NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Knewton today announced the launch of Alta, the company's fully integrated adaptive learning courseware for higher education. Available at $44 per course for two years of access, Alta delivers an affordable and impactful teaching and learning experience that combines Knewton's adaptive learning technology with high-quality openly available content. Alta is accessible to all learners: its technology, content and user experience are all WCAG 2.0 AA-level ADA compliant.

Offering its adaptive courseware directly to instructors and students represents a new strategy for Knewton, which historically has licensed its technology to partners. By owning all aspects of the user experience, Knewton is able to make a greater impact on outcomes and affordability.

"Students and instructors have been taken for granted by textbook publishers for too long. They deserve a better experience at a more affordable price," said Knewton CEO Brian Kibby. "We designed every aspect of Alta to empower instructors to put achievement within reach for their students, from its affordability and accessibility to its ability to help all learners achieve mastery."

"Today, companies profiting from selling $350 textbooks and the technology that supports them must confront reality," Kibby added. "Sometimes, it just ends."

The impact of achieving mastery with Alta
Mastery is an essential part of learning. Concept mastery helps students succeed within a given course, leading to knowledge that stays with students throughout their academic journey.

To measure Alta's impact on mastery, Knewton analyzed the results of more than 10,000 students who used Alta while it was in development. Key findings include:

• Students using Alta achieve mastery at high rates. 87% of the time, students using Alta achieved mastery. Of students who struggled with an assignment, 82% ultimately achieved mastery.
  
  
• Mastery in Alta leads to better academic performance. Students using Alta who had not yet achieved mastery scored an average of 55% on course assessments, while students who achieved mastery scored an average of 81%.
  
  
• Alta is an equalizer. For struggling students, achieving mastery led to an average assessment score increase of 38 points, from 40% to 78% correct, helping them gain ground on their peers.

How Alta helps students achieve mastery
Every assignment in Alta is tied to learning objectives that have been selected by the instructor for their course. When students successfully complete an assignment in Alta, they demonstrate mastery of the assignment's learning objectives. If a student struggles to complete an assignment in Alta, Knewton's adaptive technology dynamically diagnoses and remediates the student's knowledge gaps with instructional content and assessment personalized to help them achieve mastery.

Because Knewton's technology adapts to students' individual strengths and weaknesses with each interaction, Alta is able to instantly pinpoint and remediate knowledge gaps, keeping students on the path to mastery and course completion.

Alta's benefits for instructors
Alta launches with 33 courses across mathematics, economics, chemistry and statistics, including seven courses developed exclusively to support the various models of curriculum redesign. Features include:

• A clean, intuitive user experience. Alta matches the UX of the technology that students and instructors use every day.
  
  
• Real-time insight into student performance. Alta's analytics dashboard provides instructors with actionable insights into students' progress toward mastery and how to boost the performance of struggling students.
  
  
• High-quality OER content. All content within Alta has been sourced or developed by Knewton's team of content specialists and organized by learning objective. Knewton's adaptive technology continually measures the impact of every piece of Alta content on student mastery. Content that is more effective in helping students achieve mastery is promoted, while less effective content is improved or replaced.
  
  
• Dedicated service and support. Knewton's New York City-based technology team provides 24/7 support to students and instructors. Knewton's implementation support and ongoing service ensures a smooth and successful experience.
  
  
• Secure LMS integration. Alta exceeds IMS Global LTI v1.1 certified and common cartridge standards, allowing for integration and deep-linking with any learning management system.
  
  
• Reliability. With 99.99% uptime, Alta is there when students and instructors need it.

Alta is available now to instructors and students in the U.S. Learn more at knewtonalta.com.

About Knewton
Knewton puts achievement within reach for everyone with adaptive technologies and products that deliver personalized and lasting learning experiences. Educators, schools and universities, and education companies around the world use Knewton to power and provide digital courses that dynamically adapt to each student's unique needs. More than 15 million students around the world have used Knewton-powered courses to date. Knewton was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York City.

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