Atlanta – International Society for Technology in Education Conference — Global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today unveiled HMH Player, a new app that tackles the major pain points faced by educators as they integrate technology into the classroom. The app enables offline access to quality content, allows teachers and students to collaborate in real time, and offers the opportunity to enhance HMH content through extensive customization tools.
Designed expressly for iPad and Google Chrome, the most widely-used tablet and the fastest-growing operating system in schools in the U.S. and worldwide, the app is fully optimized for each environment, providing enhanced user experience and performance, as well as convenient implementation. This native app offers the smart design, features and functionalities that today’s digital natives expect – such as touch, swipe and simple menu options.
HMH Player provides an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that gives teachers the ability to customize lessons and content with drag-and-drop functionality. Teachers can easily integrate open source resources such as YouTube videos, online news articles and other consumable media into daily lessons, then share with colleagues and students. The app also provides teachers with real-time data collection that enables analysis by student, by grade, by class, or by standard—in an elegantly designed gradebook. Teachers can send directions, notes, and immediate feedback to the whole class or individual students. They can also set up virtual study groups and activities that foster synergy amongst students and classes.
“We’ve considered the student experience both inside and outside the classroom to create what we see as a game-changer with respect to how content is delivered,” said Mary Cullinane, Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs at HMH. “To really benefit from digital tools, we must use technology to empower teachers in three key functional areas -- planning, instruction, and assessment. This is not technology for the sake of technology. This is technology that can enable a learning transformation.”
Offline access and automatic syncing provide students with the ability to extend learning beyond the traditional school day, while game mechanics – such as dynamic scoring, including badges and points for achievement – engage and motivate learners and reinforce key concepts.
Incorporating the adaptive technology of HMH partner Knewton, HMH Player will provide teachers with predictive functionality that that gives automatic feedback on how students are progressing against their own expected performance, and in later versions, that of others in their class, school and district. The app incorporates social collaboration functionality as well. For example, students can chat directly with teachers during online classroom sessions and “raise their hands” using instant message functionality. For parents, the app gives the opportunity to opt-in to receive updates or text message notifications on student progress against goals.
”We're excited to have an HMH Player core curriculum experience that is native and optimized for the Chromebook — the fastest growing device in education today,” added Bram Bout, Director, Google for Education. “By combining engaging content, adaptive technology, and advanced collaboration tools in a seamless Chromebook user experience, HMH and Google together are providing a sophisticated, interactive solution that signals a new phase in the learning paradigm for both students and teachers.”
HMH Player for iPad takes advantage of the iPad’s unique versatility and intuitive Multi-Touch interface, allowing teachers flexibility to the classroom, and the ability to easily display lessons, illustrate key concepts, and guide students in real-time.
HMH’s market-leading math curriculum, GO Math ©2015 and its Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra II High School Math series (HMH AGA) will be the first programs to integrate with the HMH Player for back to school 2014, with new ELA products to follow in 2015 and beyond.
The HMH Player will be introduced at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) annual conference in Atlanta (June 28 – July 1) at Booth # 1226. To find out more about HMH’s presence at ISTE, visit www.hmhco.com/ISTE2014.
To learn more about HMH Player, visit YouTube or visit hmhco.com/iste-player.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ:HMHC) is a global learning company with the mission of changing people’s lives by fostering passionate, curious learners. Among the world’s largest providers of pre-K–12 education solutions and one of its longest-established publishing houses, HMH combines cutting-edge research, editorial excellence and technological innovation to improve teaching and learning environments and solve complex literacy and education challenges. HMH’s interactive, results-driven education solutions are utilized by more than 50 million students in over 150 countries, and its renowned and awarded novels, non-fiction, children's books and reference works are enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information, visit www.hmhco.com.
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