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State exchange
College Orientation's New Twist
Palm Handhelds for New Students
University of South Dakota Students Get a Lesson in Beaming
VERMILLION, S.D., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,300 students at the University of South Dakota today became the first in the nation to receive Palm(TM) handheld computers authorized by a university for all first-year undergraduates, law and medical students. Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM - news) is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers.
Welcoming new students to the campus, President James W. Abbott demonstrated a key element in the university's plan to integrate Palm handhelds into the curriculum by illustrating how information can be beamed from one handheld to another, and used to collaborate and share. Using the Palm handheld's infrared (IR) capability, Abbott pointed his handheld at a student's handheld and beamed his telephone number, and then watched as students beamed the information from handheld to handheld in a matter of minutes.
USD worked with Enable Systems of Hoffman Estates, Ill., to equip the Palm m500 and m505 handhelds with a dozen education, productivity and communication software applications. Also, students will receive the Palm Mobile Mentor(TM) software CDs announced today (see related news release).
"The initiative USD announced last spring continues to grow in scope as we take the next step in providing an exceptional learning environment for our students by integrating handheld computing technology into our curriculum,'' said Abbott. "Palm handhelds will be an integral part of English, speech, biology, computer science, information technology, medical and law coursework. Just as important, the technology will be used to share information, collaborate and communicate with faculty, administrators and other students.''
Central to integrating the Palm handhelds into campus life is the installation of the EthIR LAN and EthIR STAR wireless connectivity systems from Clarinet Systems, Inc. of Milpitas, Calif. The systems provide high-speed IR connectivity to the campus network for faster transfer of data to Palm handhelds. Students can receive email, download web clips, schedule appointments with faculty, turn in assignments electronically, share lecture notes, research academic requirements and obtain class materials. Educators can distribute syllabi, course calendars, resource materials and assignments. The Clarinet Systems IR ports are located in the student center, library, the medical and law schools, and several buildings that house undergraduate departments.
"Universities are typically at the forefront of a new trend, and adopting Palm handheld technology is just one example,'' said Mike Lorion, Palm's vice president of education. "Other universities are watching with interest to see how USD puts this technology to work in class and throughout campus life.''
Preloaded on USD's Palm handhelds are the following:
- AvantGo -- AvantGo(R) Mobile Internet Service --allows users to receive web content;
- DataViz -- Documents To Go(R) -- allows students to read and compose Microsoft Word and Excel documents, and view PowerPoint slides;
- Handmark -- Four.Zero(TM) -- an organizer for coursework, class information and grade management;
- Hands High Software -- ThoughtManager(TM) -- an outliner and educational database for creating and organizing ideas, tasks, class schedules and more;
- MGI Software -- PhotoSuite(R) Mobile Edition -- enables viewing of video clips and photos;
- Handmark -- MobileDB(TM) -- a database for creating custom lists, and viewing and editing any table or spreadsheet-like information directly on any Palm handheld;
- Palm, Inc. -- MultiMail(R) Professional -- Palm's advanced email application;
- NearSpace -- detailed maps of USD campus;
- Palm, Inc. -- Palm Reader(TM)-- the leading eBook application for Palm Powered(TM) devices;
- Palm, Inc. -- DropBook(TM) -- a utility that enables users to create Palm eBooks by dragging text onto the DropBook icon; and Infinity Softworks, Inc. -- powerOne(TM) General calculator.
DDH Software -- Thesaurus / Spellcheck;
About The University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota is the state's flagship university and home of the state's only law and medical schools and college of Fine Arts. It is a center for liberal arts education with a professionally accredited School of Education, School of Business and College of Arts and Sciences. Recognized by U.S. News and World Report for its academic excellence and affordable cost, USD offers an outstanding educational experience in the heart of the Midwest. Led by James W. Abbott, the university's first alumnus president is located in Vermillion, South Dakota. USD's caring and dedicated faculty and staff are committed to educational excellence. About 80 percent of the nearly 400 faculty hold a doctorate or other terminal degree in their field and many have earned state, regional and national recognition. More information is available at www.usd.edu.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000). Based on the Palm OS® platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to carry and access their most critical information wherever they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals, enterprises and educational institutions through thousands of application solutions. The Palm OS platform is also the foundation for products from Palm's licensees and strategic partners, such as Franklin Covey, Handspring, IBM, Kyocera, Sony, Symbol Technologies, and HandEra (formerly TRG). Platform licensees also include Acer, Garmin, Nokia and Samsung. The Palm Economy is a growing global community of industry-leading licensees, world-class OEM customers, and approximately 170,000 innovative developers and solution providers that have registered to develop solutions based on the Palm OS platform. Palm went public on March 2, 2000. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol PALM. More information is available at http://www.palm.com
Note: Palm OS and MultiMail are registered trademarks and Palm, Palm Reader, DropBook and Mobile Mentor are trademarks of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective owners.