Tuesday, February 4, 1997
Local teachers to be able to surf the Net cheaper
By ANNA M. TINSLEY / Harte-Hanks Austin Bureau
AUSTIN - Abilene teachers will have a new, low-cost way to
link up to the Internet this year, state education officials said
Monday.
A new service - available in Abilene after July - will give
as many as 300,000 educators statewide cheaper access to the Internet
than available through most commercial services.
For $8.95 a month, teachers will be able to surf the Internet
for up to 100 hours a month on the service, according to the Texas
Education Agency. Some Internet access now costs customers $19.95
per month.
"This inexpensive Internet service is a great deal for
educators," Texas Education Commissioner Mike Moses said.
"With the information explosion, the Internet is becoming
a vital tool that educators can use to keep their lesson plans
current and lively.
"I believe this new service, which has been customized
to meet the needs of Texas educators, will be especially beneficial
to teachers who will have at their fingertips ... experts and
information that were previously unavailable to them," Moses
said.
Teachers have text-only access to the Internet through TENET,
the Texas Education Network, but the new system will allow access
to the graphically based portion known as the World Wide Web.
The new service is called TENET Plus Southwestern Bell. It
will provide a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week help desk for the educators.
Teachers, as well as librarians, food service staff and auxiliary
staff are eligible for the program, said Debbie Graves Ratcliffe,
a TEA spokeswoman. Those who sign up for the program can sign
on through their home computer or any computer available at school.
"This is for teachers to use as a teaching tool,"
said David George, director of Internet service delivery and support
for Southwestern Bell Internet Services Inc. "It will allow
teachers to do the work at home and prepare."
Officials hope that if they inspire teachers to use the Internet
then those teachers will inspire their students to use the Internet.
The service will be provided by the Texas Education Agency,
the General Services Commission, Southwestern Bell Internet Service
and the University of Texas.
In July, teachers in Abilene and Longview can sign up for the
service.
Beginning March 31, educators in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth
can sign up. In Houston, educators can sign up after April 16
and in June, educators in Midland, Odessa and Wichita Falls can
sign up, according to TEA.
Subscribers can be billed for the service on their telephone
bill or they can charge it to a credit card account.
GSC, which provides telecommunication services to state agencies,
has an interagency agreement with the Education Agency to provide
Internet services.
For more information about the program, call TENET at (512)
475-9440 or e-mail customer support at helpdesk@tenet.edu.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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