US Telecom, I*EARN, SurfWatch, the ArtsEdge Network and The Well Connected Educator Receive Top EdNET 98 Industry Awards Honors

EdNET 98 Awards Program Heralds the Mission & Accomplishments of Market Leaders

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, September 24, 1998 - Organizations engaged in Internet activities and distance learning captured the honors at the EdNET Industry Awards banquet held during the EdNET 98 conference in Toronto, Canada, in late September. The conference, presented by The Heller Reports and AT&T Learning Network, brought some 350 national and international market leaders of the educational technology and telecommunications industry together for the event's tenth annual meeting. The Awards, an annual highlight of the EdNET conference, acknowledge businesses and non-profit organizations that have made important contributions to education and to the educational technology and telecommunications markets in the past year. Presented during the annual luncheon banquet, finalists and winners were identified in three categories: The EdNET HERO, The EdNET Pioneer and the EdNET Rookie-of-the-Year Award.

US Telecom International won the EdNET HERO award for the for-profit organization having made the most significant positive impact on education through educational technology and telecommunications. As recognized by one EdNET Awards judge, "US Telecom is the clear leader for creating something that is accessible to virtually all students and parents, and they have documented increased parental involvement resulting in improved student achievement." Finalists included Scholastic Network and TLC School Division.

I*EARN, an educational telecommunications network, whose primary purpose is to assist youth to engage in collaborative projects that explore their humanity, common values in a cross-cultural milieu, and recognize their interdependence, won the EdNET HERO award for a nonprofit organization. "The focus of this organization on the use of technology to permit execution of real-world projects across international borders is a benefit that's improved students' thinking and communication skills," stated one member of the EdNET panel of judges. Finalists included ERIC Clearinghouse (ERIC/IT), Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and PC Kids USA.

Previous HERO award winners include: for-profit companies AT&T Learning Network, Brøderbund, Claris, Davidson & Associates, Discovery Channel Education and Tom Snyder Productions; and nonprofits Global SchoolNet Foundation, Passport to Knowledge and US West Foundation;

SurfWatch Software won the for-profit category of the EdNET Pioneer award, which recognizes organizations contributing most significantly to the growth of the markets for educational technology and telecommunications during the previous year. SurfWatch provides a strategy to help manage the Internet in an educational setting, allowing for a safe and secure learning environment. In commenting on the winner, an EdNET Awards judge stated that, "a new segment of the industry was created by SurfWatch, along with increasing awareness of the need to protect students from objectionable material on the web. Moreover, the additional feature which guides a student to age- and content-appropriate areas adds to the value of the pioneering product." Finalists included Edmark and VTEL.

ArtsEdge: National Arts and Education Information Network won the nonprofit category of EdNET Pioneer. The National Arts & Education Information Network is a cooperative agreement between the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States Department of Education and the Education Department of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with initial funding from the National Science Foundation. ArtsEdge, an online resource and training service, serves the needs of all arts educators with quality resources and interactive opportunities. As summed up by one judge, "ArtsEdge has a truly comprehensive set of technology-assisted services for the arts community, including professional development, idea and information exchange and dissemination and building of an online arts community." The other finalists were TERC and Utah State Office of Education, Instructional Materials Program.

Previous Pioneer award winners include: for profit companies Apple Computer, Jostens Learning Corp., Microsoft, Scholastic Network and VTEL; and nonprofits Ed Tech Office of the California DOE, NASA Classroom of the Future and Texas Education Network (TENET).

The Well Connected Educator was the winner of the EdNET Rookie of the Year award. The award honors a small or start-up organization deemed by the judges to have the greatest promise to become a significant player in the technology industry in coming years. The Well Connected Educator provides an online publishing center and forum for the education community to write, talk and read about using technology for teaching and learning. "The Well Connected Educator is new - but not so new as to be speculative. It's meeting a need and has obviously found a following based on the number of hits - not to mention reaching out to the often overlooked colleges of teacher training. Tools and services which recognize the needs of teachers and offer real solutions, contribute to their professional development," reflects one EdNET Awards judge. The finalists included Carlton Solutions for Education and Information Systems of Florida (ISF).

Previous Rookie winners were Ligature Gateway Academy, Ingenius and Peregrine Publishers. In addition, Family Education Network won a special Judges EdNET award in 1997, for showing both promise and impact in joining home and school in advancing the markets for educational technology and telecommunications.

The annual awards were co-sponsored this year with the Heller Reports by Apple Computer, Essential Standards Corporation, Florida Educational Technology Corporation (FETC, Inc.) and The American Education Corporation. The awards program was coordinated by Rita Oates, Oates Associates, and Tom Schmeltzer, Technology Solutions.

Links to the web sites of all the 1998 winners and finalists are at the Heller Reports' Desktop EdNET site: http://HellerReports.com. Further information regarding The Heller Reports' news publications, EdNET 98 and other conferences and trade missions is available from Nelson B. Heller & Associates, The Heller Reports, 9933 Lawler Avenue, Suite 560, Skokie, IL 60077, (voice) 847-674-6282, (fax) 847-674-2882, (e-mail) ednet@hellerreports.com.