BritannicaSchool.com
Debuts at National Educational Computing Conference
New Product Helps
Students and Educators Harness Power of the Internet
ATLANTA, Tuesday,
June 27, 2000 - Britannica Education, a division of Britannica.com
Inc., today debuted BritannicaSchool.com,
a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use online research and learning
product for students, educators and parents.
BritannicaSchool.com
is designed to incorporate the power of technology into learning
and teaching. It provides valuable online study guides on more
than 200 curriculum topics, easy-to-use templates and tutorials
designed to help students organize assignments and conduct research,
and a Britannica.com editor-selected Internet directory that guides
educators, students and parents to age-appropriate and educationally
relevant Web sites. Initially targeted at grades 9-12, BritannicaSchool
will be expanded in 2001 to serve grades K-12.
"BritannicaSchool's
goal is to transform the way children learn and teachers teach,"
said Cooma Chelliah, senior vice president of education for Britannica.com
Inc. "Britannica has been the world's leading reference brand
for more than two centuries and a player in the education market
for more than 50 years. Britannica.com is now a leader in the
digital revolution, and BritannicaSchool.com is designed to harness
the power of the Internet and today's technological advancements
to bring students, educators and parents the quality, trustworthy
content and resources for which Britannica is known."
Slated to officially
launch Monday, Sept. 18, 2000, BritannicaSchool.com is being previewed
this week at NECC (National Educational Computing Conference)
2000, the country's oldest and most comprehensive technology and
education event. The conference is being held at the Georgia World
Congress Center.
BritannicaSchool.com
enters the educational market just as the Internet is beginning
to profoundly affect education and learning. According to the
U.S. Department of Education, 95% of K-12 schools in the United
States now have some form of Internet connection, up from 35%
in 1994. The educational technology market is expected to reach
$8.8 billion in the 2001-2002 school year, according to Technology
and Learning magazine, and the fastest growing and largest segment
is telecommunications services, which includes Internet-based
online services such as BritannicaSchool.com.
"More and more students
and teachers are turning to the Web when they need to complete
assignments, do research and communicate with their peers," said
Louise Rice, vice president and publisher of Britannica.com's
Education Division. "Given our long reputation for delivering
trustworthy, engaging educational content, and our more-recent
commitment to bring Britannica content to the world via the Internet,
BritannicaSchool is a natural for us."
The trait that distinguishes
BritannicaSchool.com is its ability to deliver to students and
educators a comprehensive response to their queries that draws
information from numerous high-quality sources and curriculum
standards, including:
- The complete
Encyclopaedia Britannica;
- Encyclopedia
Britannica Intermediate, specifically designed for grades 5
and higher;
- Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate and Intermediate Dictionary and Thesaurus;
- Britannica Image
and Map Banks;
- Study Guides
developed in compliance with national and state education standards,
covering more than 200 topics in math, English and science;
- A Web Directory
indexing more than 10,000 sites selected by Britannica's editors
for their quality and age-appropriate content;
- World news updated
and archived daily with additional teachers' notes and suggested
related educational activities;
- Britannica/Big6
Tools developed in partnership with The Big6™, education's most
widely known and used process for teaching problem solving and
technology skills. Britannica/Big6 tools consist of templates
and a workspace designed to help students and teachers collect,
catalogue and annotate research, and aid teachers in creating
lesson plans and presentations;
- Moderated discussion
and online events to allow educators to share ideas, tips and
feedback.
BritannicaSchool.com
will be available to schools at a cost of $4 per student per year.
Families with children in schools that do not provide BritannicaSchool.com
to their students can subscribe for $9.95 a month or $100 annually.
An online tour of BritannicaSchool.com and registration information
is available at http://www.britannicaschool.com.
About Britannica
Education
Britannica Education,
a division of Britannica.com Inc., advances the Britannica tradition
of reliability and innovation by developing products and services
for today's students and educators. Headquartered in San Francisco,
Britannica.com Education's goal is to be a premier provider of online
educational content, community and research for students, educators
and parents. Britannica.com Education's online learning tools are
designed to help users turn information into knowledge, guide students
in organizing their research and direct students and educators to
the best sources of learning on the Internet.
About Britannica.com
Inc.
Britannica.com Inc.
produces Britannica.com,
a powerful free Web site featuring some of the highest quality content
on the Internet; BritannicaSchool.com,
a subscription online learning and research product for students,
educators and parents; Britannica Online,
a subscription-based, advertising-free reference and research service;
and the award-winning multimedia Britannica CD-ROMs and DVDs. Britannica.com's
products give users timely and reliable information along an impressive
range of topics through original content and features developed
by the company's editorial and educational teams, content from the
world's most respected encyclopedia and leading reference sources,
articles from scores of top magazines and newspapers, and Web sites
selected for their quality. Headquartered in Chicago, the company
also operates offices in San Francisco, New York, La Jolla, Calif.,
London, Sydney, Melbourne, Australia, and New Delhi.
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