Adaptive Learning Partnership To Focus on Improved Language Instruction
McGraw-Hill
Education and Cerego will partner on a new series
of language learning tools based on adaptive technologies, beginning
with a new
version of an existing Spanish language program.
Acknowledging that "multilingualism is an advantage
in our
globalized world," McGraw-Hill Education Senior Vice President Sean Ryan
announced the partnership between his company, which already has
learning
programs in 60 languages, and Cerego, which focuses on memory management
tools
that are intended to help students retain what they have learned.
Both companies are adept in adaptive learning
technologies in
which students study by guiding themselves through personalized
experiences —
often combining digital tools and in-class lessons — that continually
respond
to their needs and focus attention on what they know at the moment they
learn
it.
The first initiative of the partnership will be an
update of
McGraw-Hill's "Asi
se dice" program for Spanish instruction, which should be
available for classroom use this fall.
"Asi se dice" includes vocabulary and
grammar lessons,
instruction on Spanish language culture and literature, photo essays and
achievement tests to track student results and progress.
McGraw-Hill will incorporate Cerego's adaptive
technologies
into language instruction for two of its primary adaptive products,
LearnSmart
and ALEKS.
"Language learning is a discipline that we feel very
passionately about," said Cerego Executive Chairman and Co-founder
Andrew
Smith Lewis. "Starting with Spanish, we're eager to integrate our adaptive
learning
technology within McGraw-Hill Education's world language programs."
Ryan said, "We will help students learn faster,
retain
capabilities longer and perhaps contribute more to their long-term
success."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.