Distance Learning

Shmoop Debuts Customizable Courses

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 10/22/15

Shmoop, a digital publisher, has launched customizable courses for K-12 classes.

Users with a subscription or license from the company can now remix content from any of the more than 200 online courses it offers.

"First, they'll pick which courses, and which units within those courses, they want to include in a custom course," according to a news release. "So if a teacher wants to follow a unit on multi-variable calculus with one on The Grapes of Wrath...well, that's weird, but they can do it. More likely, they'll pick and choose units from various courses that help them hit their interdisciplinary goals, like pairing the Civil War unit from U.S. History with the unit on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl from American Literature. Math teachers can even pick and choose from Shmoop's Geometry, Algebra and Pre-Calculus courses to create their own, customized Integrated Math course."

Teachers can also use a drag-and-drop interface to eliminate specific units from whole courses, reorder units within a course or customize variables such as due dates, standards or requirements that students finish a lesson before moving on to the next.

"We strive to create the most cohesive courses possible," said Ellen Siminoff, president and CEO of Shmoop, in a prepared statement. "But we also understand that each teacher puts their own spin on material, and we are thrilled to be able to give educators the flexibility to do their own thing."