CDW-G and Discovery Education Award Three Schools New 21st-Century Wireless Labs

CDW Government LLC (CDW-G), a leading source of Information Technology (IT) solutions to educators and government, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content services to U.S. classrooms, today announced the winners of the eighth annual Win a Wireless Lab sweepstakes.

"Today’s students have been surrounded by technology almost since birth,” said Bob Kirby, vice president for K-12 education, CDW-G. "Their teachers use technology extensively in their private lives, but tight budgets mean schools cannot always bring technology to the classroom. The Win a Wireless Lab sweepstakes can help bridge that gap.”

CDW-G and Discovery Education received more than 118,000 unique entries, the most since the contest began in 2003. Entries arrived from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including nearly 7,000 unique Twitter entries.

The three winning schools are Lee-Davis High School, Mechanicsville, Va.; Wolf Branch Middle School, Swansea, Ill.; and Wayland-Cohocton Central School, Wayland, N.Y. Each school will receive a state-of-the-art 21st-century classroom, complete with wireless notebook computers or tablet PCs, an interactive whiteboard, student response system, projector, printer, document camera, video camcorder and more.

"School systems across the nation are leveraging the latest educational technologies and digital resources to move instruction beyond the static confines of the textbook and into the dynamic digital world today’s students inhabit,” said Mary Rollins, vice president for education partnerships, Discovery Education. "We are pleased to partner with CDW-G again this year to provide even more schools the tools and resources they need to move instruction into the 21st-century.”

The winning schools anticipate benefits for both students and teachers:

• "The lab will give our students more opportunities to complete inquiry-based lessons, problem solve and explore relevant topics in the areas that are critical to 21st-century skills – science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Stuart Bernstein, science teacher, Lee-Davis High School.
• "Education funding is tight in Illinois. Our students, teachers, administration and parents are all more than appreciative of this wonderful prize,” said Erin Wright, seventh grade language arts teacher, Wolf Branch Middle School. "The new lab will allow more of our students to work with technology, improving their knowledge of computers.”
• "Our middle school students have two labs and 13 computers in the library, which is not enough for a whole class lesson,” said Anita Pragle, middle school library aide, Wayland-Cohocton Central School. "When the new technology is fully integrated, more students will benefit, and we should see student engagement increase. More access to these state-of-the-art tools will help prepare our students for their future, where the importance of technology and 21st-century skills continues to grow.”

Each of the three grand prize winners will receive a 21st-century classroom valued at approximately $48,000, including:

• $5,000 Discovery Education digital media grant
• 20 notebook computers or tablet PCs from HP, Lenovo or Toshiba
• 3 wireless access points from Cisco, D-Link or HP
• 1 mobile cart from Bretford
• 1 interactive whiteboard from PolyVision
• 20 student response devices from Qwizdom
• 1 video projector from Epson or NEC Solutions
• 1 document camera from AVerMedia
• 1 laser jet or ink jet printer from Epson, HP or Xerox
• 1 video camcorder from Sony

On top of the grand prizes, the 2010 Win a Wireless Lab program awarded equipment to 20 additional schools nationwide. In all, schools received more than $150,000 worth of technology from this year’s program.

For a full list of prizes, please visit http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/wawl/prizes.cfm. The full list of winners is available at http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com.

About CDW-G

A wholly owned subsidiary of CDW LLC, ranked No. 41 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies, CDW Government LLC (CDW-G) is a leading provider of technology solutions for federal, state and local government agencies, as well as educational institutions at all levels. The company features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company’s technology specialists and engineers offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.

For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, service and solutions, call 1.800.808.4239, email cdwgsales@cdwg.com or visit the CDW-G Web site at CDWG.com.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) revolutionized television with Discovery Channel and is now transforming classrooms through Discovery Education. Powered by the number one nonfiction media company in the world, Discovery Education combines scientifically proven, standards-based digital media and a dynamic user community in order to empower teachers to improve student achievement. Already, more than half of all U.S. schools access Discovery Education digital services. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.