Houghton Mifflin Co. News Release - May 13, 2009
Holt McDougal's MediaSmart and WriteSmart Receive "Select" Accreditations from the Promethean Software Accreditation Programme
BOSTON — May 13, 2009 —Holt McDougal's MediaSmart and WriteSmart, published by global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, both received "Select" accreditations from the Promethean Software Accreditation Programme. Professionals evaluated the interactive programs according to their ease of use, group teaching pedagogy and other elements in a Promethean-enabled classroom environment.
"We are honored to receive this special accreditation for our learning technology products," said K–12 President Mike Lavelle, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "Independently and together, WriteSmart and MediaSmart teach students how to think critically about popular media — an invaluable skill for the twenty-first century."
The MediaSmart DVD-Rom, which earned an Award of Excellence from Tech & Learning magazine last year, is a dynamic learning tool that develops students' media literacy and critical-thinking skills. By matching media clips from service announcements, national news reports and popular films with innovative discussion tools, MediaSmart connects mainstream media to literary concepts like plot development, persuasion and mood. The in-book Media Study reinforces instruction and supports each unit's key skills.
The WriteSmart DVD-Rom, Teacher Version contains all of the interactive materials of MediaSmart, including ideas for writing, interactive student models, interactive graphic organizers and interactive revision lessons, as well as more than 250 writing prompts and an editable Rubric Generator.
Promethean is a leading provider of interactive learning technology. A March 2009 report by the Marzano Research Laboratory entitled "Evaluation Study of the Effects of Promethean ActivClassroom on Student Achievement" shows that Promethean's ActivClassroom suite, which includes an interactive whiteboard, teaching software and student response systems, raises student achievement by nearly 20 percentile points when integrated with classroom instruction. Promethean's "Select" accreditation logos enable educators to identify programs like MediaSmart and WriteSmart that are user-friendly, optimize twenty-first-century technology and promote collaborative learning.
About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company is a global education leader and the world's largest publisher of educational materials for pre-K–12 schools. The Company publishes a comprehensive set of best-in-class educational solutions, ranging from research-based textbook programs to instructional technology to standards-based assessments for students and educators. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning literature for adults and young readers. With origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. To learn more about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, visit www.hmhpub.com.
CONTACT:
Josef Blumenfeld
Vice President, Communications
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
617-351-5432
josef.blumenfeld@hmhpub.com
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