hardware Basics) will develop the image used for the tablet PCs. IST students in IST 226 (Networking Essentials), will plan and implement the wireless network.

Spring 2006: Attend Worldwide HP Mobile Technology Conference.

January - April 2006: Teach the revamped Wildlife Management Techniques course (WILDL 106).

Early February 2006: Introduce students to use and capabilities of HP mobile technology. Allow students to use HP mobile technology to store data in a practice setting. IST students in IST 228 (Advanced Network Administration General Information) will guide wildlife students in the use of the units and provide additional support when needed. IST students in IST 220 (Networking and Telecommunications) will be introduced to this project.

March 2006: Allow students to work in teams to collect, store and share data on PIT-tagged animals.

Early April 2006: Have students use HP mobile technology to develop electronic directories of automarked spring salamanders and during the field component of bird song identification.

May 2006: Assess the use of HP mobile technology in aiding student success. Evaluate the potential for using mobile technology in other courses, specifically Wildlife Statistics (WILDL 204) and Terrestrial Wildlife Management (WILDL 208W) in fall 2006 and Aerial Photograph Interpretation and GIS (WILDL 211) in spring 2007.

September 2006: Potentially incorporate the use of mobile technology in fall courses and develop campus seminars on the use of mobile technology in the classroom, team learning, and how well this interdisciplinary project worked.

Spring 2007: Upon successful completion of the project, present on the use of mobile technology in the classroom and for data collection in the field at the annual Pennsylvania Chapter of the Wildlife Society meeting and a national conference on undergraduate education in natural resources.

Summer 2009: Presented the project and findings at the 2009 Penn State Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology. The presentation link for the presentation slides.
Presentation Slides