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Technology Implementation
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 Irmo Elementary School
 Walnut Hill Elementary School
Walnut Hill Elementary School
Dallas, TX |
| School Statistics |
| Total Enrollment: |
473 |
| Type of School: |
Public, Grades PreK-6 |
| Location of School: |
Urban |
| Demographics: |
Latino: 65%
White: 20%
African American: 13%
Asian: 1% |
| Free & Reduced Lunch: |
53% |
| Computers: |
Desktops: 224
Laptops: 40
Handhelds: 37 |
| Special Ed: |
17% |
| ESL Students: |
25% |
Walnut Hill is chock-full of tech equipment: two dozen Pentium computers, a scanner, two network printers, six teacher computer stations, six digital cameras, a digital movie camera, 28 AlphaSmart word processors, 10 handheld computers, and 40 teacher laptops. Each classroom has at least four Internet-connected computers, as well as hubs, printers, and a computer on wheels.
Even more impressive than the school's computer inventory is its teachers' tech savvy. Instructors at Walnut Hill integrate computer applications into daily lessons, using more than 75 different software applications. K–2 teachers administer a state reading test on Palm handhelds and download results to a web site within minutes. Everywhere you turn, the staff is using technology at Walnut Hill.
The school is also partnering with corporations to extend its technology. IBM provides leadership workshops, parent technology nights, and e-mentors — IBM employees who mentor students in grades four through six via the Internet. The Raytheon Corporation underwrites the school's automated weather station, which features outdoor cameras and a monitoring station located in the school's science lab.
The school also offers technology to families. Twice a year, parents participate in a family technology night, learning computer skills such as e-mail and Internet research. The evening ends with each family receiving a refurbished computer.
Whether students are manipulating the Internet on a SMARTBoard, reviewing teachers' online lesson plans, or collaborating with an e-mentor via the Internet, the underlying emphasis at Walnut Hill is technology integration to improve the quality of instruction. And it's working.
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