[June 27, 2011]

Ed Tech Startup StudySync Announces Expansion on Multiple Fronts: Enters Middle School Market, Makes Key Additions to Library and Sync-TV Video Offerings

BookheadEd Learning, LLC, today announced that StudySync™ (www.studysync.com), the company's flagship product, has expanded into the middle school market, augmenting its supplementary curriculum for high school students. At the same time, the company unveiled dozens of additions to its StudySync library of modern and classic texts, bringing the total to more than 300, and new Sync-TV broadcast-quality videos, now numbering more than two dozen.

The company made the announcements at ISTE 2011, sponsored by the International Society for Technology in Education, here through June 29.

A first-time ISTE exhibitor, the StudySync booth (#3036) features colorful and vibrant multimedia displays, enabling show attendees to experience the learning product real time. Booth visitors can register for a chance to win a free, one-year subscription to StudySync - and can enter a drawing for an iPad2.

Launched in January, StudySync has already been adopted in more than 100 schools throughout the U.S., and Canada, and is expanding to classrooms in Europe and Asia.

"Expansion into the middle school market came as a response to teachers who had experienced StudySync, loved it, and wanted to incorporate it into their classrooms," said Robert Romano, founder and CEO of BookheadEd Learning. "Middle schools are where the foundation of thoughtful analysis and collaboration are honed. StudySync can play a major role in that process and alsoprepare students for the more advanced analysis required in high school and beyond." The company plans updates to its offerings for high schools on an ongoing basis.

While many of the existing texts in the StudySync library are appropriate for middle school students, the company wanted to meet the distinct needs of this age group, so new titles from across the curriculum have been added, including "Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl," "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass," "Nothing But the Truth: a Documentary Novel," "Alice in Wonderland," "Little Women," "Paul Revere's Ride" and "Jabberwocky."

An innovative, web-delivered academic tool, StudySync was created by leading national educators with the goal of inspiring higher levels of critical thinking and academic collaboration in high school and now middle-school students.

"Educators are amazed when they see the power and the possibilities of StudySync," Romano said. "It's built on a foundation of solid academics and pedagogy, and it also validates the technology and social networking that are so important to today's student - giving them a way to express their thoughts and ideas in a safe environment. StudySync fosters the belief among kids that 'It's cool to be smart.'"

Appropriate for all types of schools, from suburban settings to elite private to urban schools, StudySync encourages kids to read, write, collaborate and expand their critical thinking. The program features multimedia platforms and is accessed by using a smart phone, tablet, laptop - any device with a browser. This means kids can connect in the classroom, at home or whenever, wherever they want.

"StudySync provides students and teachers with a seemingly unlimited range of texts that they can read, re-read, and talk about -- it ushers them into a virtual community of writers that beautifully supplements the real classroom community they are part of every day," said Brad Shermantine, dean of academic support, Vintage High School in Napa, Calif. "The virtual community allows students to challenge each other more sincerely and more authentically than might be comfortable in the classroom."

Pricing for StudySync starts at $175 per teacher (up to three classrooms) per year. Building and district pricing schedules are available, as are free trials.

About BookheadEd Learning, LCC

BookheadEd Learning connects high school and middle school students to the great ideas of mankind through technology, multimedia and a rich library of classic and modern texts. StudySync, its flagship product, uses web-delivered educational tools - including broadcast-quality video, digital media, mobile platforms and social networking - to help teachers inspire higher levels of students' reading, writing, critical thinking, academic discourse and peer-to-peer collaboration. Based in Sonoma, Calif., BookheadEd is comprised of educators and experts who believe "Together we're smarter." To learn more about BookheadEd Learning and its StudySync educational platform, visit www.studysync.com.

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