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Contact:
Jane Glickman (202) 401-1307
Stephanie Babyak (202) 401-2311

RILEY APPOINTS THREE TO WEB-BASED ED COMMISSION

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today announced the appointment of three members to the new Web-Based Education Commission, created by Congress to consider a possible federal role in determining the quality of educational software available for secondary and postsecondary students and teachers.

"The vast and growing universe of educational software now on the market create new opportunities for education and address an urgent need for more consumer information," Riley said. "The commission will help us determine if providing this information should be a federal responsibility and, if so, how to gauge software quality. I'm confident that the individuals I'm appointing will bring a great deal of expertise to these important tasks."

Appointed to terms for the life of the commission are:

Alan Arkatov, founder and chairman of OnlineLearning.net, president of the Board of Commissioners for the Information Technology Agency for the City of Los Angeles, and a state commissioner for the California Postsecondary Education Commission;

Richard J. Gowen, president, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City; and founder, High Priority Connection Network, an Intranet network designed to link rural Americans with needed services, education and products, and

Florence McGinn, English teacher, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, N.J., 1998 Technology and Learning National Teacher of the Year, and a 1998 recipient of Princeton University's Distinguished Secondary School Teaching award for New Jersey educators.

Authorized under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the commission shall:

• conduct a study to assess educational software available in retail markets for secondary and postsecondary students;
• hold public hearings in each region of the U.S. as part of its study; and
• make a report to the president and Congress within six months of its first meeting on an appropriate federal role in assessing educational software quality and any legislative and administrative actions necessary.

Established in the Office of Postsecondary Education's Office of Policy, Planning and Innovation, the commission is composed of 14 members appointed as follows: three members by the president from the Internet technology industry; three by the education secretary selected for their expertise in accreditation, establishing statewide curricula, and establishing information technology networks related to education curricula; two by the majority leader of the Senate; two by the minority leader of the Senate; two by the speaker of the House of Representatives; and two by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

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