National Education Corp. of Newport Beach is...

National Education Corp. of Newport Beach is donating approximately $500,000 in software to a joint venture with Sony Corp. and the League for Innovation in the Community College for developing a new interactive learning system for the nation’s public schools.

Programs in technical training and remedial basic skills will be provided by NEC in conjunction with “video work stations”--display terminals equipped with videodisc machines--donated by Sony to 11 community colleges throughout the country as part of the ongoing “Project Leader” program, beginning early next year, according to Jack Polley, NEC vice president in charge of corporate communications. He added that Sony’s contribution is also worth roughly $500,000.

The venture will “open doors for both companies for this (community college) segment of the market,” Polley said. NEC publishes textbooks and software for technical and industrial training and academic programs.