The trial, which has been deemed a success, used Palm(TM) m125 handhelds equipped with the Palm Bluetooth Card. The wirelessly equipped Palms were used in conjunction with access points based on Bluetooth wireless technology designed by Pico Communications.
The project was thought of as a way to improve the interaction between students and their instructors. The access points became polling stations allowing instructors to poll their students in real time. The effect of this system is that it enables instructors to get truer results that a traditional show of hands or one-on-one question/answer session because the wireless polls offer the feeling of anonymity. A student won't be embarassed for having the wrong answer.
The success of the trial during summer session has led Stanford to consider a more widescale implementation of the system across the entire school of medicine.
