INFORMATIONAL

The Virginia Department of Education and Prince William 
County public schools announce WorldNet: Virginia, on-
line resources for students and teachers supporting the 
Standards of Learning through study seminars in selected 
foreign countries.  WorldNet:Virginia can be accessed at: 
http://www.pwnet.org.  The website will allow study 
seminar participants to share their experiences with all 
teachers and students in Virginia through the Internet.  

The 10-day seminars abroad let teachers and 
administrators benefit from lectures about the culture, 
politics, religion, geography, and history of the nations 
they are visiting.  Although the current seminars are 
designed for teachers of history and the social sciences, 
they also provide experiences in other fields such as 
mathematics, science, foreign languages, music, 
literature, and art.  The 1999 seminars are scheduled for 
Israel, Turkey, and Germany.  In addition, the Department 
of Education continues a teacher exchange program 
involving Virginia and Russia.

Seminar participants in each country will provide daily 
logs of their experiences.  These logs, which will 
include pictures, quick-time movies, and personal 
experiences will build an on-line instructional resource 
for teachers and students based on Virginia Standards of 
Learning.  Other resources housed on this website 
include SOL correlations, background information, and 
links to additional related sites.

Access to WorldNet: Virginia is simple.  A computer with 
an internet connection is needed.  Individuals must 
register to participate in the website.  Once 
registration is completed, all information on WorldNet: 
Virginia is available.

Thank you for your support of WorldNet: Virginia.  If you have
questions regarding this website, please do not hesitate to 
contact Dr. Beverly Thurston, Specialist for History, Social 
Sciences, and International Education at (804) 225-2893.  You are 
also encouraged to use the First Lady's Commonwealth of
Knowledge website to assist teachers in implementing the
Virginia Standards of Learning.

PDS/BT

Enclosure:      A hard copy of this memo and its attach-
                ment will be sent to the superintendent's
                office.