Mountain View, Calif. (June 28, 2010) – Shmoop (www.shmoop.com), a publisher of digital resources that make learning fun and relevant for students, today announced its public beta test of Shmoop Economics. Shmoop Economics is a free online resource whose writers are master teachers from Stanford and UC Berkeley Ph.D. programs. Shmoop Economics uses humor, current events, pop culture references, and games to capture student interest.

Shmoop introduces its first series of role-playing games, where students are thrown in the hot seat as a policymaker or business leader facing tough decisions. By choosing the right path through a game, students can add a Notch – a short cartoon vignette – to their collection of life experiences on their Shmoop Profile.

“As the global economy and labor markets become increasingly complex, teaching economic literacy can no longer be an afterthought for high schools and colleges,” said Ellen Siminoff, CEO of Shmoop. “Shmoop wants to help build a better prepared 21st century workforce by making economics more fun and interesting for students.”

Shmoop Makes Economics Fun & Current:

• Play Games, Add Notches: In one of nine new role-playing adventures, students put on President Obama’s shoes and tackle tough economic policy decisions. Should you implement cap-and-trade on carbon emissions? Some decisions will tick off the environmentalists. Some will drive industry lobbyists up the wall. Find the right balance and add a Notch – a cartoon that chalks up your experience – to your Shmoop Profile.
• Current Events: Real-world issues help deliver a more meaningful intellectual and emotional punch. Shmoop discusses layoffs, challenges that teens face in the changing labor market, tariffs on sneakers, and what the national debt will mean to young generations of students as they grow up.
• Pop Culture & Music: Sing it loud. Key concepts in Shmoop Economics are illustrated with song. What better to drive home the concept of opportunity costs than the post-punk classic “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by The Clash?

Shmoop Economics Beta is now open at: www.shmoop.com/economics/.

More Information

Learn more about Shmoop at: www.shmoop.com.

About Shmoop

Shmoop publishes digital resources that make learning fun and relevant for students. Shmoop content is written by master teachers and Ph.D. students from Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and other top universities. Shmoop Learning Guides and Teacher’s Editions balance a fun, approachable style with academically rigorous materials to help students understand how subjects relate to their daily lives. Shmoop offers more than 3,000 titles across the Web, iPhone, Android devices, Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader. The company was an Official Honoree in the 2009 and 2010 Webby Awards and named “Best of the Internet” by PC Magazine. Launched in 2008, Shmoop is headquartered in a Labradoodle-patrolled office in Mountain View, Calif.

Contacts

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

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