Search volume for the term “PDA” since 2004.
The image above perfectly illustrates the downward slide of an outdated form of technology. This is something I’ve had to confront head-on over the last few weeks as I’ve been researching current PDA options for educational use.
I’ll be the first to say that I’m no expert in the field of medical technology, my forte is in educational technology specifically, so you’re not going to find me arguing whether or not PDA’s are important to the modern medical environment. I’m told they are and that’s all I need to know. That said, researching a technology that’s dead in most other industries makes for tedious work.
So, a selection of medical students that I support will be required to use a technology that is nearly dead. To make things worse, these are young students that have grown accustomed to user-friendly mobile devices (e.g. anything Apple-created) and will be forced like a square peg into the round hole that is Microsoft business products.
Perhaps, this is just a gripe-fest but I’m completely expecting their interest in these devices to mirror that graph above but on a much-abbreviated time frame.
Thoughts on ways to improve student-use of PDA’s or smooth the adoption process are welcome. Comment away…
