Education Non-Profit Colorado GEAR UP Teams Up With CodeBaby

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- CodeBaby® is pleased to announce the launch of 'Ava,' a new CodeBaby Character, on the Colorado GEAR UP website.  The 3D interactive avatar speaks English and eventually Spanish as she assists students and parents by offering one-on-one guidance and tailored conversations about the federally-funded program.

"This is the direction education is moving, so we thought it was important to incorporate technology into what we're doing," said Scott Mendelsberg, Executive Director for Colorado GEAR UP.

Colorado GEAR UP is the state's recruitment and enabling program to prepare low-income students for college.  Its mission is to prepare first generation, low-income students to meet the college admissions standards and graduate from college.  The program begins by putting 7th grade students in touch with a counselor as well as providing guidance to students and parents throughout high school to 'gear up' for college.

"There's a term now called 'edutainment,' which refers to using entertainment designed to educate students.  We thought it was important to reach students, and use the media they're used to more effectively," said Meghan Cave, Director of Financial Aid for Colorado GEAR UP.

"We are proud to team up with Colorado GEAR UP.  It's an organization that is making such an important difference in students' lives, and we're excited about the impact that the CodeBaby Character will make in helping students get the answers they need as they prepare for college and beyond," said Dennis McGuire, CodeBaby COO.

Ava interacts with students, parents, and anyone wanting to learn more about Colorado GEAR UP through CodeBaby Conversations that guide them through the college process more efficiently.  She also is intended to help answer parents' questions at their convenience and potentially saving them a trip to the school during work hours.

Mendelsberg described CodeBaby as, "The medium of the future in education. Education is slower to react, but more and more people are excited to be at the forefront of this new technology."

To interact with the Ava character or to learn more about Colorado GEAR UP, visit www.coloradogearup.org.

About CodeBaby:

CodeBaby is a privately held company with offices in Colorado Springs, Colo. and Edmonton, Alberta. Its cutting edge technology enables companies to quickly and easily create high-quality, realistic digital character conversations that engage customers to optimize results.

These customized and interactive conversations are creating value for a rapidly growing number of Fortune 500 companies as well as mid-sized web-based businesses.  Further, detailed analytics enable companies to track, tune, and optimize the effect of these conversations.  Leveraging web-based standards, CodeBaby Conversations are useful across a wide range of applications, including eCommerce, web-based customer service and support, and eLearning.  To learn more about CodeBaby, visit www.codebaby.com

About Colorado GEAR UP:

Colorado GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is the state's program to prepare low-income students for college. Now entering the fourth year of its second cycle, 2005-11, the program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It is managed by the Colorado Department of Higher Education on behalf of the Governor's Office. For more information about Colorado GEAR UP, visit www.ColoradoGearUp.org.

SOURCE CodeBaby