Staying on Top of Middle School with my H\PC

By Kirk Cowgill

Teachers sometimes wonder what we students carry in our bulging backpacks besides books. In my case, I carry a secret weapon that helps me deal with pop quizzes, book reports, and other hazards I face on a daily basis. I use my secret weapon to track my assignments, take notes, and have a little fun. What's in the backpack? My NEC MobilePro 700 Handheld PC.

Replacing my school agenda and staying more organized

The first thing I did with my H/PC was replace my school agenda. The agenda is a little binder we use to keep track of homework assignments, grades, and notes. My H/PC completely replaces it. I write down assignments in Tasks and enter when they are due in Calendar. When I completed the assignment, I check it off in Tasks. If the assignment was graded, I enter the grade in the Task item. I can do all of the things my old agenda can do and more, and I don't have to carry around a heavy binder. Tasks and Calendar make me more organized in school.

Homework more efficient

My NEC MobilePro has also replaced the notebook I use for written assignments. I write all of my class notes in Pocket Word. During class, my teacher gives us time to work various assignments and reports. Before the MobilePro, I would write my report on a piece of paper and then re-enter it on a desktop word processor when I got home. Now, I type it in once on the H/PC, spell check it, and print it up when I get home.

All of my regular teachers like my H/PC, especially my science teacher. They like the fact that I save lots of time using it. But substitute teachers don't always appreciate it. The come in, don't understand what it is or why I'm using it, and want me to put it away. I think some of them just don't like new things and want old traditional pencil and paper.

Spare time more fun

Sometimes, when I'm bored at home or have spare time at school, I whip out H/PC and start playing a game of solitaire. I have Microsoft's Windows CE Entertainment Pack installed, with Minesweeper and several games I can tinker with. My dad downloaded an old game called Zork and put it on my H/PC. Zork is an old text-based adventure game from the early 70's. You are presented with a situation, you type in the action you want your character to perform and the game replies with the consequences and next situation. I enjoy the game and it gives me something to do when I'm bored. [FrotzCE is a freeware program that lets you run interactive, text-based "infocom" games on the H/PC. It comes with Zork1, Zork2 and others. For more information, contact http://www.pyram-id.demon.co.uk.]

My friends really like my H/PC; they especially like playing Zork! I don't let them use it by themselves, but I do play games with them. Some advice: treat your H/PC the best you can and don't let others borrow it or let it out of your sight. I have broken computers and they are not fun or useful.

Homework, research, and staying in touch with friends

Every night, I use Pocket Word to do my homework. Handwriting a three-page essay isn't easy. Pocket Word eliminates the fatigue, saves time, and saves space in my backpack. I use the Internet to research reports. I log onto the Internet using the MobilePro's built-in modem and use Yahoo! to search the topics I'm writing about report (ancient Rome, Mollusks, whatever). I don't bother saving URLs or Website names, I just log onto Yahoo! and search. I also "talk" back and forth with friends using the H/PC's built-in email feature. I can do this at school also because there are phone jacks all over the library, but I don't have permission so I just dial in from home.

Impressions and advice

I really like the MobilePro. It's small enough to fit in my backpack, even when I have lots of books. It's rugged enough to take with me on field trips, or to restaurants when my family goes out to eat. And if I remember to charge my NiMH batteries each night, I don't have to ask my dad to buy me another pack of "Copper Tops."

I also like the ability to access the Internet using the built-in modem. However, there are times when I'd like wireless capability. There's a phone jack in our science class, but it doesn't work. Last year my teacher said that if the district fixed it I could go online in class to find out about things in science. Unfortunately, all last year they never fixed the phone jack. A cellular modem with Internet and email capability would be nice.

I think I started something at school. Since I started bringing the H/PC to school my friends have started using little electronic organizers and little handheld gaming devices. I've even seen the girls using pocket computer diaries. And of course, everyone uses pocket calculators.

At first, I though my H/PC would replace my pocket calculator. It was there on my H/PC whenever I needed it, and it could handle bigger problems than the pocket calculator. But I started getting tired of having to pull out the stylus and tap the screen to do my calculations. It's much faster to pull out my pocket calculator and press buttons. I tend to use a regular pocket calculator for most of my math.

My advice to students using H/PCs or other computers is to try and use it whenever you can. It will save you lots of time rewriting assignments, and leave you more time for the important stuff ­ like Zork! 

  About The Author

Kirk just completed 7th grade at Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale, California. He has a black belt in Dai Shin Do Karate, a hybrid martial art. He also plays piano, clarinet, and violin. In his spare time he likes to play computer games, and is currently fascinated with StarCraft and Deadlock II.