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Longman Brings Jostens Learning Tomorrow's Promise To UK SchoolsAddison Wesley Longman (AWL), the famous schools book publisher, has announced an agreement with Jostens Learning Corporation, the worlds leading developer of educational software and support services, to bring the award-winning Tomorrow's Promise multimedia curriculum to schools throughout the UK. In a joint venture between the Longman school book company and Logotron, the schools software specialists, AWL has commenced a 3 year project for the complete language and cultural translation of the Jostens Learning material and, most importantly, a careful alignment with the UK National Curriculum. The LONGMAN Tomorrow's Promise range of products will cover the key elements of Numeracy and Literacy, offering Mathematics (KS1-3), Spelling (KS1 & SEN) and Language (KS1-3), to be available complete with a diagnostic testing and assessment program (NCAT) and a powerful, networked management system (Compass) designed to create and monitor individualised learning paths for pupils of all abilities. The software will run on both Windows PCs and Apple Macintosh computers and a complete range of installation, training and support services is also available. John Penrose, Head of AWL UK Schools businesses, explains AWL's position, "We welcome the government’s commitment to ICT in raising standards of numeracy and literacy in our schools. In the past, ICT provision has been driven by a desire for more and more new computers, rather than starting with the educational standards we want to achieve, and then choosing the software, the hardware and the teacher training which will be needed to deliver them. Tomorrow’s Promise will solve this problem. It puts teachers and educators in charge so that the customer, not the computer, comes first. Jostens Learning has accomplished this superbly in the US. Longman will do it in the UK." Welcoming the partnership with AWL, Michael Brannick, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Jostens Learning, said, "Longman has the credentials in both traditional books and software publishing to make Tomorrow’s Promise the number one brand in 'multimedia curriculum' in the UK. And we are delighted to be able to show the world that Jostens Learning products can now be tailored to the requirements of any international curricula." Julian Pixton, Managing Director of Logotron - the division of AWL responsible for the sales and marketing of Longman Tomorrow's Promise, commented, "Tomorrow’s Promise cannot be thought of as another Integrated Learning System. The brilliance of the multimedia content together with the power and ease of the assessment testing and the management system shows that it is a generation further on than ILS. And it's modular, which means that it’s not only flexible and easy for teachers to implement, but also affordable and cost effective. And it’s a UK product aligned to the National Curriculum. And, the best news for teachers is that it is designed to help them teach, not replace them with technology." Jeff Andrew, Managing Director of AWL Schools - responsible for the educational content and localisation of Tomorrow's Promise, added "This massive project is one which very few, if any, other companies are equipped to undertake, but pupils in this country will reap the benefits very soon. We aim to release the first stages of the UK versions of both the Numeracy and Literacy programs during the course of 1998, with the remaining levels to follow next year." In the meantime, there is no need for schools to wait before trying Tomorrow's Promise. The US version is now available for UK schools and Longman is offering cost effective upgrading to UK localised product when available. Recognising that schools will often be investing in hardware along with multimedia curriculum products, AWL is simultaneously announcing two other major alliances, with hardware 'suppliers of choice', with a view to offering complete services to its customers. The driving force behind this is to strike the right balance between software and hardware; not to put more and more computers into schools for their own sake, but for software publishers and hardware manufacturers to work together to put the customer first. AWL's suppliers of choice are:- Viglen already the leading Windows PC brand in the FE/HE sector of UK education, and Xemplar, one of the best known providers of educational solutions to schools. AWL will be partnering with both Viglen and Xemplar to offer advice, products and support services to schools and LEAs interested in hardware as well as software. These partnerships will be especially valuable where customers require combined quotations for software and hardware in order to take speedy advantage of various types of funding schemes.
Notes for Editors AWL is one of the largest global educational publishers, selling books, multimedia, and learning programs in all major academic disciplines to the primary, secondary, higher education, professional and English language teaching markets throughout the world under the Addison Wesley, Longman and Scott-Foresmann imprints. Logotron, located in Cambridge, publishes software for the UK schools market. Its product range also includes software supporting BBC Schools TV broadcasts and it is establishing channels into international and home education markets. AWL is part of the Pearson Group. Pearson plc is an international provider of media content and comprises information, education and entertainment companies including the Financial Times, the Penguin Group, the Tussauds Group and Pearson Television. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background Information - Jostens Learning Corporation Jostens Learning is one of the largest K-12 educational software companies in the world. More than 15,000 schools serving 10 million students use its programs. Building on nearly 30 years experience in education, Jostens Learning takes full advantage of the power of educational technology. Jostens Learning's flagship Tomorrow's Promise core curriculum series includes reading, spelling, language arts and math. It emphasizes the basics, as well as higher-order thinking and problem solving; allows for student assessment and development of individualized learning paths; and is supported by award-winning professional development. The curriculum series is available to educators by grade/by subject in both Windows and Macintosh formats. Standalone Reading, Mathematics, Language Arts and Spelling modules are now available, eliminating the need for a server and a network of computers. Jostens Learning is privately held. Investors include Information Partners, Bain Capital, Dunn & Bradstreet, Sylvan Learning and General Electric - companies with a combined resource base of more than $20 billion. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26th February 1998 |
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