LARSON BRINGS NEW EDUCATIONAL INTERNET RESOURCE TO TEACHERS IN THE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 16, 2000
LARSON BRINGS NEW EDUCATIONAL INTERNET RESOURCE TO TEACHERS IN THE FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTWINDSOR -- Students and teachers at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Windsor had a chance today to view how easily and effectively the Internet can be incorporated into their curriculum.
At a demonstration at the school hosted by U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01), the Kennedy students and faculty were the first in the First Congressional District to receive a demonstration of America Online's latest educational Internet resource called AOL@SCHOOL.
Larson, who is a former teacher, stated, "Technology is a fundamental tool of learning, so anything we can do through technology to help students increase their learning, and teachers teach more effectively is something that I support. I congratulate the innovative thinkers at America Online who recognized this need for technology in the classroom and responded with the creation of AOL@SCHOOL."
AOL@SCHOOL uses the Internet to provide a variety of age-appropriate educational content. Internet enabled schools can install free AOL@SCHOOL software on their computers and register each student with his or her own screen name and password, so that when children sign on to the Web they will be taken directly to specifically designed age-appropriate portals for grades K-2, 3-5, middle school, and high school.
"Teachers can now tap into the best educational resources on the Internet through easy-to-navigate portals that are safe and secure," said Mark Nixon, Executive Director of Education for America Online. "AOL@SCHOOL gives educators in Connecticut and across the country the opportunity to make the interactive medium a more effective part of the classroom experience with content chosen by education experts, parents and their peers."
Larson first learned about AOL@SCHOOL during a hands-on demonstration he participated in on Capitol Hill in late May.
Larson has introduced three major education proposals since coming to Congress that address the need for high-tech education in the classroom. On Tuesday, June 14, the House Science Committee held a hearing on a bill that included one of these proposals, which addresses the bigger picture of what AOL is involved in through its website: classroom technology. Title II of the National Science Education Enhancement Act (H.R. 4272) includes entire language used in Larson's bill, the Alliance for Technologically Trained Teachers Act (H.R. 2933). H.R. 2933 would provide tutoring for teachers in the uses of classroom technology, and would develop a comprehensive approach to providing technologically competent teachers to our nation's schools.
Based on 1998 data, Connecticut lagged behind the nation in classroom access to the Internet (34% vs. 44%), and in the proportion of districts in which one half or more of the teachers have Internet access (22% vs. 39%). (source: Technology Counts '98 published by EdWeek)
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