Washington, D.C. and Newton, Mass. (June 30, 2008) – Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), a global nonprofit research organization known for its teaching tools and professional development, today announced that it will team up with Curriki, an online community for creating and sharing open source K-12 curricula. To start, Curriki will make available EDC’s standards-based middle-grades algebra course, allowing teachers to not only access the free curricula, but to add to it or adapt it for use in their classrooms.

Starting today, educators will be able to use EDC’s online mathematics course Building Algebraic Thinking in the Middle Grades on the Curriki site (www.curriki.org). The course, specifically designed to build the expertise of teachers at the middle level, focuses on the algebraic concepts of patterns and functions. It was designed and developed by mathematics and curriculum specialists at EDC and funded by the National Science Foundation as part of a research initiative to explore the comparative benefits of online professional development.

“Our collaboration with Curriki will allow EDC to make more widely available our research-based curricula and programs in mathematics, science, literacy, and other areas,” said EDC President and CEO Luther Luedtke. “We’re excited to join with Curriki to further expand the use of our materials to educators around the country and around the world,” Luedtke said.

In addition to facilitating the sharing of courses in the United States, EDC and Curriki are also working together internationally on initiatives with the goal of greatly expanding access to high-quality research-based educational content. Launch dates for initiatives involving the Ministries of Education in Indonesia, India, Yemen, Senegal, and Mali are expected later this year.

“We’re so pleased to join with EDC, an organization known for its high-quality materials and its knowledge of the realities of the classroom,” said Curriki Executive Director Dr. Barbara “Bobbi” Kurshan. “Working with our resource partners, we are breaking down the barriers of the Education Divide – the gap between those who have access to high-quality education and those who do not.”

More Information

To access EDC’s open source math curricula, or to learn more about the online learning resources provided by Curriki, visit www.curriki.org.

About EDC

Education Development Center, Inc. is one of the world’s leading nonprofit education and health research organizations. EDC brings researchers and practitioners together to advance learning and healthy development for individuals of all ages and institutions of all types. Celebrating its 50th year, EDC creates and manages more than 300 projects in 35 countries. Visit www.edc.org.

About Curriki

Curriki, the Global Education & Learning Community, is a nonprofit social entrepreneurship organization dedicated to improving education by empowering teachers, students and parents with universal access to free and Open Source Curricula. Curriki is building the first and only Internet site for a complete course of instruction and assessment for K-12. The organization will create a world-class educational environment that is community developed and supported. Founded by Sun Microsystems in 2004, Curriki now operates as an independent nonprofit.

Contacts

Curriki
Peter Levy
914-740-5505
plevy at curriki dot org
www.curriki.org

EDC
Alison Cohen
617-618-2109
acohen at edc dot com
www.edc.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Emily Embury
608-839-9800
emily at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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