CompassLearning's 'Odyssey Community' Gets Social in the Classroom

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June 7, 2010
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CompassLearning's 'Odyssey Community' Gets Social in the Classroom

As well as Four New Odyssey High School Electives

AUSTIN, Texas, June 7 -- CompassLearning, the leading provider of K-12 education software, has added Odyssey Community® and four new high school electives to its Odyssey® software suite. Odyssey Community is a social media tool that facilitates online conversations to improve student-teacher interactions within a safe, secure environment.

Teachers and students will be able to access Odyssey Community through the CompassLearning Odyssey log-in. They can interact with each other as they learn in this integrated platform. School and district administrators have access to all discussions in the platform.

"Odyssey Community is an important step forward for CompassLearning. It brings classroom conversation, a vital element of learning, into the Odyssey curriculum," said Ann Henson, Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction. "Because students are digital natives -- they have grown up using technology -- Odyssey Community is a relevant and engaging way for them to discuss topics covered in their assignments."

It is more than just a meeting place, it enhances the existing Odyssey curriculum. Users can join discussions with their classmates and teachers about those activities. Teachers can also create additional prompts in Odyssey activities, as well as set up discussion threads.

The new Community tool introduces 21st century skills as an integral part of the curriculum, not an unrelated topic. Odyssey Community also makes it easier to cover state standards that require students to discuss, describe, or explain curricular elements. In addition, Odyssey Community can enhance student-teacher communication in remote or credit-recovery situations, when that communication is especially crucial.

In addition to Odyssey Community, Odyssey Secondary now includes four new high school electives: Earth/Space Science, World Geography, Economics and Personal Finance, and Health. With more electives available through Odyssey, students can experience 21st century learning beyond the core subjects. Math Models and Math 1,2,3,4 are also new this June.

About Odyssey High School

Odyssey High School supports secondary mainstream, credit recovery, and intervention students with challenging and engaging curricula. The increased selection of secondary courses gives students a wide variety of cross-curricular activities that can help strengthen their 21st Century Skills. Odyssey's rich multimedia content and online delivery ensure that students hone technology literacy skills. The company's challenging curriculum includes individual and group learning, critical thinking, and writing, and encourages students to collaborate, problem solve, synthesize ideas, and analyze information.

About Ann Henson, Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction

Ann Henson is the chief architect of curriculum development and instruction materials for all CompassLearning courseware and assessment solutions. Ms. Henson offers a wealth of curriculum and instruction knowledge developed throughout her 23-year tenure at CompassLearning and her prior experience in public education. Before joining CompassLearning, Ms. Henson was a high school math and computer science teacher and was a district level Director of Instructional Technology.

About CompassLearning

CompassLearning, the leading provider of personalized education technology solutions, has been helping students excel for more than 40 years. To help students achieve success, CompassLearning products support differentiated instruction, formative assessment, and response to intervention. The company's flagship product, Odyssey, is based on current and confirmed educational research and is developed in a learning studio of highly qualified curriculum experts working alongside talented animators, scriptwriters, and engineers. From the struggling learner to the student needing a challenge, Odyssey is designed to engage, educate, and inspire. For more information about CompassLearning, visit http://www.compasslearning.com/ and view the online media kit.

Source: CompassLearning
   

CONTACT:  Renee Francese, +1-512-457-8448, rfrancese@pulsepointgroup.com

Web Site:  http://www.compasslearning.com/

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