For Mehul Khakhkhar, a high school sophomore who lives near Chicago, the Palm Pilot handheld computer is much more than a personal organizer; it's a portable scientific instrument that can record pH, temperature and the oxygen content of the pond in his school's courtyard. Using a special adapter that snaps onto the bottom of the Pilot and a program that simulates an electronic notebook, Khakhkhar can take a series of measurements over several days and graph the changes. "It's actually more convenient than writing all the data down in a notebook with a pencil," says the honors biology student. "It's more fun."

And more useful. Using the built-in infrared interface, Khakhkhar can beam his data to his classmates. And he can upload his results to his family's desktop computer when it comes time to write his report. He also uses the handheld computer to take notes and keep track of assignments.

Other students in Khakhkhar's high school district are using Palm computers to track their food consumption and physical exercise, creating a comprehensive fitness profile. Erin Singleterry, 15, downloaded a Spanish/English dictionary to help her with her study of espaol. The electronic dictionary is a lot easier than a paper one, she says, "because you can write in the word and [the computer] finds it."

"We have over 400 teachers across our three schools in this program," says Darrell Walery, director of technology for high school district 230. Teachers use Palm computers with two of their classes, where each student either purchases or leases their own handheld device for the year. "This is a chance to give the students a really powerful handheld computer that they can use throughout the day," says Walery.