MIAMI, Feb. 17, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dolphin Digital Media, Inc. (OTCBB:DPDM) (www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr%3Fd=173288%26amp;l=1%26amp;u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.dolphindigitalmedia.com" target="_top" rel="nofollow">http://www.dolphindigitalmedia.com), a creator of secure social networking websites for children utilizing state-of-the-art fingerprint identification technology, is delighted to announce that the company, along with the United Way of Miami-Dade, has entered into an alliance with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to promote Dolphin Digital Media's signature product, Dolphin Secure.
"The Internet can be a wonderful educational tool for children," said Bill O'Dowd, Chief Executive Officer of Dolphin Digital Media, Inc. "One of the greatest limiting factors for education online, to date, has been the inability to allow students to live chat as they do assignments. With Dolphin Secure, and the group functionality we launched last week, children's organizations can create their own 'closed groups,' open only to their members, that allow them to safely deliver content and to offer live chat for their children. We are proud that the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, under Alberto's leadership, have committed to work with us to define and expand all of the educational benefits that a safe online experience can offer our children."
Dolphin Secure (http://www.dolphinsecure.com) is a revolutionary online safety product, which requires a fingerprint log-in by every child to access the Internet from the home computer, thereby ensuring that the parent's guidelines for where that child can go, and who that child can talk to, while online are followed. Every child registered in the Dolphin Secure system is automatically granted admission into the groundbreaking social network, "Dolphin Surf," which becomes their home page (i.e., where they go after they supply their fingerprint swipe) and which features full social interactivity including instant messaging and photo sharing – all under the protection of the Dolphin Secure system. With last week's launch of group functionality, Dolphin Surf invites all children's organizations (e.g., schools, little leagues, after-school programs, charitable organizations, etc.) to create their own mini-sites within Dolphin Surf.
Any group will have the ability to upload content (e.g., text, photos, videos) to the group page, create inter-group communication (via live chat and/or e-mails), create a calendar, schedule events, and much more. Of course, the group sites have the full instant messaging capability that is a revolutionary aspect of Dolphin Secure, thereby allowing the children to chat live with each other while viewing the group's site. For the first time, a children's organization can safely create their own environment with full online interactivity occurring by their children.
"We are excited about the fingerprint identification approach of Dolphin Secure, which we feel creates a new standard for Internet safety," states Alberto Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. "We have witnessed firsthand how passwords do not adequately protect our children. The educational advantages that can be achieved through the creation of a secure online experience are powerful and meaningful. For example, we are strong proponents of virtual education, which offers a tremendous breakthrough in leveling the playing field and providing the highest quality education to all children. But, virtual education only works if you can authenticate the student while they are accessing the virtual classroom."
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the fourth-largest public school system in the country, with a diverse enrollment of more than 342,000 students from over 100 countries at its 392 schools. Miami-Dade County Public Schools also has 50,271 employees, including 22,006 teachers, of which more than 1,100 are National Board Certified, third highest in the nation.
"The fingerprint identification technology which Dolphin Secure provides has several direct and immediate benefits for our school system," states Debbie Karcher, Chief Information Officer of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. "Simply eliminating password entry into our parent and employee portals will save us countless administrative hours, as passwords are so easily forgotten over long weekends, let alone vacation breaks. We can also imagine a variety of other administrative applications, including secure report card distribution and parent permission slip authentication. We're excited to work with Bill and his team to move to this higher standard of content delivery and personal authentication."
United Way and the Miami-Dade County Public School System have a long history of working together on projects that benefit the community.
"The promotion of Dolphin Secure is mission appropriate for the United Way in that we are addressing both the education and health of our community's children, two of the building blocks for a good life," states Harve Mogul, Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of Miami-Dade. "We are excited to work with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Dolphin Digital Media in our mutual goal of providing a safer Internet experience for children, and a better way to unlock the educational opportunities of a safe online environment."
ABOUT DOLPHIN DIGITAL MEDIA, INC.
Dolphin Digital Media, Inc. is dedicated to the cause of online safety for children. By creating and managing child-friendly social networking websites utilizing state-of-the-art fingerprint identification technology, Dolphin Digital Media has taken an industry-leading position with respect to internet safety, as well as digital entertainment. Please visit www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/ctr%3Fd=172571%26amp;l=8%26amp;u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.dolphindigitalmedia.com" target="_top" rel="nofollow">http://www.dolphindigitalmedia.com, for more information.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Miami-Dade County Public Schools, America's fourth-largest school system with a diverse enrollment of more than 340,000 students from over 100 countries, offers innovative educational programs at its 392 schools, including elementary, middle, senior high schools and alternative, specialized and vocational centers. Students and their families have an active voice in choosing learning opportunities that foster academic excellence, school-to-career pathways and real-world learning.
With 119 programs, including 89 magnet programs, the Miami-Dade school district has one of the largest choice programs in the United States. The impressive array of course offerings include renowned bilingual schools, international baccalaureate programs, schools in the workplace, and a convenient downtown commuter school designed for working parents.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has an annual capital and operating budget of $5.5 billion, and 50,271 employees, including 22,006 teachers, of which more than 1,100 are National Board Certified, third highest in the Nation. The teacher:pupil ratio is 1:17.
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE
United Way is working to advance the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all. We are focused on improving education, income and health – the building blocks for a good life. Our goal is to create long-lasting changes that prevent problems from happening in the first place. We invest in quality programs, advocate for better policies, engage people in the community and generate resources. Please visit www.unitedwaymiami.org for more information.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings, operating cash flows, the outlook for markets and the demand for products. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon, among other things, assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management, including management's own knowledge and assessment of the Company's industry and competition. The Company refers interested persons to its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and its other SEC filings for a description of additional uncertainties and factors, which may affect forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no duty to update its forward-looking statements.