Audiences
EOA will be free to anyone with Internet access. Whether they live in small towns, remote rural areas, or large cities, Alabamians will be able to visit EOA in their homes, schools, and public libraries.
Serving Alabama’s school children
The audience expected to benefit most directly from EOA are
the more than 740,000 K-12 students in the state. EOA will provide an
Alabama-related learning tool that educators can integrate into a wide
range of courses to enliven the learning process and make topics relevant.
Educators readily attest that K-12 students respond more positively to interactive teaching materials and to information that is connected to where they live. EOA’s multimedia content will complement and enhance teachers’ curricula and increase students’ exposure to the state’s history, geography, culture, and economics.
To maximize EOA’s usefulness in the classroom, its development team is collaborating with classroom teachers, principals, librarians, and education technology specialists from across the state, as well as the State Department of Education. Their input will increase EOA’s ability to enhance instruction and supplement textbooks in ways that meet teachers’ needs.
Creating a resource for use beyond the classroom
EOA will also serve economic development efforts in the state by supplementing recruiting materials and statistical data with facts about Alabama businesses and organizations and by offering information on Alabama life and culture.
EOA will be valuable to librarians, journalists, and scholars who write and create articles, exhibitions, documentaries, and public programs that reach adults. Cultural and heritage tourists will find authoritative information on festivals, theaters, and historic sites.
The breadth and depth of content will extend EOA’s user base far beyond Alabama, sharing the state’s history and culture with the world. In the process it will challenge some stereotypes, reacquaint Alabamians with the achievements and distinctiveness of their home state, and introduce new friends to the diversity and opportunity within its borders.
