From Atari days to the present, William Penn has tried to keep pace in the ever-changing world of technology. We have grown in equipment and knowledge through active participation in grant writing, PTA donations, patron donations, district involvement, and legislative funding. For all who have given freely of their talents, time, money, or service to further our cause, we are truly grateful.

We have built our philosophy upon ethical usage, district and national guidelines. We believe children should be taught proper computer principles, how to keyboard, and use of production tools available. We believe in laying the foundation for a lifetime of use. We also believe for students to receive instruction, teachers must continually be taught what is available and how to best use it grade appropriately. Many teacher hours are donated in behalf of students and technological advances.

William Penn is a completely networked building with T1 access to the Internet. Every staff member and student is required to sign an acceptable use policy yearly. Individual logins and passwords must be used in the classrooms as well as in the fully equipped multi-media production lab that can accommodate 33 users. We have provided Corel and Microsoft applications: Word Perfect, QuattroPro, Presentations or corresponding Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, etc. Every class has 2-3 assigned weekly ½ hour visits in the lab with the possibility of extra research or production time as arranged by individual teachers.

At present, every classroom has at least three computers and a printer for daily use under teacher direction. Classroom use includes teacher chosen software to enhance curriculum as well as Internet use. Each classroom is equipped with computer to TV projection for instruction. Some classrooms have applied for mini-labs. A mini-lab consists of 5-6 laptops and a video camera plus specialized software. Teachers and students receive specialized training to utilize the equipment fully. They are required to complete projects and participate in the District Technology Fair. Some teachers have written grants to add computer microscopes or additional computer equipment in their classrooms.

The days of “playing” computer are over; the days of learning and producing are in. We welcome the changes as they come. From Atari to the present, we are technologically moving forward as teachers and students.