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Four schools join Internet project Schools gain access to assess uses By VICKI GUARINO Four Jackson County schools are participating in a effort to bring learning tools from the Internet into the classroom. South Medford, Eagle Point and Crater high schools and Medford's Abraham Lincoln Elementary School are aiding the Oregon School Library Information System in the statewide project. Staff and students will be testing a number of sources and databases for their academic usefulness. Lincoln is one of just 10 elementary schools piloting the primary grades segment of the program beginning this year. The three high schools are among 100 joining this year in the second year of a secondary-grades portion of the project. Schools gain free access to some expensive information services for the yearlong project. All Oregon schools, however, are expected to gain in the long run, says South media specialist Becky Kleinhesselink. "Everyone will be able to benefit from this project eventually by getting a price break," she says. For a year, the Oregon School Library Information System has been examining Internet information sources for their potential to augment existing curriculum. The project is being funded by the Library of Oregon, with some federal aid. With assistance from the schools' media departments, library system officials plan to identify the top few databases, and then negotiate subscription price breaks for all schools. On-line information services can be costly. Kleinhesselink notes one service charges $3,000 a year. An alternative for South has been to purchase less-expensive CD-ROMs. The drawbacks are in the delay before the discs are available and the lack of rapid revisions and updates to the information. By participating in the state research, schools also will get the assistance of consultants' work to integrate computer sources with lesson plans. That collaboration also will ultimately be available to all schools. Abraham Lincoln media specialist Charlotte Wisely has high hopes for the program. She says there is very little in the way of assistance and direction for Web searches in the primary grades. Also, youngsters attempting a search can get 2,000 hits and immediately overwhelmed. "There are zillions and zillions of places to go and they can't weed through them all," says Wisely. "They get frustrated." She says she's particularly pleased with Lincoln's inclusion in the project, because the new assignment fits with the school's technology responsibilities. The school was built two years ago with Internet access in every room and a 33-computer lab in the media center -- a pioneering investment for the Medford district. In return, says district Superintendent Steve Wisely, the school was given the task of acting as the technology resource and training site for the rest of the district. Lincoln opened in September 1997. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA