ACROSS THE BOARD : SITE OF THE WEEK.

CALL ME: The Internet may be the hot new communications medium, but sometimes nothing beats a good old fashioned long-distance telephone call. Now you can use the former to get a better price on the latter. The non-profit, Washington, D.C.-based Telecommunications Research and Action Center has set up a Web site that help people find the cheapest rates for long distance calls. The Web Pricer is sort of like going to a travel agent for phone calls, except youdon't pay a commission or fee. The free Internet site, www.trac.org, works by constantly reading tarrifs that long distance companies file with the Federal Communications Commission, and then organizing it by locale, distance and length.

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SCHOOL.COM: Nearly 80 percent of the nation's public schools are now connected to the Internet, more than double the number in 1994, a new government report says. The Department of Education report found that 78 percent of the country's 80,000 public schools - educating 52 million kindergarten through 12th grade students - were hooked to the Internet in 1997. In 1996, the officials said, 65 percent of all public schools were connected and 35 percent were connected in 1994. The report also found that 27 percent of all public school classrooms K-12 were connected to the Internet last year. In 1996, 14 percent of classrooms were hooked to the Internet and in 1994, only 3 percent.