AlphaSmart has struck a deal with America Online to provide AOL@SCHOOL, a free online learning service with Dana, its Palm OS laptop alternative for the classroom.

Under the agreement, AlphaSmart will integrate AOL@SCHOOL's education search engine into its DanaWeb Browser, the Internet browser included with the Dana Wireless device, whieh is aimed at the K-12 market.

The companies said the goal is to provide students and teachers a quick and easy way to quickly seek out safe, age-appropriate online content. "Manish Kothari, president of AlphaSmart, said "AOL@SCHOOL has focused its efforts on creating free and easy access to the highest quality educational resources on the Web. By integrating a K-12-targeted search engine in the DanaWeb browser, students can easily research topics on the Web, and then write, edit and print their reports using a single, mobile device."

To access the Internet from the Dana platform, users simply tap on the DanaWeb icon and are immediately presented with a "Powered by AOL@SCHOOL" logo and search box. AOL@SCHOOL returns a targeted list of prescreened educational Web sites that have been reviewed and pre-selected. In addition, the AOL@SCHOOL search engine provides access to current news stories as well as the archives of leading educational news providers.

About Dana Wireless

With the introduction of Dana Wireless last fall, AlphaSmart extended the capabilities of the Dana product line to include Wi-Fi (802.11b) connectivity and software applications for accessing the Internet.

The handheld also incorporates DataViz's Documents To Go Professional, letting users work with Microsoft Office documents on a wide display that is about 3.5 times larger than that of a standard Web-enabled Palm device. Dana Wireless also has AlphaSmart's Internet Solutions Pack, which includes the widescreen DanaWeb browser, Mark/Space Mail e-mail client, and a three-month trial subscription to VeriChat, a widescreen instant messaging client.

The device weighs two pounds and includes an integrated full-size keyboard.