During the fall of 2003 and winter of 2004 Project Learning Links is conducting a series of professional development seminars for faculty within the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Reno. The goal of these seminars is to increase faculty’s use and knowledge of instructional technology.

PDA Workshop follow-up - January 30th, 2004

Presented by Jacque Ewing-Taylor, Project Coordinator
Happy New Year! After the PDA seminar you attended in early November, several of you asked that we conduct a follow-up session, so we have scheduled one! Friday, January 30th seemed to be the day that worked best for most of you, so we have scheduled 9-11 in the COE computer lab (1006). We'll discuss problems/issues you have encountered, I'll have additional resources for you, and we'll talk about some online resources, both free and not-quite-free. Please RSVP to jacque@unr.edu so that I can be sure and have enough stations set up.
All attendees of this workshop will receive a complementary copy of Documents 2 Go

Level 1: “Taking the PDA Out of the Box"

Date: Monday, November 17, 2003 from 8:30 – 11:30 in WRB 1001

This workshop was for the BEGINNER—the person who had never used a PDA (and might not even be sure what PDA stands for….Note: it stands for Personal Digital Assistant, and a common “brand” is the Palm). By taking the first session of this seminar, participants learned the basics, the system setup, the why and the how of the different main applications, all to gain a basic working ability in the Palm Operating System. Tys Sniffen, our presenter, taught participants basic functions and got them comfortable with all the parts and basic features of their PDA.

The first twenty College of Education academic faculty who registered and attended this beginner class each received a new Palm m130 PDA courtesy of Project Learning Links.

This is a photo of the actual PDA that Learning Links gave to 20 College of Education Faculty.
Find out more about the Palm m130

Level 2: “Moving the PDA from Electronic Address Book to Organizational Tool” (offered twice)

Date: Monday, November 17, 2003 from 1:00 – 4:00 and again (session repeated)
Tuesday, November 18, 2003 from 8:30 – 11:30 in WRB 1001

This workshop was for the person who has been using a PDA for long enough to know some of the features—but who suspects (or knows) that there must be more that it will do and is now ready to become a more proficient user. Participants had a PDA with the Palm operating system, and at least a basic knowledge of the 'graffiti' writing style for inputting knowledge, and a desire to be more digitally organized. Our presenter, Tys Sniffen, provided participants with information on (and practice with) expansion capabilities, different types of PDAs, and ‘add-on’ software that made sense for all users, and some specific applications for different industries. Participants learned about lists and common calendar items that should be in anyone’s organizational tool.

Level 3: “Philosophies, Tips, and Tricks for Getting the Most out of Your PDA”

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 from 1:00 – 4:00 in WRB 1001

In this workshop for the intermediate to advanced user, Tys helped us learn ways to integrate the PDA into our everyday life. In particular, he dissected the old ways of organizing, and built new habits and philosophies, opening up a world of digital organization.

Tys Sniffen, the presenter for all the workshops, is President of Idea Mountain, in San Francisco. Prior to founding Idea Mountain (www.ideamountain.com) he worked in various high tech sales and consulting positions that exposed him to many of the tools and gadgets that are ‘supposed’ to make one more efficient. Besides being an early adapter of technology, he has worked extensively with communication tools, sales automation tools, ‘digital’ Human Resource Management tools, and knowledge management tools.

November 7th, 2003

Digital Video Workshop presented by Ken Gibson, Project Coordinator – Technology In Teacher Education-Nevada