April 2, 1996

NYNEX CONTACT: Media Relations, (212) 395-0500

FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, NYNEX Chairman Ivan Seidenberg To Get Up-Close Look at Telecommunications Applications for Education

NEW YORK, NY -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt and NYNEX Chairman Ivan Seidenberg will go along for a ride on the Internet today (4/2), as students from New York City's School for the Physical City demonstrate a host of computer and telecommunications capabilities from their classrooms.

Opened in 1993, the School for the Physical City , or SPC, utilizes technologically advanced computer and telecommunications tools to study the infrastructure of New York City. Located at Park Avenue and 25th Street, the school is for children in grades 6 through 12, and was conceived and developed by Cooper Union.

"The School for Physical City is an example of how communications technology and services can be integrated into the lives of students as they are of most adults," said Hundt. "In the coming year, the FCC will be working to implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996, including provisions to give all schools the opportunity to connect their classrooms and their students to the world. NYNEX is to be congratulated for its role in supporting the development of this unique institution that will truly benefit the community today and in the years to come."

Said Seidenberg: "This school is a wonderful display of what telecommunications technology can do to enhance education. NYNEX fully supports the education initiatives put in place by the new telecommunications law. Our children should receive every opportunity in their schools and libraries and at home to access new, different and exhilarating forms of learning. That is why NYNEX is so proud of our participation and support for SPC and other endeavors like it."

In the first demonstration, the two officials will watch as students hold a discussion about bull fighting with students at Harlem's Ralph Bunche School during a Spanish culture class. Students at both locations will be able to see and hear each other through a fiber optic ISDN connection and associated video equipment. The discussion also will be held over the Internet.

Next, in a different classroom, children will display an electronic worldwide web page that acts as a repository for student poetry. Working with the Teachers and Writers Collaboration and Teachers College's Institute for Learning Technologies, SPC students create and post poetry of their own, and listen to the voices of other students as they recite their works over the Internet.

The last stop on the tour is a first-hand look at the school's electronic mail system through which students hold online debates about a variety of topics. Students at SPC connect with other schools to exchange position papers and critique each others arguments and evidence.

After the student demonstrations, Hundt and Seidenberg will participate in a roundtable discussion of telecommunications technologies with students, and their parents and teachers.

NYNEX is a global communications and media company that provides a full range of services in the northeastern United States and high-growth markets around the world, including the United Kingdom, Thailand, Gibraltar, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The Corporation is a leader in the telecommunications, wireless communications, cable television, directory publishing and entertainment and information services.

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