EMC Publishing Introduces "Discover" Layer for Its EMC Languages Online Learning Environment

ST. PAUL, MN--(Marketwired - Aug 20, 2013) - EMC Publishing, a division of New Mountain Learning, today introduced the first layer of EMC Languages, a recently-announced online environment for teaching and learning world languages in K-12 classrooms, entitled "Discover."

The EMC Languages learning environment focuses on three core layers that work together to drive student proficiency. Students will "Discover" languages and cultures. They will "Expand" their knowledge beyond the textbook and written test. Additionally, they'll "Perform" what they've learned in order to achieve proficiency and fluency.

The "Discover" layer is the one in which students learn the building blocks of the language and explore the target culture either through educator-directed activities or on their own. It follows a school district's approved curriculum. "Discover" includes the material a student needs to learn the foundation of a language: vocabulary, structures, listening/reading selections and strategies, and in-depth cultural knowledge.

EMC Publishing brings its 60-year track record in world language educational materials as the core of the EMC Language "Discover" layer. Its rigorous content is aligned with American Council on The Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) standards and includes cultural context from all countries where the target language is spoken.

EMC Languages is the product of a long-term, collaborative partnership between EMC Publishing and the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) that includes collaborative design and development, K-12 classroom integration as well as support and ongoing design-based research.

EMC Languages builds upon and extends research-based language learning platforms created by the CEHD Learning Technology Media Lab (LT Media Lab) by leveraging EMC Publishing's world language instructional content in an easy-to-use environment designed to drive educator effectiveness and student fluency.

"Our long-term goal with EMC Languages is to engage and motivate students so that they continue to discover and explore a world language beyond the basic requirements," said Eric Cantor, chief executive officer of New Mountain Learning. "We recognize that we must provide teachers with easy to use, integrated, blended learning solutions that capture a student's attention, both inside and outside the classroom, and give educators time to provide individualized support as needed."

EMC Languages will be intuitive, flexible and fully integrated to flow with any approved curriculum. Educators can subscribe to the entire suite or only those elements most relevant to their classrooms. EMC Languages will be part of a digital classroom-based world language pilot program in the fall of 2013 and is scheduled to roll out in early 2014 for French and Spanish. German and Chinese will follow later in the year.

Today EMC Publishing includes QR codes in traditional textbooks that link to dialogue and continuous storyline videos, games and electronic books, visuals and flash cards. Its i-Culture platform keeps culture current and alive in a way the textbook can't by providing real-world content -- video, news stories, songs -- that's updated monthly as opposed to synthetic situations one might find in a printed textbook.

For the past year, EMC and the LT Media Lab have collaborated on the redesign, technology expansion and K-12-specific development of two video-based platforms created by the Lab: Avenue™ and Flipgrid™. Avenue allows an educator to conduct a one-to-one assessment of a student's performance via webcam, by creating custom tasks based on EMC's rich library of curricular media to capture, evaluate, archive and visualize progress. Flipgrid is a more informal, video-based discussion platform that encourages students to discuss and reflect upon questions and topics sparked by their educator.

For more information, visit www.emcl.com.

About EMC Publishing
A division of New Mountain Learning, EMC Publishing is a recognized leader in world language solutions in classrooms throughout the nation. Founded in 1954, EMC publishes instructional materials, supplements, and assessments for the K-12 market, delivering print and digital solutions for world languages, literature and language arts, and computer applications and literacy.

About New Mountain Learning
New Mountain Learning is a provider of diversified learning materials and blended solutions serving select segments of the secondary, post-secondary, and career services markets in the US and Canada and is a portfolio company of The Wicks Group of Companies, L.L.C., a private equity firm based in New York City that invests in lower-middle-market companies operating in selected segments of the information, education and media industries.