Classroom Connect Launches First Internet Education Platform of Its Kind; ``Classroom Today'' Will Revolutionize K-12 Classrooms With 21st Century Skills for Students.

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 1999--

Classroom Connect (www.classroom.com), the leading provider of quality Internet products and services for K-12 educators, today announced the launch of its revolutionary Internet education platform, "Classroom Today," enabling students to harness the power of the Internet in a way never before possible, both at school and at home.

Children using the site will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of a wide range of topics through a highly interactive, content-rich learning environment, while increasing their grasp of 21st Century learning skills: problem solving, communication, research, and collaboration with fellow students.

"We have created a new paradigm for the delivery of content into the classroom," said Judy Hamilton, CEO of Classroom Connect. "Students within this age group are already bombarded with entertainment, edutainment, and a glut of commercial information. Classroom Today has a higher goal: to merge content, communication and problem solving with true information literacy. Our aim was to create a place online where kids would have easy access to quality content that is important to their teachers and parents while helping them develop sophisticated levels of thinking, along with critical skills necessary for success in the 21st Century."

Each week, Classroom Today delivers a new topic, such as "Earthquakes and Volcanoes" and poses a compelling question, for example, "Which affects the Earth more: an earthquake or a volcano?" The site then provides activities for students and resources for teachers designed to enhance curriculum and help both parties utilize the Web as an ongoing interactive, informational source.

Classroom Today also provides a series of rich learning applications including current news, a hot list of quality Web sites closely related to the topic, mystery photos, people profiles, interactive surveys, quizzes, virtual field trips, and amazing facts. All aspects of the site are designed to make students really think.

"There's currently a big emphasis on the evaluation and assessment of the learning process," Hamilton pointed out, "so we've tied the Classroom Today topics to national curriculum standards and provided learning goals and multiple types of assessment for each activity. We've also designed tools and features that give students a vehicle to record their discoveries -- offering teachers clear data to use in evaluating the effectiveness of their online learning. We believe in high expectations for students and we're trying to help teachers meet their curriculum objectives while enriching the classroom environment."

"Teachers can either integrate the content into their ongoing lesson plans or, if they prefer, have the students use the site independently," explained Hamilton. "Ideally, we'd like teachers to leave Classroom Today turned on all day. The material can be easily understood and embraced by students. And because the content is refreshed daily, the program always offers a grabbing and engaging topic to draw in the students."

Another winning facet of the program, Classroom Today can be easily accessed and enjoyed in or out of the actual classroom. Students with a home computer and an Internet connection can independently use the site. In the home environment, the student will have the opportunity not only to expand his/her daytime learning, but also share current tutorial projects with parents and/or siblings.

Beginning September 20, Classroom Today will be available as a free interface for any teacher, student or parent using the Internet. Additional access to archival topical programming will be offered on a paid subscriber basis in January.

About Classroom Connect

Classroom Connect, Inc., a leader in Internet-based curriculum and training for K-12 education, fosters interaction among teachers, students and families by providing compelling content, functionality and interactivity in a Web environment. With headquarters in Foster City, Calif., Classroom Connect offers online curriculum for K-12 students and teachers, adventure learning expeditions, online professional development to help educators learn how to use the Internet in their classrooms, and resources for finding the best educational materials on the Web. For more information, visit the Classroom Connect Web site at http://www.classroom.com or call 800/638-1639.