All schools in Leicestershire are to have access to information on the Internet, the worldwide computer network, courtesy of their local authority. The county’s 440 schools will pay around Pounds 330 each for the connection plus a Pounds 6 per month subscription for the Pounds 30,000 locally-vetted system.
The link will provide schools with access to libraries, and other reference centres, including NASA, the American space agency.
Keith Holmes, the authority’s adviserinspector for technology, hopes to have 100 schools on line within the next few months.
Leicestershire has been working closely with BT’s CampusWorld on-line and Internet services, to devise a communication and information system suitable for all children, while offering teachers immediate connection to valuable sources of information.
“We plan to tag articles according to themes useful in the classroom,” said Mr Holmes. “This will prohibit youngsters stumbling across areas which are unsuitable - like violent or sexual material.”
The Woodstock Information Technology Centre in Leicester, where the project is being developed, is optimistic that every school in Britain will eventually be on a similar system. Teachers will be invited to share materials with other schools.
