Feature News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ExploreLearning, a business unit of Voyager Learning Company (OTC: VLCY), announced today that use of their flagship product, Gizmos, has reached all-time highs during non-school hours. Thirty-nine percent of teacher users access the product on weeknights and weekends, while 23 percent of students using Gizmos work with them outside of class time.

Gizmos are online simulations for math and science for grades three through twelve and are available to students and teachers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Outside of school hours, Gizmos can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection. Students can complete homework assignments or further explore math and science concepts, while teachers can plan lessons or check student understanding of concepts.

"We are very pleased with the number of students and teachers who are choosing to extend the school day with Gizmos," says Dr. David Shuster, founder of ExploreLearning. "It means teachers are finding creative ways to bring Gizmos into their instruction and students are responding in a very positive way."

Home usage of Gizmos gives students time to explore big concepts, creating a deep and lasting understanding through inquiry-based activities. "The first homework assignment I gave using Gizmos, every student completed the assignment as well as the self-assessment at the end of the simulation. This was the first time...that I had 100 percent compliance with homework completion. Homework with Gizmos has been enjoyable for students and really effective for reinforcing and internalizing the concepts," reports Martin Stranathan, a teacher in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Amy George, a high school teacher in Lewisville, Texas, sees Gizmos as an excellent way for parents to be involved in the learning process at home. "A parent came in to our parent/teacher conferences and mentioned the Gizmo experience at home. The student was working through a project and the parent got involved. The student was teaching the parent as part of the experiment! The parent said 'I remember looking at this back in high school, but I didn't get it until I went through this process with my child.' I think it is amazing that Gizmos are not only extending to the student at home, but the parent as well."

Students are even voluntarily choosing to learn with Gizmos over other leisure activities at home. "My students have loved using Gizmos so much that they access their accounts at home. Parents have told me how their students have gotten so excited that they call them over to the computer to show them what they are doing. I am impressed that students, who have access to a huge array of 'games' on the computer, decide to spend time on Gizmos at home," relates Kris Campesi, a middle school teacher from Stafford County, Virginia.

Gizmos are engaging students of all levels in their education by giving them new opportunities to explore important math and science concepts and have fun at the same time.

About ExploreLearning

ExploreLearning.com is home to the world's largest library of interactive, online simulations for math and science in grades 3-12. Gizmos bring research-proven instructional strategies to classrooms all over the world. With more than 450 Gizmos online, ExploreLearning's growing base of inquiry-based learning materials provides a powerful enhancement to the way teachers teach and students learn. The company is now improving teaching and learning in public school districts in all 50 U.S. states, and in 23 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.explorelearning.com .