America Online Launches AOL@SCHOOL Version 2.0.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2002

Education System Enriched Based on Extensive Teacher and Student

Feedback With New "Study Kit," Enhanced Search Tool and Other

Improvements to Add More Value to Online Learning

New Alliances with Apex Learning, GoalView and Tom Snyder Productions

Expand AOL@SCHOOL's Premier Education Content Offerings

America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, today announced the launch of AOL@SCHOOL Version 2.0, enhancing the educational value of the revolutionary teaching tool with a "study kit" for students, a faster, more relevant educational search tool and easier navigation, as well as a customized look-and-feel for each of its six portals -- each designed for a specific grade level.

Launched in May 2000, AOL@SCHOOL is a free online service which harnesses the Internet's power in the classroom by offering six age-appropriate learning portals featuring educational content, communications features and special safety tools. AOL@SCHOOL Version 2.0 is now available at www.aolatschool.com. In addition, schools can order the AOL@SCHOOL software with free communication tools including E-mail and content filtering by calling 888-339-0767.

The company also announced new content alliances with three leading online education companies that will enrich AOL@SCHOOL's educational offerings. Apex Learning, a leading provider of online courses and resources to high schools, GoalView, a leading provider of achievement tracking solutions for K-12, Special Education and Title 1, and Tom Snyder Productions, a leading developer and publisher of educational software and Internet services for K-12 classrooms, will provide content that builds upon AOL@SCHOOL's premier educational resources.

Mark Nixon, AOL's Executive Director of Educational Products for AOL@SCHOOL said, "AOL@SCHOOL creates tremendous opportunities to help schools make the most out of what the online medium has to offer, based on our intensive efforts to understand the educational content and resources students and teachers are looking for on the Internet. With AOL@SCHOOL Version 2.0, we've taken a big step beyond simply adding more content to the site by listening to our users and providing them with the kinds of tools and visuals which will hold their interest as well as help them to use the Internet as an effective learning tool. We're thrilled to have been able to take user feedback to create an even stronger and more user-friendly version of AOL@SCHOOL."

The launch of AOL@SCHOOL Version 2.0 comes after a recently released U.S. Department of Commerce report which found that 90% of children between the ages of 5 and 17 now use computers at home or at school, and 75% of 14- to 17-year-olds and 65% of 10- to 13-year-olds use the Internet. The study also found households with children younger than 18 are more likely to access the Internet than households with no children.

New Portals Feature Specific Resources for Targeted Audiences

AOL@SCHOOL's Version 2.0 was created by observing user experiences and incorporating feedback through extensive research with teachers and students who are current AOL@SCHOOL users. Each of AOL@SCHOOL's specially tailored age-appropriate student portals offers an entirely new and exciting design combining AOL@SCHOOL's best-of-Web content with visually enhanced layouts.

-- All six portals feature easy-to-navigate no scrolling screens and a reliable
education search engine with spell checking capability, a necessity for younger
users who have difficulty spelling certain search terms.

-- The Primary portal offers a unique pictorial search, and both the Primary
and Elementary portals now feature enhanced visuals, daily fun facts, and news
and current events.

-- Expanded educational resources in the Middle and High School portals include
Advanced Placement (AP) test prep resources from Apex Learning and common
elective categories like food and nutrition, physical education, health, auto
mechanics and enhanced foreign language offerings.

-- Study kits are available in all four student portals, providing guides to
improving study skills, making flash cards, note taking and tips on doing
research online.

-- An Education News section in the Teacher and Administrator portals offers
up-to-date legislative news from the US Department of Education, state and
local information and current events. Also included in this area are resources
for educators on how to teach the news and incorporate current events into the
classroom from sites like CNN Student News, TIME for Teachers, Riverdeep and
the New York Times Learning Network.

-- The Teacher portal now features a new expanded Teacher Tool Kit and a
Special Needs & Counseling category with information for teaching and managing
achievement information through GoalView for gifted students as well as
students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health,
discipline and behavior issues.

-- A Library & Media category available through the Administrator portal
includes information on educational software and tips for integrating computers
into the classroom. The Business Administration area offers information on
educational grants and funding, payroll, human resources, finance and staffing.

"AOL@SCHOOL 2.0 is designed so that a student can log on in the morning and stay all day," said Mark Nixon. "Each new feature will help students and teachers better integrate the Internet into their classrooms, creating a comfortable and safe online learning community."

