Learning Resources | News

Knovation Updates netTrekker User Interface, Adds Content and Images

• By Tim Sohn
• 08/15/13

In preparation for the new school year, Knovation, which provides standards-based content and search tools for the classroom, has updated its search tool designed to help K-12 teachers find the digital resources they need. Available now, netTrekker now includes a redesigned, more visual user interface.

In addition, the Cincinatti, OH-based company announced in a news release that netTrekker and icurio subscribers now also have access to content from Sophia Learning. This includes 26,000 tutorials in English, humanities, social sciences, applied sciences, sciences, fine arts, learning strategies, and math. In addition, through the partnership, links are provided in netTrekker and icurio to nine online courses for college credit offered by Sophia Learning.

Sophia Learning is a social education platform that provides more than 350,000 free multimedia tutorials, as well as free teacher certification programs on using tablets in the classroom and the flipped classroom. In addition, it offers a discounted self-paced college-level online learning program.

netTrekker Search is a tool designed to allow students and educators to find Web-based educational media quickly. K-12 teachers can search 330,000 digital resources such as whiteboard materials, assessments, video, audio, learning games, lesson plans, images, and primary source documents. They can search by language, multimedia type, format, subject, grade level, specific standards, and teacher or student recommendations.

icurio is an online resource aimed at providing educators with learning materials and tools to help differentiate instruction for students. Users can access Common Core-aligned digital resources for K-12 curriculum areas and filter materials by type, including video, images, games, lesson plans, and Web materials. Subjects range from math and science to philosophy and the arts. Resources can be further personalized by language, reading level, and type of learning aid.

"Considering nearly 40 percent of college freshmen are not prepared to take college level courses and are required to spend time and money on remedial courses it's clear that more needs to be done to prepare our students for college," said Allison Gage, president of Sophia Learning, in a prepared statement. "With the ability to deliver Sophia's content through Knovation's digital learning platforms netTrekker and icurio, we can now extend our offering to a broader audience seeking aggregated educational content."

Additionally, Knovation has added upwards of 50,000 new images to netTrekker and iCurio. Sources of these images include:

• Science Kids;
• The Encyclopedia of Life;
• Smithsonian Institution Libraries;
• The National Portrait Gallery;
• ARKive;
• The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists;
• A View On Cities; and
• The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

For more information about icurio or netTrekker, visit knovationlearning.com. For additional information about Sophia Learning, go to sophia.org.