SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jul 17, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Olathe Unified School District in Olathe, Kan., added 2,300 Palm(R) TX handhelds and an equal number of keyboards to its high schools, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced. The purchase nearly doubles the district’s investment in Palm handhelds.

Considered one of the most technologically progressive school districts in the state, Olathe is providing 1,400 Palm TX handhelds to Olathe Northwest High School, the first school in the district to get Palm handhelds three years ago. Nine hundred more will go to Olathe East High School.

“Olathe Unified School District is a perfect example of a district that continues to successfully integrate Palm handhelds into mainstream teaching and learning,” said Eric Johnson, director of public sector sales for Palm. “This district is determined to give all students easy access to information and provide engaging learning opportunities. The Palm TX is the perfect choice because it offers traditional Palm handheld ease of use along with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth(R) wireless technologies, which gives teachers and students greater flexibility to access and manage information inside or outside of the classroom.”

Integrated wireless technologies also give administrators, teachers and students the access they need to the web, email, school networks and connection to other compatible Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as phones, PCs and printers.(1)

“Olathe Northwest was a brand-new school when we started our handheld program, and we wanted to provide some kind of one-to-one access to technology,” said Rita Lyon, executive director of technology for the district. “The cost of laptops was out of our reach, but Palm’s handhelds justified the cost. We will continue to expand the program in order to provide either one-to-one access or classroom sets of handhelds to all four high schools in the district.”

“We are planning to have Wi-Fi access throughout our campuses, so it won’t be too long until students have access to information anytime, anywhere in the buildings,” said Lyon. “Most other Wi-Fi enabled products are out of our price range, but the Palm TX plus the keyboards purchased under Palm’s Education Purchase Plan offer us an affordable solution and a way to place the technology into more classrooms and into the hands of many more students.”

The district’s goal is to bridge the digital divide and make sure all students have equal access to technology. “We have a very strong community of parents and patrons who want students to have the access to the technology they need and the skills they will need after graduation, in college or in the workplace. Our board of education and administrators are dedicated to providing the best technology we can afford,” said Lyon.

Lyon acknowledges that access alone is not enough, so the district has an aggressive staff development program in place. “Staff development is critical to the success of the program,” she said. “Each teacher has 15 hours of training on handhelds and how to use them effectively in classroom instruction. They can also repeat the training. In addition, we have instructional technology resource teachers in each building on a daily basis to assist teachers, model lessons, find applications and troubleshoot. Our goal is to have 100 percent of the staff well prepared.”

Lyons said some students are given access to the handhelds 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while others use classroom sets. In all cases, one of the most used functions is writing compositions using word processing applications(2), spreadsheets (math, graphing in science, social sciences, charting data, and so forth) and presentation tools to present projects or assignments. In language arts, all literature books are in eBook format so students can read the books, highlight text, bookmark pages, make notes and look up words in the dictionary. Other high-value applications(2), according to Lyon, include new test and assessment programs. Students also use handhelds in the math curriculum, probeware for science, graphic software in the arts program and a plethora of freeware found online.

This coming school year, the Palm TX handhelds will replace older models at Olathe Northwest. Some will also filter down into junior high and elementary schools. The handhelds also have a home in Olathe’s special-education program, where students in the Life Skills class take them on field trips and learn to buy and pay for groceries and practice other independent-living skills, such as managing homework and staying organized.(2)

More information on the Palm Education Purchase Program is available at http://www.palm.com/education.

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