CYBERSURFING THE HIGH SEAS, THE JASON PROJECT PLUNGES MILLIONS OF STUDENTS
INTO THE OCEAN

Educational Adventure Excites Students in Science

Key Largo, FL -- High technology meets the high seas on the Internet as
computer users worldwide will be able to access the first-ever underwater
web site, view in real time a live scientific expedition of marine
ecosystems off the southern coast of Florida, and chat with scientists
living in an underwater laboratory as they research and analyze organisms
and environments in the diverse Florida watershed.

All this can be reached from the JASON Project homepage,
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/JASON.html, a learning tool that is one
component of the JASON Project. An annual, high-tech, interactive learning
adventure, the JASON Project is designed to excite and engage students in
science and technology and motivate and provide professional development
for their teachers. The JASON Project broadcasts scientific exploration
live to hundreds of thousands of students at Primary Interactive Network
Sites in the US, UK, Bermuda and Mexico. Using advanced, interactive,
telecommunications technology, the students at the Primary Sites watch the
expedition live, ask the scientists at the Florida expedition site
questions and drive an underwater remote operated vehicle from their local
site.

World's First Underwater Web Site

Providing a virtual porthole into the teeming, brightly- hued underwater
life off the Florida coast, the world's first underwater web site will
plunge web surfers to the ocean floor. This web site, available April
15-26, will be serving live video snapshots in color from inside an
underwater research laboratory where scientists actually live and work 60
feet under the ocean's surface for extended periods of time. Web site
visitors can see a quick-time virtual reality tour of the laboratory,
called AQUARIUS, as well as live pictures taken inside and outside the
facility. Located nine miles from the Florida Keys coast, AQUARIUS is
owned by NOAA and managed by the University of North Carolina at
Wilmington. The web site was designed by EDS Corporation, founding sponsor
and technology provider for the JASON Project.

Live Cybercasts of JASON VII Programming

Web surfers can cruise on a nuclear-powered submarine, chase sharks, and
explore an unidentified shipwreck by tuning into the world's first
underwater "cybercast" using cutting edge audio/video streaming
technology. The cybercasts simultaneously broadcast the live audio and
video signals that are sent via satellite to the Primary Sites. The
special video streaming software can be downloaded free from the JASON
Project homepage to view the cybercast. Viewers may also select from an
extensive menu of prerecorded video programming, including highlights of
past expeditions.

JASON Project Homepage

From rivers to streams, from swamps to lakes, students around the world
have been posting data from their local aquatic field investigations to a
specially-designed interface of the JASON homepage to electronically
enrich their JASON VII curriculum activities. Throughout the school year,
JASON-participating schools have been using the interactive investigation
not only to learn about local watersheds, but to establish communication
with other classes around the world to compare and contrast their research
findings. The JASON homepage broadens their scope of scientific
understanding while fostering new global friendships.

The JASON Project homepage was voted one of the best educational sites on
the World Wide Web by I-way magazine in its yearly I-way 500 rating of the
best on the Web. The JASON Page, which ranked second in the listing, was
noted for its innovative use of the web as an education tool, especially
for the interactivity it provides students and teachers. The JASON Page
also received the "Souper Site" seal of approval from Parent Soup, an
America Online community designed specifically for parents to help educate
and raise their children.

Live Chats with Scientists Living Underwater

While the JASON homepage is educational, it also gives students the
excitement of seeing what their peers on this scientific adventure are
discovering and experiencing. Student Argonauts, students hand-picked to
assist scientists at the expedition site, will post daily reports
describing their scientific and production activities. Video images, data
maps and other data analysis will supplement their reports, giving viewers
back home a more detailed look into JASON Project VII.

To bring the expedition even closer to home, visitors logged on the
Internet will be able to chat live with the Student Argonauts and AQUARIUS
scientists about their research. Dr. Jerry Wellington, a JASON team
scientist living in AQUARIUS, expects to use the live chat sessions to
describe the ongoing experiments set up inside and outside AQUARIUS, as
well as conduct Q&A sessions with inquisitive students.

The JASON Project high-tech learning adventure was founded in 1989 by Dr.
Ballard after receiving thousands of letters from students asking him
about his discovery of the wreckage of the R.M.S. Titanic. The JASON
Foundation for Education is supported by a unique alliance of public,
private and non-profit organizations that are committed to the improvement
of science and technical education for all students. EDS Corporation, a
founding sponsor, is the technology provider to the JASON Project. Other
National Corporate Sponsors are Bechtel, the National Geographic Society,
Sprint, SUN Microsystems and Eastman Kodak Company. The State of Florida
Department of Education is a partner for JASON VII.

 Contact: Scott Treibitz
 Voice: 305-451-2345
 or
 Contact: Amber Moore
 Voice: 703-276-2772
 Email: tricom1234@aol.com
 
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