“Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is committed to innovation and harnessing the latest technologies to help teachers collaborate,” John Sipe, Vice President of K–12 Sales for HMH’s California Region, said. “To launch the site, we’re inviting teachers to share how they are teaching students the importance of giving back during the holiday season. The most compelling entry will earn $1,000 worth of education materials.”

Providing collaborative and collegial opportunities can help improve performance, according to several academic studies including a 2006 RAND Corporation study and a survey of 2,000 California teachers by researcher Ken Futernick in 2007. HMH’s move to enhance teacher communication via social networking platforms is the latest example of the Company’s commitment to delivering the latest technology solutions to help California schools and teachers.

HMH has also created Learning Village, a customized technology platform that allows school districts to compile and organize free and standards based materials, lesson plans and other teacher-created instructional materials. HMH’s DataDirector™ technology helps educators make sense of a huge range of data to provide longitudinal tracking and reporting of student assessment data, student demographic data and program/event attendance, as well as professional development activities, paraprofessional activities and student grades and teacher data.

“Technology will play a critical role in the ongoing effort to improve education from the way teacher’s teach, how students learn and how progress is measured. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is committed to investing to develop the best academic technology to ensure that every school has the best tools with which to serve California communities,” Sipe concluded

Visit the California Teachers’ Network. View the HMH Holiday Contest.