For Immediate Release April 19, 1997
April 18, 1997
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Expanding Access to Internet-based Educational Resources
for Children, Teachers, and Parents
My number one priority for the next 4 years is to make sure that
all Americans have the best education in the world.
One of the goals of my Call to Action for American Education is
to bring the power of the Information Age into all of our schools.
This will require connecting every classroom and library to the Internet
by the year 2000; making sure that every child has access to modern,
multimedia computers; giving teachers the training they need to be
as comfortable with the computer as they are with the chalkboard;
and increasing the availability of high-quality educational content.
When America meets the challenge of making every child technologically
literate, children in rural towns, the suburbs, and inner city schools
will have the same access to the same universe of knowledge.
I believe that Federal agencies can make a significant contribution
to expanding this universe of knowledge. Some agencies have already
launched a number of exciting projects in this area. The White House
has a special "White House for Kids" home page with information on
the history of the White House. NASA's K-12 initiative allows students
to interact with astronauts and to share in the excitement of scientific
pursuits such as the exploration of Mars and Jupiter and with experiments
conducted on the Space Shuttle. The AskERIC service (Education Resources
Information Center), supported by the Department of Education, has
a virtual library of more than 900 lesson plans for K-12 teachers,
and provides answers to questions from educators within 48 hours
-- using a nationwide network of experts and databases of the latest
research. Students participating in the Vice President's GLOBE project
(Global Learning and Observation for a Better Environment) collect
actual atmospheric, aquatic, and biological data and use the Internet
to share, analyze, and discuss the data with scientists and students
all over the world.
With support from the National Science Foundation, the Department
of Energy, and the Department of Defense's CAETI program (Computer-Aided
Education and Training Initiative), the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
has developed a program that allows high school students to request
and download their own observations of the universe from professional
telescopes.
We can and should do more, however. Over the next 3 months, you
should determine what resources you can make available that would
enrich the Internet as a tool for teaching and learning, and produce
and make available a new or expanded version of your service within
6 months.
You should use the following guidelines to support this initiative:
Consider a broad range of educational resources, including multimedia
publications, archives of primary documents, networked scientific
instruments such as telescopes and supercomputers, and employees
willing to serve as tele-mentors or answer student and teacher questions.
Expand access not only to the information and other resources generated
internally, but by the broader community of people and institutions
that your agency works with and supports. For example, science agencies
should pursue partnerships with professional societies, universities,
and researchers to expand K-12 access to scientific resources.
Update and improve your services in response to comments from teachers
and students, and encourage educators to submit curricula and lesson
plans that they have developed using agency material.
Focus on the identification and development of high-quality educational
resources that promote high standards of teaching and learning in
core subjects. Of particular importance are resources that will help
students read well and independently by 4th grade, and master challenging
mathematics, including algebra and geometry, by 8th grade.
Make sure the material you develop is accessible to people with
disabilities. Earlier this month, I announced my support for the
Web Accessibility Initiative, a public-private partnership that will
make it easier for people with disabilities to use the World Wide
Web.
I am also directing the Department of Education to develop a "Parents
Guide to the Internet," that will explain the educational benefits
of this exciting resource, as well as steps that parents can take
to minimize the risks associated with the Internet, such as access
to material that is inappropriate for children.
The Department of Education will also be responsible for chairing
an interagency working group to coordinate this initiative to ensure
that the agency-created material is of high quality, is easily accessible,
and promotes awareness of Internet-based educational resources among
teachers, parents, and students.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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