Virtual Nerd Partners with Washington Learning Source to Offer Interactive Supplemental Instruction to Washington Classrooms
Respected Washington Organization Approves Award-Winning Video Tutorials through Competitive Bid Process
ST. LOUIS, December 15, 2011 – Washington Learning Source (WLS), a statewide organization comprising Washington’s nine Educational Service Districts, selected Virtual Nerd as an approved vendor for providing districts across the state of Washington access to high-quality, interactive video tutorials for supplemental math instruction at a discounted price.
WLS supports the state’s ESDs by evaluating educational products and services that may meet the needs of Washington districts. WLS-approved vendors are selected through a competitive bid process, and once selected, their product is made available for purchase through WLS. In addition, WLS helps districts work together to implement new products and solutions on a larger scale, increasing efficiency and creating a greater sense of community and collaboration among districts.
“Virtual Nerd shares the Washington Learning Source’s belief that high-quality, research-based, supplemental online curriculum can be leveraged to improve student achievement, ” said Josh Salcman, President and co-Founder of Virtual Nerd. “We built Virtual Nerd School Edition specifically for this use: to support teachers who want to personalize learning using technology.”
Virtual Nerd School Edition is unique to WLS’s offerings in that it offers a cost-effective way to provide nearly all the benefits of in-person tutoring to middle and high school students. Virtual Nerd is also the only video-based, online tutoring company offering an interactive platform for students and teachers to engage with supplemental math curricula. The School Edition product includes playlist and reporting toolkits, which allow teachers to assign standards-aligned, pre-grouped video tutorials and practice questions to students in need of specific math intervention, and which provide teacher- and administrator-facing reports containing actionable data around student usage and understanding of the skills and concepts covered in the tutorials.
"Washington Learning Source was very impressed with the unique capabilities of Virtual Nerd School Edition," says Anne Anderson, Director of WLS. "We were looking for flexible and easy-to-use tools for teachers to create content. School Edition clearly demonstrated that it can enable our teachers to deliver personalized instruction and do so in a way that engages students."
Washington districts interested in purchasing Virtual Nerd School Edition at the WLS-discounted rate can contact jillian@virtualnerd.com for more information and can review the product profile on the WLS website: http://www.walearningsource.com/VirtualNerd_bymfg_78-3-1.html.
About Virtual Nerd and Virtual Nerd School Edition
Virtual Nerd offers Web-based video tutorials in math for students in grades six through twelve, providing the benefits of one-to-one tutoring at a fraction of the cost. Leveraging state-of-the-art cloud technology, Virtual Nerd’s vast library of interactive video tutorials are accessible at any time and from any Internet-connected computer. Its patent-pending Dynamic Whiteboard® instructional platform puts students in the driver’s seat to navigate instructional content and drill down into prerequisite concepts through embedded links to related content. Virtual Nerd School Edition combines Virtual Nerd’s video tutorial library with customizable playlist and reporting tools, so educators can deliver more personalized instruction, gauge student performance and engagement, and measure improvements in real-time. Unlike other video-based solutions, School Edition incorporates Virtual Nerd’s instructional platform and content with tools for teachers and administrators to support planning, assessment, and intervention. Virtual Nerd videos are aligned to Common Core and state standards, and teachers can develop personalized playlists to address their students’ specific instructional needs.
About Washington Learning Source
The Washington Learning Source (WLS) is a statewide program developed by Washington’s nine regional Educational Service Districts whose mission is to provide a place for districts to choose products and services that meet their needs and create economic efficiencies through ESD collaboration and a regionally supported delivery model.
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