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Announcement of www.homeworkalabama.org
Ever since I’ve been Governor, I’ve talked about the need to embrace technology so all our children have an opportunity to excel and so Alabama has the world-class education system our children deserve. In the education budget for this coming school year, the Legislature approved funding for my initiative on distance learning. With distance learning we can use technology like the Internet and video-conferencing to connect teachers and students anywhere in Alabama, so students in a rural school can take advanced chemistry or AP English or a foreign language even if their school doesn’t offer those courses. The use of technology like our distance learning program can help us change how students learn. We can engage students in new and innovative ways and literally transcend the walls of the traditional classroom. We are committed to providing children all across the state with the best learning opportunities possible, and that commitment doesn’t stop when the school day ends. Today’s technology offers new ways to improve student achievement and give our children the one-on-one help they need after school. Alabama will not let this opportunity that helps our students pass us by. So today, I’m proud to be joined by teachers and students to announce that Alabama is taking another major step in using computer technology to help our children learn. Starting August 1st, Alabama students in the fourth through 12th grades who have a public library card will be able to receive free tutoring help over the Internet from trained professionals in the subjects of math, science, English and social studies. This new learning tool will give our children the extra help they may need to achieve more, to learn more and to excel in their studies. The service is free and will be available after school from 3 p.m. to midnight, 7 days a week, from any computer with Internet access. A parent or grown-up isn’t always available to help children after school with homework problems. Even if they are, sometimes the grown-ups don’t know enough about the subject. With this new Internet initiative, these students can get one-on-one attention. Each student who logs on to the service will be matched up with a qualified instructor in the appropriate area of study and in the appropriate grade level. I hope every student and every parent in Alabama is aware of the dangers the Internet poses to our children. But I want the people of Alabama to know that this service requires tutors to undergo an extensive security check, and each tutoring session is recorded and monitored. This Internet tutoring help has been available in several public libraries in Shelby County since 2002, and we have with us teachers and some students from the area who have benefited from this technology and can tell us about their experiences with it. In a moment, Barbara Roberts with the Pelham Public Library will demonstrate how the tutoring program works. You’ll see it’s so easy even a parent can use it. But first, Rebecca Mitchell with the Alabama Public Library Service will say a few words about this new learning tool. | ||
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