Using Pendragon Forms Palm OS Databases for Student Information

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My Office is Wherever I Happen To Be

OnCUE, April 2002 (www.cue.org)

by Sheldon Smith

Schools increasingly rely on data. And school administrators need to have important student data with them in the field. With the help of a Palm OS^® handheld computer, a school administrator can leverage the handheld’s connectivity to the desktop and the Internet to make decisions about students and staff on the spot without having to call of the school office. Rather than using the school radio to inquire about a student’s schedule, school administrators can carry student schedules as well as other vital information with them in their pockets. Handheld computers enable school administrators to think of the office as being "wherever I happen to be".

"While I was originally reluctant to part with my paper calendar and address book, I've found the versatility and memory capacity of my Palm to be far superior," says Patrick J. Sayne , Superintendent of Paso Robles Public Schools in California. "I am able to access personnel phone numbers while I am in the car or from home." By using Intellisync, he connects his Palm's date book to Groupwise, the district's calendar and email program, so that his secretary and cabinet members can access his calendar and schedule appointments.

Palm OS handhelds come in many shapes, sizes, and capabilities. Through a combination of ports and peripherals, the most basic Palm OS handheld has at least five methods for connecting users with data. Every Palm OS handheld has an infrared beaming function that allows the user to send information other handhelds or infrared capable printers, a cable for connecting with a desktop computer, and a port for connecting to a variety of peripherals, such as keyboards, mobile phones, modems, and cameras. With this medley of connectivity options, school administrators can print notes without cables, access e-mail during student supervision, access student schedules and personnel phone numbers from the hallway or home, and type teacher observations while being in the classroom rather than performing these traditional functions in the office.

Dan Burrell looking up a students schedule. Photo by J. Boomer Grace

More Than an Address Book

Some people consider handheld computers as expensive address books. For a school administrator, a handheld computer is an overachieving address book. Utilizing software that connects databases to the Palm OS address book function, school administrators in Paso Robles Public Schools, for example, have access to records that they would only find in their office. Principals, campus security officers, school nurses, and the superintendent carry student schedules and contact information, the district personnel contact list, and relevant login/passwords on their handheld using software from Pendragon Software. Pendragon Forms 3.2 is a Palm OS development tool that includes a Palm OS companion software application that allows the user to view data that would normally reside in school office database. In this district, looking up a student schedule, or the phone number of a substitute teacher takes only a few easy stylus taps.

Pendragon and Forms 3.2 contains student data from the school district’s student data management system (Aeries) for access in the field. From left to right, Forms main screen, Select student, Student into, Class schedule.

Placing student information on a handheld entails extracting student data from the school district’s student data management system. Most school data management packages such as SASI, PowerSchool, Carte-Pertain, and Aeries allow users to query student data and export it to comma separated value (csv) files. Once the files are exported from the district’s student data management program, they are imported into handheld databases with Pendragon Forms 3.2. For directions on how this is done utilizing Aeries student data management system, see http://www.pasoschools.org/sheldon/

It’s in Your Hand(held), But It's Still Confidential

Student and employee information is confidential information in the school office. It is also considered confidential information on the handheld. To ensure that only the user sees the data, be sure to use an security application that automatically locks the handheld. EasyLock, a $7.00 shareware application for Palm OS locks it when the device is turned off and is unlocked by pressing a user-defined key combination. Another security application by TrustDigital encrypts handheld data so that no one can read the Palm OS datafiles without the password or the endless combinations of encryption keys. Pendragon Forms 3.2 also allows for the password protection of data files.

As school administrators require access to student and staff data, handheld computers provide a cost - effective and efficient means to have the office "wherever you happen to be."

Paso Robles Police Officer Jerry Cathey looking up student information on a handheld computer inside his squad car. Photo by J. Boomer Grace.

Sheldon K. Smith, Ed.D. is Director of Technology and Information Services in Paso Robles Public Schools where he frequently gets caught reading email and Computerworld on his handheld during school board meetings.

Left: A well equipped Palm handheld for a school administrator: AvantGo for reading the New York Times, Date Book for appointments, GroupWise for reading school district email, Making the Grade for classroom grades, Forms 3.2 for accessing student and employee data, PDASecure for encrypting student and employee data, and Splash ID for storing and encrypting all the passwords one needs to know to survive in the networked world.

Right: Any handheld with student data should have a security program that auto locks the handheld and encrypts data. It’s rare to lose a desktop computer but not necessarily a handheld computer.