Kentucky Virtual University Chooses PLATO Learning For Online Adult Education Courses

PLATO Learning, Inc.(NASDAQ:TUTR) announced that the Kentucky Department for Adult Education and Literacy and Kentucky Virtual University (KYVU), the state’s official virtual campus for college credit and professional development programs, will offer PLATO® educational software for adult education courses through a contract executed in October and valued at $500,000. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education is directing this project to provide anytime, anywhere online access to adult education courses.

Beginning January 1, 2002, learners can log on to the Kentucky Virtual Adult Education (KYVAE) website (www.KYVAE.org) to view catalog descriptions of PLATO® courseware offerings and sign up for online classes, which will include GED 2002 preparation courses, life and job skills lessons, basic skills enrichment and more. For Kentuckians who do not have Internet access, they can visit their local literacy center or public library to log on to the new service.

Cheryl King, Commissioner of Adult Education and Associate Vice President of the Council on Postsecondary Education, anticipates that the majority of adult learners who take PLATO courses through the KYVAE website will be those preparing for their high school equivalency certificates, or GED. “Distance learning products such as PLATO software are attractive to us because they are designed specifically for the needs of adult learners and acknowledges their life experience,” says King. “That’s particularly valuable for adults who are transitioning between jobs, preparing to enter community college or simply want to continue their education.”

Kentucky was the first state in the country to offer its residents a comprehensive package of online educational resources: a virtual university, a virtual high school and a virtual library. “This is the first time PLATO Learning has contracted with a virtual university to provide online and LAN-based courseware,” states John Murray, President and CEO of PLATO Learning, “KYVU is a global leader in online learning, and we’re thrilled to work in partnership with an education innovator that acknowledges the importance of students learning at their own pace at a time and location that best suits their busy schedules.”

The PLATO® software used by KYVU supports adult basic education by:

• Aligning instruction to national standards, including the GED 2002,

• Identifying learner skill deficits and assigning individualized learning programs,

• Delivering self-paced instruction,

• Offering applied skills instruction to prepare learners for the workplace, and

• Documenting learner performance with time-on-task and skill-level progress.

About KYVU

Kentucky Virtual University strives to make postsecondary education more accessible, efficient and responsive to Kentucky’s citizens and businesses. By coordinating and facilitating convenient online programs through the state’s colleges and universities, KYVU seeks to increase the ranks of Kentucky college students, helping to raise the level of education statewide.

KYVU began providing online courses to students in the fall of 1999. Online education options have grown steadily to include over 50 credit and non-credit programs and hundreds of courses. Enrollment in the virtual university exceeds 5,500 students. For more information, visit KYVU on the Web at http://www.kyvu.org, call toll-free at 1-877-740-4357, or contact Sue Patrick, KYVU Marketing Director, at 502-573-1555.

About PLATO Learning

PLATO Learning, Inc. is a leading provider of computer-based and e-learning instruction, offering basic to advanced level courseware in reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and life and job skills. The PLATO® Learning System and PLATO® Web Learning Network provide more than 3,500 hours of objective-based, problem solving courseware and include assessment, alignment and management tools to create standards-based curricula and facilitate the learning process.

With annual revenues of over $70 million, PLATO Learning, Inc. is a publicly held company traded as TUTR on the NASDAQ-NMS. PLATO® educational software is marketed to K-12 schools, colleges, job training programs, correctional institutions, military education programs, corporations and individuals. PLATO software is delivered via networks, CD-ROM, the Internet and private intranets. It is available for immediate purchase and electronic download on the Company’s Web site.

PLATO Learning is headquartered at 10801 Nesbitt Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55437, (952) 832-1000 or (800) 869-2000. The Company has domestic offices throughout the United States and international offices in the United Kingdom and Canada. International distributors are located in Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The Company’s Web address is http://www.plato.com.

This announcement includes forward-looking statements. PLATO Learning has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and projections about future events. Although PLATO Learning believes that its assumptions made in connection with the forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurances can be given that its assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. PLATO Learning undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Any forward looking statements made are subject to the risks and uncertainties as those described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2000. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

® PLATO is a registered trademark of PLATO Learning, Inc.