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For more information contact:
Beth Ida Stern
Director, Marketing & Product Development
800-323-9084, ext. 172
bistern@unitedlearning.com
Charlene Blohm
C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
210-656-2324
charlene@satexas.com
Research Shows that Students Learn More with unitedstreaming™
unitedstreaming, a subscription-based, Internet-delivered application,
has been shown by scientific research to increase student achievement by an average
of 12.6%. unitedstreaming delivers more than 2,000 core-curriculum, standards-based
videos, lesson plans, teacher resources, and student activities on-demand to
any computer with an Internet connection. Videos have been divided into clips
to reflect concepts within the standards for science, math, social studies, language
arts, and health. Video and support content may be accessed online, or may be
downloaded into a subscriber's computer. Downloaded files may be played
alone, or may be imbedded in multimedia presentations in PowerPoint, Hyper
Studio, or other widely used software applications. Extensive professional
development and implementation support help teachers integrate unitedstreaming content
seamlessly into their existing lesson plans.
unitedstreaming content comes from educational publishers including Weston
Woods, Rainbow Educational Media, Sunburst Communications, Environmental Media
Corporation, TVOntario, Comprehensive Health Education Foundation, and United
Learning.
unitedstreaming was developed and is distributed by United Learning, an
Evanston, IL,-based educational publisher established in 1954.
The scientific evaluation of unitedstreaming was performed during the
2001-2002 school year by Cometrika, an independent research firm based in East
Lansing, MI. The study involved more than 1,400 third- and eighth-grade students
from three school districts in rural southern Virginia. Classrooms were randomly
assigned to control and experimental groups; teachers in the experimental group
received training in the use of the application and then incorporated unitedstreaming into their lesson plans, which reflected the Virginia Standards of Learning. Based
on a comparison of pre- and post-test scores between the experimental- and control-group
students, the evaluators were able to identify an average improvement of 12.6%
by those students exposed to the unitedstreaming application.
Due to their compliance with the newly ratified Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (also known as No Child Left Behind), the results of the evaluation caught
the eye of Representative Johnny Isakson of Georgia, a member of the House of
Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce. In September,
2003, Representative Isakson invited Dr. Frank Boster of Cometrika and members
of the United Learning management team to present the research supporting unitedstreaming.
During the presentation to the Committee, Representative Isakson remarked, “No Child Left Behind concentrates resources on research-based programs that have
been proven to help children learn, and it gives parents more options in helping
their children learn. United Learning recognizes the promise of No Child Left Behind and is dedicated to making it a success. The United Learning standards-based
application unitedstreaming is a great example of how technology can be
used to further student achievement.
In addition to the attention of Congress, unitedstreaming has also captured
the attention of the education industry. Eduventures named unitedstreaming one
of the Top 100 technologies of 2002, while eSchool News declared unitedstreaming a
Best Practice.
unitedstreaming is currently being used in more than 15,000 schools across
the United States. Eight states have adopted the application for all of their
K-12 public schools. Georgia was the first of these states, followed by Arizona,
Rhode Island, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
United Learning is privately held and has a 48-year track record of financial
success in a field that values stability. The 65 employees all benefit from the
$10 million profit sharing trust the company has funded over the last 40 years.
Hard work and 18 acquisitions since 1982 have made the company what it is today.
When Gilbert Altschul started the company in 1954, it was as a 16mm film production
and distribution operation. His vision has guided the Chairman and CEO, Joel
Altschul, who has managed the company since 1982. The current President, Ron
Reed, has been a driving force behind United Learning since he joined the company
in 1968. Both Joel and Ron are educators by background, businesspeople by choice,
and share a love for learning with the employees and customers who have made
this good company a great one.
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