McGraw-Hill Education and ACTV Partner to Develop Online Curriculum for K-12 Educators

Educators’ Professional Development/McGraw- Hill (EPD/McGraw Hill), a newly formed division of McGraw- Hill Education, and ACTV Inc., (Nasdaq: IATV – news), a digital media company specializing in interactive television and enhanced media technologies, today announced an agreement to create an Internet-based professional development curriculum for teachers and school administrators.

EPD/McGraw-Hill selected ACTV as one of its partners to help develop the web-based component of its professional development program because of its successful history and experience in delivering multi-media web-based materials. The web-based curriculum will complement EPD/McGraw-Hill’s on-site teacher training programs. EPD/McGraw-Hill will launch the program in California later this year, followed by key districts and states shortly thereafter.

“EPD/McGraw-Hill is committed to meeting the needs of teachers in new and innovative ways. Our partnership with ACTV allows us to offer teachers the highest quality web-based training available today,” said Beth McBride, president of EPD/McGraw-Hill. “By using ACTV’s patented eSchool Online platform, we will offer educators a powerful training experience that combines video of real teachers in the classroom with the personalized interactivity of the Internet.”

“EPD/McGraw-Hill is ideally positioned to play an important role in meeting the needs of educators and administrators,” said William Frank, executive vice president of ACTV. “By aligning its curriculum with state and national standards, EPD/McGraw-Hill is on the forefront of a national movement to improve educational excellence. We’re excited to be working with EPD/McGraw-Hill on this important project.”

The training program will provide K-6 teachers with a variety of techniques for teaching algebra and advanced arithmetic, and will incorporate video of best practices, interactive exercises and daily lesson plans. ACTV’s eSchool Online division will contribute instructional design services, as well as technical guidance for the development of the website.

EPD/McGraw-Hill and ACTV will offer teachers an opportunity to observe other teachers in real classroom settings through a CD-ROM-based video. The video is synchronized with Internet-based content, which incorporates interactive instruction with realistic, classroom examples, such as best practices for mathematical instruction and interactive exercises that provide the foundation for lesson planning. The online content and CD-ROM both comply with specific state and school district requirements and curriculum.

McGraw-Hill Education recently formed EPD/McGraw-Hill to meet the growing need for teacher professional development programs that correlate with statewide academic and assessment standards. As the standards movement accelerates with calls for more accountability and testing, the need for effective professional development for teachers is critical. EPD/McGraw-Hill will provide teachers with the training and resources necessary to meet the challenges in this rapidly changing environment.

To develop a truly integrated application, ACTV will utilize their patented convergent media platform through eSchool Online, which has the same basic functionality as its entertainment counterpart, HyperTV, a part of ACTV’s Enhanced Media Services division. Operating since 1995, eSchool Online employs ACTV’s proprietary, convergent media technology, combining high quality video with synchronized delivery of interactive web content. ACTV’s eSchool Online was created to extend convergent media applications to advance the educational market, with a specific focus on teachers’ professional development and classroom instructional design.

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