New Alliances to Provide Enhanced Content for Specialized Learning Portals

Apex Learning, GoalView and Tom Snyder Productions will enhance AOL@SCHOOL's educational content offerings, adding unique programming and tools to the service's age-appropriate learning portals:

Apex Learning -- Apex Learning will provide users of AOL@SCHOOL's High School portal free access to a customized portion of the Apex Learning's online Advanced Placement test prep product, AP Exam Review. Customized content will be composed of tutorials and self-tests for each of the ten AP courses. Users will also be able to purchase the full version of AP Exam Review for $59.

"Apex Learning is pleased to add AP Exam Review to the AOL@SCHOOL High School portal," said Keith Oelrich, president and CEO, Apex Learning. "Now thousands of high school students visiting AOL@SCHOOL will have access to the tools and resources they need to prepare for the Advanced Placement exams."

GoalView -- AOL@SCHOOL users will have access to nationwide Internet-based achievement tracking services for K-12, ESEA Title 1 and Special Education through GoalView, the premier Achievement Tracking System for K-12, Title 1 and Special Education. GoalView sets goals and tracks progress for students, staff, classes, schools and districts and focuses everyone on achievement. The GoalView@School Classroom Edition will be provided free to all AOL@School users to create individual Learning Plans, IDEA Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and Standards Report Cards for all students.

Dr. Kirk Wilson, GoalView CEO, states "Our partnership with AOL@SCHOOL helps enable Sam Walton's vision --- 'high expectations are the key to everything' --- by providing teachers, administrators and parents easy access to quality tools designed to improve achievement for all students."

Tom Snyder Productions -- Tom Snyder Productions offers a customized version of the award-winning Decisions, Decisions Online (DDO) for AOL@SCHOOL's Middle School, High School and Teacher portals. DDO promotes critical thinking by providing a forum for students to discuss current events in the classroom and helps them develop debating skills through streaming video, discussion, quizzes and voting on timely and potentially controversial topics such as gun control, cloning and the death penalty.

"We are delighted to partner with AOL@SCHOOL and be able to bring this best-selling series to schools everywhere," said Rick Abrams, General Manager of Tom Snyder Productions. "As a proven resource for educators and students that is safe and secure, AOL@SCHOOL is the perfect way for us to reach even more classrooms with a need for high-quality Internet services."

Other leading education companies providing content for AOL@SCHOOL include Bartleby.com, Blackboard Inc., Boxer Learning, Inc., BrainPOP, Classroom Connect, CNN Student News, CountryWatch.com, Dell, Education World, EdVISION, Embark, ePALS Classroom Exchange, Homeworkhelp.com, KidsEdge, Merriam-Webster, PC Teach It, Riverdeep, Standard Deviants/Cerebellum, TestU, ThinkWave, TIME For Kids and Warner Brothers Publications.

About AOL@SCHOOL

AOL@SCHOOL is a free online learning service that America Online launched in May 2000. Designed to help schools make the interactive medium a more effective part of the classroom experience, AOL@SCHOOL provides safe, age-appropriate learning portals with the leading online educational material selected by educational experts. The service offers AOL's unique safety controls to protect kids from inappropriate content, optional features such as e-mail and instant messaging for older students and special resource portals for teachers and administrators. AOL@SCHOOL has been endorsed by the governors of six states including Virginia, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Georgia as the premier online learning tool for K-12 students, and the program is being widely used in schools across the country.

About Apex Learning, Inc.

Apex Learning (www.apexlearning.com) is the leading provider of online courses and resources for high schools. Apex Learning provides online learning solutions including instructor-led online courses in hard-to-staff subject areas, supplemental teacher resources, Advanced Placement exam test prep, and customized virtual school environments for states and school districts. Apex Learning is fully accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. Started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Apex Learning is a privately held company with investments from Vulcan Ventures, Warburg Pincus, Edison Schools, Maveron LLC, Kaplan Ventures, and Michigan State University.

About GoalView

GoalView(TM) has been providing administrative software to educators for over 24 years and is led by a team of educators and technology industry leaders. The GoalView(TM) solutions provide an achievement tracking system with over 250,000 State Standards and Benchmarks for use with K-12 students and 10,000 goals and objectives in English and Spanish designed specifically for use with Special Education, 504, Title I and other special student groups. GoalView also provides on-line development of student intervention and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and maintains state and federal IDEA compliance requirements for over 1100 sites in the United States and the Virgin Islands.

About Tom Snyder

Tom Snyder Productions, a Scholastic Company, is a leading developer and publisher of educational software for K-12 classrooms. Dedicated to the art of teaching, Tom Snyder Productions creates innovative software to support and inspire great teaching and learning. Winner of over 100 prestigious awards for products covering the social studies, language arts, science and mathematics curriculum and used by over 375,000 teachers, Tom Snyder Productions software is a proven resource for improving student performance and understanding.