UClass Offers School Districts New Crowdsourced Curriculum Solution

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today UClass is announcing the pilot of a new K12 curriculum alternative that combines the power of technology with the talent of teachers. UClass.io For Schools is a centralized, searchable district-wide resource exchange that lets teachers share, find and organize resources that are created for the new Common Core standards. District teachers can pool their resources together, tag them and have limitless access to others' resources. During the pilot, UClass' team of engineers will outfit the ten selected school districts with a custom-built solution that teachers can access from any kind of device.

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In a field traditionally dominated by a small number of publishing companies, UClass.io For Schools is an opportunity to witness the efficacy of crowdsourcing in the K12 setting. Even though crowdsourcing is popular and trusted in most industries, U.S. schools have taken their time with the concept.

UClass Co-Founder Zak Ringelstein, long puzzled by this problem, said, "A school leader here in California may not be quite ready to trust the resources of a random teacher all of the way across the country, but that same superintendent is clamoring for a curriculum solution that is more engaging and personalized than a textbook. From talking with hundreds of superintendents and principals, we have learned that they want to maximize the talent within their own school districts first by creating efficient, effective ways to share top-of-line resources in-house."

San Mateo County Office of Education, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, is home to the flagship districts for the UClass.io pilot. Gary Waddell, San Mateo's Deputy Superintendent, said, "We stand at a pivotal point of change in teaching and learning in our schools with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and a new generation of deeper forms of assessment. We need new tools, such as UClass, that leverage the creativity and collaboration of teachers in ways that inform, excite, and inspire a new generation of students."

Additionally, school districts selected for the pilot will get access to over 2,000 Common Core aligned UClass resources, professional development sessions, troubleshooting and technical support.

School and district administrators can find more information and apply to the pilot at www.uclass.io. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2014. The pilot will begin on March 1, 2014. For more information, contact Chris Yim at [email protected].

SOURCE UClass