In order to evaluate the potential of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or handheld computers to support initial teacher training (ITT), 14 science teacher trainees at the Graduate School of Education in the University of Bristol were given PDAs with mobile phone connectivity to use throughout the academic year. The following areas were identified by the ITT students as definitely being of support during their course; the calendar or diary scheduler for organising themselves, the spreadsheet of attendance or mark book for organising their pupils and the use of a word processor to make notes on information and events immediately they are encountered. However, Internet access via the portable device was the application that the students considered to be most helpful to both teaching and learning. It was concluded that having the Internet literally ‘in the hand’ affords access to tools and information in a way that does indeed function as distributed intelligence. It also appeared to be a particular benefit that the PDAs could be kept hidden in a pocket or handbag, at the student teacher’s side instantly when needed and returned to the pocket once the need was gone, unlike other information and communications technology (ICT) hardware that sits looming large in the classroom and demanding attention.

Fourteen initial teacher training students studying to become science teachers have been given internet enabled PDAs in a pilot study to assess whether PDAs have the potential to support them in their own teaching and learning, and in their role as trainee teachers. Initial use of the devices was high, we recorded many positive impressions and the devices were well used. Several applications, in particular the use of the calendar, task list, email and internet search facilities were found to be supportive by the teacher trainees to both their teaching and learning. Other successes were bespoke software programs to record attendance, grades and behaviour, to perform scientific calculations and to provide information from the periodic table of elements. At this point in the course the trainees were moving regularly between school - for observation and teaching practice and university - for subject teaching and reflective discussion sessions. However, for nearly all the teacher trainees, use of their PDAs dropped during the main 12 week block of teaching practice when they are placed in schools full-time. Some trainees reported that under pressure of time and workload they reverted to use of paper and pen to organise themselves and plan their teaching. Also some schools are unsupportive of the need to synchronize PDAs with a desktop PC to copy trainees' presentations and worksheets to the school network. In this paper the authors will highlight sociocultural issues arising from the role of the initial teacher trainee and their school context and discuss how their situation impacts upon their freedom to explore how a PDA can support them as they develop as a teacher.