Ireland to give school kids free home access to Britannica Online Encyclopaedia

7 Jan 2013

Ireland’s Education and Skills Minister Ruairi Quinn, TD, has revealed that all school-going children in the country will be granted free home access to the online edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The service has been available to primary and secondary schools for the past three years but the addition of home access will prove beneficial in enabling students to do project work from home.

A public procurement process in summer 2012 resulted in a contract with Encyclopaedia Britannica for the provision of online digital reference content services.

Britannica Online has more than 129,000 articles with more than 46,000 graphics, 4,000 videos, plus audio clips, interactive games and quizzes. It is updated with new material daily.

It emerged in March last year that after 244 years Encyclopaedia Britannica decided to stop its print edition, instead offering its information on the internet through Britannica Online.

A public procurement process in summer 2012 resulted in a contract with Encyclopaedia Britannica for the provision of online digital reference content services.

It has four age-specific learning areas which contain various teaching and learning materials, all designed to build confidence and inspire continuous discovery.

“I am committed to providing digital content to students that enhances their learning through the use of technology,” Quinn said.

“Our children and young people will now have access to Britannica Online in their own homes and this means that whatever their ability, they can learn at their own pace,” he added.

Reference books image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

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