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Indiana Program Offers Students, Schools Low-Cost Internet Access

Students get affordable Internet access; schools get credits toward IT training.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana schoolchildren and their parents can get low-cost Internet connections for their home computers and help their local schools at the same time through a new service of the Indiana Web Academy (IWA).

The initiative is designed to encourage more students and their families to use the Internet for education. IWA officials said students and families can help their schools earn credits for teacher training and online services by participating in the program.

"This program to help families and schools use the Internet for education underscores our strong commitment to ensuring Hoosier students are prepared to compete in a global economy," said Gov. Frank O'Bannon, in a statement. "Moreover, it is truly a win-win situation, because parents, teachers and schools will benefit as well as the students."

Through IWA, CoreComm, a local ISP, will provide students, parents, teachers and administrators with unlimited dial-up Internet access for as low as $13.95 per month. The service includes up to three custom E-mail addresses; spam filtering; 24-hour, 7-day help desk access and absolutely no commercial advertising. Additional features include content filtering and virus protection.

Schools can earn IWA credits by enrolling users from their areas. The credits go toward free technology training, E-Locker and EZ-Web site accounts for teachers and students.

"Internet access from home is a vital part of providing students with the best tools for research, collaboration and homework assistance," said Ken Scales, director of IWA. "The Internet also helps parents participate in the education of their children in more meaningful and productive ways."

The service is available across most of Indiana, but some areas in the southwestern and northern parts of the state are not currently served. CoreComm plans to extend the service to those areas if enough people enroll. Indiana residents can use a ZIP code search on the IWA's Web site to determine availability in their area.

Indiana Web Academy