At NCTE Annual Convention, StudySync Premieres Video Series for Middle Schoolers, Complementing Full Library of Hundreds of Texts

Top Quote New SyncTV Titles Include 'Tom Sawyer,''Romeo and Juliet,'Gettysburg Address. Supplemental Curriculum Supports Common Core Appendix B. End Quote
  • (1888PressRelease) November 17, 2011 - CHICAGO - StudySync™(www.studysync.com), an award-winning web‐based learning tool from BookheadEd Learning, LLC, today introduced the first of a dozen new SyncTV episodes, all crafted for middle school students. The company made the announcement at the 100thAnnual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Booth #1112, here through Nov. 22 (http://www.ncte.org/annual).

    With its new video titles -- Tom Sawyer, Romeo and Juliet, Yeats' Song of Wandering Aengus and the Gettysburg Address - StudySync will embark on an expansion of its middle school offerings, with more than a dozen segments available by January. The new episodes complement StudySync's full library of hundreds of texts, fiction and nonfiction alike -- many taken from the Common Core Appendix B. In addition to the SyncTV episodes, middle school teachers can now benefit from StudySync's proprietary, anonymous online peer review and its weekly SMS text "Blasts," based on current topics of cultural significance.

    Launched this past January, StudySync combines classic and modern texts, digital media, mobile technology, and peer-to-peer review to inspire students to achieve higher levels of critical thinking and academic collaboration. StudySync helps teachers align their lessons to the Common Core by promoting reading comprehension, enabling students advancing through grade levels to gain more from whatever they read.

    "In expanding the number and scope of our SyncTV episodes, we are affirming our commitment to help teachers and administrators reach the goals of the Common Core," said Robert Romano, founder and CEO of BookheadEd Learning. "As the Common Core has become increasingly important to teachers and administrators, we've expanded our content accordingly. Whatever the grade level, our mission is consistent: encourage students to read and understand a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects. In addition, StudySync builds students' ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning and relevant evidence. These are important skills for students at both the middle and high school levels."

    "For any teacher struggling to engage today's ever‐wired students in conversations about literature, StudySync is the perfect product," said Carol Jago, Past President, NCTE, and a teacher at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, Calif. "Wondering how to capitalize on teenagers' penchant for social networking to improve their reading and writing skills? StudySync offers a virtual space where such learning happens. Designed to stimulate provocative conversations about classic and contemporary texts, StudySync is a stimulus package for provocative thinking."

    This school semester, educators have begun to embrace the product with fervor. When ComputED Gazette announced the winners of its 16th Annual Education Software Review Awards (EDDIEs) earlier this fall, StudySync was at the head of the class, as the 2011 winner in the High School Language Arts Website category.

    "StudySync is simply flawless -- from its extremely high production quality to its pedagogy and professional, highly engaging narrations," the publication wrote. "StudySync is an impressive example of 21st Century innovation, and should be made available to all high school students. It is a must-have for home school and AP courses."

    Earlier this year, Scholastic named StudySync as one of Scholastic's Tech Software Picks for 2011. Showcasing StudySync as one of the latest and greatest education-friendly technology tools, Scholastic noted, "StudySync can make sense of all the new ways to teach by offering instant access to classical and modern texts as well as television-quality video."

    About BookheadEd Learning, LLC
    BookheadEd Learning connects high school and middle school students to the great ideas of mankind through technology, multimedia, and a rich library of classic and modern texts. StudySync, its flagship product, uses web‐delivered educational tools - including broadcast quality video, digital media, mobile platforms, and social networking -to help teachers inspire higher levels of students' reading, writing, critical thinking, academic discourse and peer‐to‐peer collaboration. Based in Sonoma, Calif. and with an office in Cambridge, Mass., BookheadEd is comprised of educators and experts who believe "Together We're Smarter." To learn more about BookheadEd Learning and its StudySync educational platform, visit www.studysync.com.

    Media Contact:
    Ken Greenberg
    Edge Communications, Inc.
    818‐990‐5001
    ken ( @ ) edgecommunicationsinc dot com

    ###
space
space
  • FB Icon Twitter Icon In-Icon
Contact Information