WASHINGTON, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) is pleased to announce that Susan Patrick, NACOL President & CEO, was honored by eSchool News, a leading national education technology journal, as one of the top 10 national education leaders who "have had a profound impact on educational technology" in the past decade.

(LOGO: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071101/6061LOGO)

Patrick was recognized for her work in online learning at NACOL and also as former director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, publishing the National Education Technology Plan in 2005.

According to Patrick, "Virtual schools and online learning are an important trend in increasing access for all students to new educational opportunities globally."

Also recognized by eSchool News was NACOL founding board member Julie Young, President and CEO of Florida Virtual School, who received an honorable mention for pioneering what has grown to be one of the most successful state-wide virtual schools in the country. Other leaders recognized along with Young and Patrick include Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft and Nicholas Negroponte, Chairman, One Laptop per Child.

According to this article, Ten Who've Made a Difference, "Education is vastly richer, thanks to the contributions of these ed-tech movers and shakers."

The report is online: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=53348&page=1.

About NACOL

The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) is an international K-12 non-profit association advocating online learning to increase access to high quality education and represents the interests of educational stakeholders, providers and students worldwide (http://www.nacol.org/). NACOL is the host of the Virtual School Symposium, October 26-28, 2008 in Phoenix, AZ (http://www.virtualschoolsymposium.org/).

CONTACT: Susan Patrick, President & CEO of NACOL, +1-703-752-6216,
spatrick@nacol.org

Web Site: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=53348&page=1
http://www.nacol.org/
http://www.virtualschoolsymposium.org/