ACT Launches Multimedia Library Service for Homeschoolers

March 17, 2005

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Parents whose children attend school at home can now rent educational videos, DVDs and CD-ROMs through ACT Advantage, an online library launched today by ACT.

The number of homeschooled children is growing in the United States, rising from around 850,000 in 1999 to around 2.1 million in 2003, according to the National Home Education Research Institute. As the number grows, the demand also grows for resources to assist parents in the teaching process.

"Visual learning has proven to be among the very best methods for teaching children of all ages," said Michael Eisenstein, ACT's president of workforce development. "By using the ACT Advantage library, members will have the tools to clarify their children's thinking and reinforce the understanding of a subject. It's the perfect resource to stimulate children's creativity and to integrate new knowledge into their curriculum. Teaching isn't easy, so our goal is to provide homeschool solutions for families."

Annual membership for ACT Advantage is only $25 and programs rent for an average of $5 each, including free shipping. The ACT Advantage website will double as a storefront and a virtual homeschool community center. Families will have access to classified ads where they can sell and buy curriculum, join discussion forums for support, and children may participate in educational contests.