Providing Palm Handhelds to Teachers and Students

"Palm is committed to understanding how providing a powerful, personal, handheld computer for every student can provide the technology access required to create new classroom practices that can revolutionize the way teachers teach and the way students learn.”

-- Mike Lorion, Vice President of Education, Palm, Inc.

Palm Computers for Learning

With handheld computers, it is possible to give every student a low-cost and mobile computer. Students can take them anywhere and can integrate powerful computing technologies into all aspects of their learning.

Innovate with SRI International

How can handheld computers in the classroom improve teaching and learning? What educational activities do handhelds make possible? Just as important, what is missing in this new technology? How can handhelds be adapted to harness their full potential in the classroom?

SRI International worked with recipients of the Palm Education Pioneer grants and Palm, Inc., to find the answers to these questions. We believe educators are the key to technology innovations in the classroom.

SRI International awarded Palm Education Pioneer (PEP) grants to teachers who have a vision of how handheld computers can improve teaching and learning. This "action research" will guide other educators, researchers, hardware and software designers, and policymakers on how to best leverage Palm computers in education. Under the PEP program, Palm, Inc., made hardware grants to allow teachers to equip a class with Palm handhelds.

15 Round I grants were awarded in January 2001. These grants were designated for teachers who had strong ties with research projects or school of education programs.

85 grants were awarded in Round II of the PEP program in June 2001.

In July 2001, the PEP program awarded grants to 9 Research Hubs that provided the equipment to classrooms involved in research on handhelds in K-12 teaching and learning.

Please click the "Grants" tab to learn more about the program.