ePals(R) Launches Publishing Services in Partnership With McGraw Hill Education, Smithsonian Institution and Leading Publishers Globally
New Learning Centers for Publishers and ToolsForSchool(TM) Digital Marketplace Enable Publishers to Distribute Their Content Into Classrooms, Schools and Homes Globally, and Create Engaging Online Learning Communities Around Their Content
SAN ANTONIO, TX--(Marketwired - Jun 25, 2013) - From the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in San Antonio, ePals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: SLN), an education media company and leading Global Learning Network, today announced the launch of enhanced services for educational publishers worldwide. These end-to-end services enable providers of curriculum, quality resources and learning activities to distribute their content into classrooms, schools and homes globally.
Using the new Learning Centers, publishers can create communities wrapped around their content, embed engaging projects and learning activities, and make these available locally or globally as desired by the publisher. The ToolsforSchool service provides an online marketplace for teachers and publishers to sell and share content through a range of online storefronts. Educators, students and parents can browse free and premium offerings across the full range of pre-kindergarten through high school levels and multiple languages including English, Spanish and Mandarin.
"ePals is rapidly becoming the digital distribution platform of choice for publishers looking for efficient, scalable ways to reach educators, students and parents globally. We enable publishers, big and small, to rapidly transition their physical media to digital and harness the associated benefits of cost, speed and worldwide reach," says Katya Andresen, ePals President and COO. "Assembling a network of world-class publishers and content creators who offer trusted, classroom-ready materials is an important milestone in building the next generation education media company."
The more than 50 launch partners highlighted today by ePals -- from leading international brands to venture-backed companies and "teacherpreneurs" -- demonstrate the end-to-end global breadth and potential of ePals' Publisher Learning Centers and ToolsForSchool digital marketplace:
McGraw-Hill Education extended its relationship with ePals to include both Social Studies and World Languages content, available to millions of McGraw-Hill Education users online and in their textbooks, as well as to ePals users globally. Visit the McGraw-Hill Learning Center here: http://en.community.epals.com/mcgraw-hill_education_on_epals/default.aspx.
Smithsonian Institution has enhanced its Learning Center and is joining ToolsForSchool with ARTLAB+; and the International Reading Association and a host of publishers from across Europe have launches planned for Q3.
Next-generation publishers the Maker Education Association, InspirED Educators and EdgeMakers, Inc. founded by former Harvard Business School Professor and noted expert on global innovation John Kao (http://www.johnkao.com/), have become publisher partners.
"Teacherpreneurs" have been steadily setting up ToolsForSchool shops in anticipation of our "back to school" launch. This includes Joli Barker, a 2nd grade teacher at Slaughter Elementary School in McKinney TX, the 2013 TCEA Classroom Teacher of the Year, and 2011 and 2012 US Microsoft Partners in Learning Innovative Educator Award winner.
Specifically engineered to meet the needs of large and small educational publishers, schools, teachers, students, and parents, ePals Publisher Services provides ePals partners with the ability to easily bring content to international markets and grow revenue. Publisher Learning Centers are provided on a licensed basis, with optional customization and marketing services. Merchants in ToolsForSchool give a nominal revenue share to ePals. The expansion of content across the ePals network offers ePals members and publishers' existing user bases a dynamic and growing resource and community for project and activity-based learning experiences that foster 21st century skills.
Corporate note: The Company also notes that pursuant to a share exchange agreement between the Company and ZG II, LLC ("ZG") dated June 25, 2013, certain voting shares held by ZG will, upon closing, be converted into restricted voting shares in that the Company acquired from ZG an aggregate of 6,668,937 voting common shares of the Company in exchange for issuing to ZG an equal number of restricted voting common shares of the Company. The voting common shares acquired by the Company were immediately cancelled.
About ePals Corporation
ePals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: SLN) is an education media company and the leading Global Learning Network. Focused on the K-12 market, ePals offers elementary and secondary school administrators, teachers, students and parents worldwide a safe and secure platform for building educational communities, providing quality digital content and facilitating collaboration for effective 21st century learning. ePals' award-winning products include: the ePals Global Community®; Learn365™; In2Books®, a common core eMentoring program that builds reading, writing and critical thinking skills; and popular children's educational publishing brands including Cricket® and Cobblestone®. ePals customers and partners include the International Baccalaureate, Microsoft Corporation, Dell Inc., National Geographic, McGraw-Hill Education, and leading school districts across the United States and globally. ePals serves over 1 million classrooms and reaches millions of teachers, students and parents in approximately 200 countries and territories. For information about the ePals Global Community, visit www.epals.com. For Corporate information, visit www.corp.epals.com.
