Achieve3000 Acquires Digital Reading Platform Actively Learn

Two education technology companies have joined forces. Achieve3000 acquired Actively Learn. Both organizations focus on helping learners build their reading stamina and strength. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Actively Learn will operate as a stand-alone unit within Achieve3000, and Jay Goyal, co-founder and CEO of the first company will serve as president.

The combined suite of products spans pre-K to adult learners and includes both fiction and non-fiction materials.

Actively Learn provides a set of reading products — articles, books, poetry, short stories, primary sources and textbook selections — for grades 3-12. The materials adhere, according to the company, to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. The resources provide functionality that allows students to create notes for sharing and lets teachers embed questions or use built-in assignments. The company also offers digital authoring tools to simplify the process of customizing any reading experience, including the addition of new content, and provides professional development for educators that includes microcredentials for successful completion.

The Achieve3000 reading platform delivers differentiated content at 12 levels in English and eight in Spanish, with built-in supports tailored to each student so every child can participate in grade-level instruction using the same lesson. Products cover Pre-K through adult education.

Both product lines incorporate accessibility features.

"Bringing Actively Learn under the Achieve3000 roof makes so much sense for delivering a complete literacy and critical thinking offering for middle- and high-school students," said Stuart Udell, CEO of Achieve3000, in a statement. "Achieve3000's 17-year heritage using ed tech for proven literacy acceleration combined with Actively Learn's engaging instruction and nimble platform will provide a unique opportunity for educators and students, including the pairing of fiction and nonfiction texts."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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