Walk into a sixth grade science class at Lessenger Middle School and you will see students beaming back and forth across the room. No, you haven't stepped into the future. You are witnessing students sharing information using Palm handheld computers. The students are participating in innovative technology-embedded curriculum, as a part of the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS). LeTUS is a partnership between researchers and educators from the Detroit Public Schools, the University of Michigan, the Chicago Public Schools and Northwestern University, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. As a part of this program, students are trying out new software for the Palm, developed by the University of Michigan.

One new software that students will be using at five middle schools this spring is called Cooties. Cooties is a program that demonstrates how diseases spread using Palm handheld computers. At the start of the exercise, one Palm is the "carrier" of the disease. Cooties spread as the students beam information back and forth during class. Cooties get the students using technology for more than just games. Instead, the Palm becomes a learning tool used by students to investigate topics such as diseases, weather and simple machines.

Researchers at the University of Michigan believe that the Palm has the potential to solve one of the most difficult problems with technology use in the classroom. According to Elliot Soloway, a professor of engineering, education, and information, "What kids need are science-productivity tools and math tools. Unfortunately, there's never going to be enough money in schools to buy enough computers for kids. " Dr. Soloway is now focusing on Palm devices, because they are cheap enough for each child in a classroom to potentially have one. Access to technology will no longer be an obstacle to student learning.

Students at Lessenger know what it means to have unlimited access to technology. With the help of U-M graduate research assistant, Mike Curtis, students are using the Palm to write assignments, make graphs, read information from the Internet and share ideas with classmates. Students at Lessenger are using the Palm in almost every class and even taking them home. One program popular in many classrooms is called PiComap. It helps students develop concept maps, which are graphic maps used to show how ideas relate to one another. Students like the Palm better than pencil and paper because they can share their maps by beaming them to one another. According to their teacher, Mary Jo Tarrien, this type of sharing promotes students' conversations about science, and therefore helps their learning.

Dr. Soloway's goal is to see this type of meaningful use of technology in all classrooms. In order to do this, he feels there is a great need for educational applications that cut across many areas of students' classroom experiences. He is currently working on building the "cool dozen", twelve essential programs teachers can use on handheld computers in the classroom. If his next ten applications are anything like the first two, the sky is the limit for the learning possibilities of students in Detroit.