To mark the beginning of a new school year, the George Lucas Educational Foundation has announced an initiative to encourage national discussion of school reform.

The Learn & Live initiative is based on a television documentary by the same name that focuses on the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. The documentary, hosted by Robin Williams, will be shown on public television stations across the country.

The foundation plans to hand out 30,000 copies of the video, along with a companion book, at various education conferences this fall. Copies of the video and book will also be sold through Amazon.com. The foundation's Web site will be used to supplement the documentary through the Learn & Live Digital Toolkit, featuring a collection of video clips and an online version of the book.

The foundation already has distributed nearly 37,000 copies of the video and book to educators, parents, elected officials and other people. Japanese public broadcast company NHK last year awarded it the Japan Prize, given to the "best program in the world demonstrating the potential power of teaching and learning."

The documentary highlights success stories of schools that use innovative methods to teach children. Robin Williams' narrative is complemented by interviews with General Colin Powell, Bill Gates and Harvard Professor Howard Gardner.

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