NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR PRESENTS AWARDS TO INNOVATIVE TEACHERS USING THE INTERNET EFFECTIVELY IN CLASSROOMS

Their Students Are Using the Web to Track Weather, Discuss Discrimination and Plan the Perfect Planet

Oct. 22, 1999-- National Semiconductor Corporation® today announced the winners of its Internet Innovator Awards. National presented the awards to 11 teachers recognizing the effective ways they are using the Internet in their classrooms.

Winning teachers received $10,000 for their personal use, and their schools were awarded $20,000 to spend on furthering the use of Internet technology. A panel of judges comprised of experts in education technology evaluated the teachers' projects.

The winning teachers are from California, Texas and Maine, states where National has major facilities. The winners and a synopsis of their projects are as follows:

California

• Cheryl Markham formerly from Olinder University in San Jose: "Ollie's Online Weather Pals." Second graders communicated with classrooms all over the country to exchange information about weather.
• Wendi Smith from Fairwood School in Sunnyvale: "What's Up with Weather: First Grade Journeys of Arthur." Students accompanied Arthur in his virtual travels to nine countries to learn about weather.
• Matt Biggar from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto: "The Economic Vote Project." Learning how to become discerning consumers, economics students used the Web to gather data about companies' products, how they are made and how society allocates limited resources.
• Curtis Schneider from Sunnyvale Middle School in Sunnyvale: "The Human Disease Project." Students researched specific diseases by gathering information over the Internet and making contact via email with medical experts or individuals suffering from diseases.
• Rupal Sutaria from Corte Madera School in Portola Valley: "STAR Project: Student Taught Astronomy Research Project." Seventh graders used the Internet to create electronic textbooks to reflect the most recent discoveries.

Texas

• Charlee Hagan from Bailey Jr. High in Arlington: "2299 Intergalactic Newspaper." Ms. Hagan's class researched topics on science Web sites and corresponded with NASA and engineering experts to learn about conditions on other planets. They then created newsletters about life on other planets in the year 2300.

Maine

• Steve Loelker from Memorial Middle School in South Portland: "Discrimination: We Don't Do That Here." Students used email, Internet chat rooms, Web sites and live interviews to learn how prejudice affects people all over the world.
• Rosemarie Granger from Fisher Mitchell School in Bath: "A Dog's Life: America through Owney's Eyes - A Virtual Experience and More." Second graders learned about geography by sending a mascot around the country, documenting his travels on the Internet and corresponding with students throughout the U.S.
• Gail Parker from Cape Elizabeth Middle School in Cape Elizabeth: "Conversations About Talking Walls." Students used the Internet to explore "talking walls" such as the Berlin Wall, the Vietnam Memorial and the Jerusalem Wall.
• Deb Luce, Leslie Minton, and Donna Morton from Manchester School in Windham: "Planet Perfecto." Fourth graders divided into collaborative teams to research, design and assemble Web pages reflecting their ideas about the perfect planet.
• Tracy Jackson from Wiscasset Primary School in Wiscasset: "The Morris Farm Alphabet Book Web Site." Ms. Jackson's class visited a local farm and invited others to join them by using the Web to publish photos and post descriptions of their farm experience.

National's Internet Innovator Awards is one component of the company's $3 million Internet Training Initiative for teachers. Other aspects of the program include Global Connections, a leader-led training course showing teachers how to use the Internet to enhance their curriculum, and Global Connections Online, a free, Web-based course enabling teachers anywhere in the world to log on and obtain Internet training.

National makes integrated circuits for information appliances that access the Internet such as set-top boxes, thin clients and portable Web-access devices. The company established the initiative when studies revealed a critical need for teacher training in technology.

"National wanted to help fill the gap and encourage the use of this incredibly powerful resource," said Brian Halla, National's Chairman, President and CEO. "The Internet brings a whole world of learning to students' fingertips."

Next year's Internet Innovator Awards will be presented in October 2000, and teachers may apply now through June 2. Visit www.national/training.com for more information on the program and the application process.

National Semiconductor provides system-on-a-chip solutions for the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of the-art digital technology, the company's chips lead many sectors of the personal computer, communications, and consumer markets. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National has annual sales of $2 billion and approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.