CTB/McGraw-Hill and Promethean Alliance Enables Educators to Provide Targeted Instruction in Real-Time

DENVER, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- ISTE Conference (Booth 610) -- CTB/McGraw-Hill, a leader in PreK-12 and adult education, and Promethean, a leading provider of interactive learning technology, today announced an alliance linking the Promethean ActivExpression Learner Response Devices ("clickers") to CTB's Acuity UnWired® InFormative Assessment™ solution.

Students can take assessments using the wireless ActivExpressions instead of pencils and paper or computer terminals. Teachers can use a test booklet or project questions onto a screen. Students enter answers using the ActivExpression, which transmits their responses to a receiver plugged into the USB port of the instructor's computer. Acuity UnWired instantly displays student responses and percent correct scores and uploads student performance data to Acuity, generating more intensive, standards-aligned reports within minutes. The instantaneous feedback gives educators the ability to provide students with targeted instruction in real-time, making true data-driven instruction a reality. 

"Our alliance with Promethean will have a direct and powerful impact on students," said Ellen Haley, President of CTB/McGraw-Hill. "The integration of Promethean's ActivExpressions with Acuity UnWired enables educators to immediately identify critical areas of need in order to redirect the trajectory of a student's academic growth."

The combination of Promethean's ActivExpressions with CTB's Acuity UnWired yields immediate, concrete benefits, which allow teachers to:

• view real-time results and quickly make critical instructional decisions,
• generate standards-aligned Acuity reports within minutes that can be shared at the classroom, school, and district levels,
• eliminate the need to print, barcode, distribute, collect, and scan answer sheets,
• deliver assessments with minimal preparation and no computer lab time required, and,
• engage students during the assessment process with inspiring and motivating technology.

Promethean ActivExpressions offer new and unprecedented opportunities for student involvement and assessment. These handheld devices with an LCD display feature full text capability enabling numeric, sentence-based, symbolic responses together with standard yes/no, true/false and multiple-choice answers. The Expressions are easy-to-use tools for assessment and instruction – working on the fly, ready to query the class at any time. Each device gives individual students a voice while equipping teachers with a method for delivering dynamic lessons tailored to the immediate assessment of student performance. This completely wire-free response system utilizes radio frequency technology to ensure a safe and secure mode of test administration.

"Giving teachers the tools to conduct real-time assessments will help ensure that students are on pace to achieve their learning goals. Our ActivExpression devices are ideally suited to support the use of Acuity UnWired," said Mark Elliott, President of Promethean North America. "The Expressions allow teachers to provide immediate instructional feedback and customize lessons to address specific student needs faster than ever."

Since its release in 2009, Acuity UnWired has been deployed in hundreds of schools, with universally successful results. In informal classroom surveys, students noted almost unanimously that they preferred handheld clickers, not only to paper and pencil, but also to online testing. Teachers also reported a high level of comfort and ease of use, and district officials were very satisfied.

Demonstrations of ActivExpression learner response devices with Acuity UnWired will be conducted at ISTE 2010, being held at the Denver Convention Center on June 27-30, 2010. CTB is proud to be a Tier 3 sponsor of ISTE, and will be exhibiting in Booth #610. Private briefings will be held in the Korbel Ballroom #4B, located on the lower level. To schedule a private briefing, contact Brandon Engle, Communications Manager, CTB/McGraw-Hill, at 916.933.1291 or [email protected].

About Promethean

Promethean - Lighting the flame of learning

Promethean's aim is to unlock the potential of human achievement in education and training at all ages around the world. It does so by creating, developing, supplying and supporting leading edge, interactive learning technology and by encouraging the growth of the world's largest online teacher community in this field. In these ways, Promethean is helping bring to life the promise of 21st century learning, improving engagement and results for learners and teachers alike.

The market for interactive learning technology is fast growing and global. In this market, Promethean is a world leader. Developed for teachers, Promethean's ActivClassroom brings together its interactive display systems (ActivBoard), its learner response systems (ActiVote and ActivExpression), and its suite of specialized teaching software (ActivInspire). They change how teachers and classes engage and interact, how students learn and how they are monitored and assessed.

Beyond the classroom, Promethean provides comprehensive training and support and, with over 600,000 members, the rapidly growing Promethean Planet (www.prometheanplanet.com) is the world's largest online community for users of interactive display system technology, providing user-generated and premium content, and is a forum for teachers to exchange ideas and experience.

Headquartered in the UK and listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange as Promethean World Plc (ticker symbol 'PRW'), Promethean's technology is today helping educate over 12 million individuals in over 500,000 classrooms in some 100 countries.  www.prometheanworld.com.  

About CTB/McGraw-Hill

CTB/McGraw-Hill has an 84-year record of innovation and excellence in assessment, and serves more than 18 million students in all 50 states and in 46 countries. One of the first American publishers to introduce objective, standardized achievement tests to schools, today CTB/McGraw-Hill is a leader in testing with recognized products for online formative, adult, and language proficiency assessment. Dedicated to advancing the use of student performance data to inform instructional decision making, CTB/McGraw-Hill's innovation continues today with technologies that include Web-based assessment and reporting, student response device (clicker) software, and artificial intelligence for automated scoring of student essays. CTB/McGraw-Hill is part of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP). McGraw-Hill Education is a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. For more information, visit CTB.com.

SOURCE CTB/McGraw-Hill