McGraw-Hill Education and Samsung Help Schools Accelerate Digital Conversion by Teaming to Provide Devices and Personalized Technology at 2015 ISTE Conference

NEW YORK, June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the International Society of Technology in Education's annual conference, McGraw-Hill Education announced a new collaboration with Samsung Electronics America. that will help K-12 districts in their efforts to enhance teaching and learning through technology. The companies will team to offer K-12 districts a "Classroom in a Box" pilot that includes access to 30 Samsung GalaxyTab® 4 Education tablets or Samsung Chromebook 2 devices equipped with ALEKS® and Thrive, two of McGraw-Hill Education's personalized learning technologies. To help school districts make a seamless transition to 1:1 environments and successfully implement digital transformations, McGraw-Hill Education will also offer professional development courses for teachers and districts.

The "Classroom in a Box" pilot will be available for schools beginning in the 2015-2016 school year. The pilot includes a one-year license for Thrive, featuring content for math and English language arts, and a 30-day license for ALEKS, an adaptive learning platform for mathematics.

"Introducing new technology effectively in K-12 classrooms requires careful planning and a solid strategy. This partnership will help schools adopt the infrastructure and tools necessary to use digital technology and improve student outcomes," said Scott Drossos, senior vice president of digital partnerships at McGraw-Hill Education, School. "By combining devices, adaptive technology, content and professional development in one offering, districts can simplify their digital transition and personalize student learning."

The announcement comes on the heels of strong growth across key digital channels for McGraw-Hill Education's K-12 group. In 2014, McGraw-Hill Education's digital products accounted for one-third of the company's total U.S. K-12 cash revenue, up from 3 percent in 2011. This growth is evidenced among the company's broad range of personalized technologies and services on display at the 2015 ISTE conference, including:

• ALEKS®: An adaptive math program that uses artificial intelligence to identify precisely what each student knows and doesn't know and introduce the concepts that students are ready to learn next. In 2014, ALEKS topped 1 million unique K-12 and independent users, an annual growth rate of 49 percent.
• Thrive™: An adaptive mathematics and English language arts program designed to support 1:1 learning, Thrive helps students develop practice routines, learn independently, and move easily through lessons aligned to Common Core and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Standards. Thrive helps teachers become more efficient and effective in 1:1 classrooms by utilizing real-time classroom monitoring tools and auto-levelled curriculum resources. At the Whitt School in Texas, 89 percent of students who used Thrive passed the math achievement mark on STAAR 2012, compared with 69 percent of students who did not use Thrive.
• Engrade®: A learning management solution that uniquely connects data to curriculum through true standards-referenced grading, interactive assessments, content recommendation and sophisticated differentiation.
• ConnectED™: McGraw-Hill Education's digital platform for the K-12 market, ConnectEd, reached 3.5 million unique users, representing 50 percent year-over-year growth.
• LearnSmart®: Using the adaptive learning technology, LearnSmart determines precisely which learning objectives students have grasped and which require additional focus. Shown to improve course grades for many students by a full letter, LearnSmart reached 2 million unique users in 2014, representing a year-over-year increase of 33 percent.
• StudySync®: A 6-12 core English Language Arts solution, StudySync engages students by linking learning with the way they experience the world, and boosts test scores & meets state standards with flexible digital tools that support teaching, assessment, and differentiation.
• Professional Learning Environment: An all-digital solution that provides teachers with access to relevant, practical professional development programs wherever, whenever they need it, the Professional Learning Environment features tailored, easy-to-use tools that deliver video-based instruction, interactive modules and media-rich resources directly connected to the programs and technology teachers use in the classroom.

To learn more about "Classroom in a Box" at the 2015 ISTE annual conference, please visit McGraw-Hill Education in booth #2000 or Samsung in booth #3002.

About McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill Education is a learning science company that delivers personalized learning experiences that help students, parents, educators and professionals drive results. McGraw-Hill Education has offices across North America, India, China, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions available in nearly 60 languages. Visit us at mheducation.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

About Samsung Business
As a global leader in enterprise mobility and information technology, Samsung Business provides a diverse portfolio of enterprise technologies from smartphones to wearables, tablets, digital displays, hospitality TVs and printers. We are committed to putting the business customer at the core of everything we do by delivering comprehensive products, solutions and services across diverse industries including retail, healthcare, hospitality, education and government. Samsung Business is committed to helping customers realize the promise of a digital business. For more information, please visit samsung.com/business, call 1-866-SAM-4BIZ or follow Samsung Business via Twitter: @SamsungBizUSA.

Contact:
Brian Belardi  
McGraw-Hill Education 
(646) 766-2951 
brian.belardi@mheducation.com

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education