In an interview with the OET, Sunil shared how Age of Learning is partnering with schools to engage in evidence-building across the different levels of ESSA-aligned evidence. Focusing on our adaptive, personalized math program My Math Academy, the case study dives into the steps Age of Learning took to validate and refine its curriculum, ensuring that every lesson aligns with rigorous academic standards. By continuously gathering and analyzing data, we’ve been able to tailor this program to better fit the needs of individual learners, from identifying gaps in understanding to pinpointing the most effective teaching techniques. Our dedication to these processes is a testament to our belief in the importance of ongoing assessment and iteration.

But it’s not just about the data; it’s about the impact on the lives of students. Time and again, we have seen the transformation that occurs when children are equipped with the right tools and resources. They not only achieve academically but also grow in confidence and self-belief. This is the true essence of what Age of Learning strives for—empowering young minds to believe in themselves, embrace challenges, and realize their full potential. Our partnerships with schools, combined with our unwavering commitment to quality and innovation, are the driving forces behind these transformations.

Looking ahead, we are more inspired than ever to continue our work, expand our reach, and positively impact even more students around the globe. We know a student’s learning journey is constantly evolving, and we are committed to being there every step of the way, ensuring children everywhere have access to the best educational tools and resources.

For an in-depth look into our evidence-building practices and the collaboration between Age of Learning and the OET, check out the full case study here. Join us in celebrating the transformative power of education and the potential it unlocks in every child!

The post Age of Learning’s Commitment to Evidence-Based Education: A Case Study Collaboration with the Department of Education Office of Educational Technology first appeared on Age of Learning.

Our latest randomized control trial evaluated the effectiveness of our ABCmouse English program. This self-guided digital learning program was designed by our team of second language acquisition (SLA) researchers, applied linguists, teachers, curriculum specialists, and game developers at Age of Learning to help young learners develop English language skills.

Age of Learning researchers, led by the company’s Director of Efficacy Research and Evaluation Hee Jin Bang, designed the study and then partnered with OneLeap, a design and research consultancy in China, to conduct the study with 122 Chinese children (ages 5-6) and their parents in Hangzhou, China. The primary goal was to understand how effective ABCmouse English was in helping Chinese children develop English language skills.

Results of the trial—which were published in the peer-reviewed CALICO Journal, as well as in Age of Learning Research Briefs in English and Simplified Chinese—showed that beginner English language learners who used ABCmouse English for only ~15–20 minutes daily (an average of 30 hours over 6 months) improved their overall English language skills nearly threefold compared to children in a control group.

Use of ABCmouse English also led to statistically significant improvements across a range of specific language skills, such as vocabulary identification, listening for meaning, speech production, conversation, and pronunciation.

Parents of the children using ABCmouse English reported that their kids developed increased levels of confidence, interest, and motivation to learn English, which are all prerequisites for learning.  Additionally, they viewed the program as an effective—and cost-efficient—way to help kids get an early start in English language learning.

For the Age of Learning team behind ABCmouse English, this study also validates the research-based approach—specifically second language acquisition research—they adopted in creating the program.

“Based on the latest research, we designed ABCmouse English to include activities and experiences that engage young learners in familiar contexts, tasks that enable learners to construct knowledge through trial and error, and developmentally appropriate implicit and explicit corrective feedback delivered at the right time,” says head of efficacy research Hee Jin Bang. “We were very pleased to see evidence from this study supporting our belief that a research-informed digital tool can be highly effective in building English language skills of young foreign language speakers, and we are additionally optimistic that these findings can inform other education technology developers seeking to create effective learning resources.”

The post New Research: ABCmouse English Shown to Be Highly Effective in Helping Young Chinese Children Learn English first appeared on Age of Learning.

We’ve heard from many of the millions of ABCmouse parents and teachers about the positive impact ABCmouse has on young learners’ academic skills and love of learning. But it’s not just anecdotal. A dozen research studies, including several large-scale randomized controlled trials conducted by leading education researchers, show that ABCmouse accelerates learning and helps children make significant gains in early literacy and math skills with as little as 30 minutes of usage per week.

Across the globe, children are learning to count, understand their letters, and become strong readers on ABCmouse. And, just as importantly, they are having fun! In ABCmouse they can explore the natural world, keep dinosaurs and unicorns as pets, race cars, solve puzzles, and read adventures tailored for their age and interests. Through play, they do some serious learning!

More than 4 billion learning activities completed is an exciting milestone. But we won’t stop here—we are committed to continuing to expand, enhance, and increase access to our educational programs. ABCmouse is available to families on a low-cost subscription basis and is free in classrooms, public libraries, public housing authorities, and other community centers as part of our Education Access Initiatives. These initiatives have helped educate more than 6 million children across all 50 states, at no cost to families, teachers, or libraries.

If educating one child can make a difference to her and all the people she will influence throughout her life, imagine what could happen if every child had that opportunity. At Age of Learning, we are committed to making that a reality, one book, game, and puzzle at a time.

The post 18 Million Learners, Infinite Possibilities first appeared on Age of Learning.

That’s an average of almost 200 learning activities each for the more than 10 million children who have enjoyed and learned from ABCmouse since it launched in November 2010.

These are more than just big numbers. Research shows that the more ABCmouse learning activities children complete, the greater the educational impact. That’s because every learning activity is designed to achieve specific curriculum objectives that contribute to a strong academic foundation for every child.

And those two billion learning activities include hundreds of millions of books read, hundreds of millions of games played, puzzles solved, art activities completed, and videos watched.

The future looks bright at Age of Learning. It was just 18 months ago that Age of Learning founder and Chairman Doug Dohring announced in this post that we reached one billion activities, a milestone that took five years to achieve. And we’re accelerating our work to help educate children everywhere, including expanding our curriculum to higher grade levels; developing new products and services to serve schools in the U.S. and globally; and growing our Education Access Initiatives to provide ABCmouse at no cost to teachers and community institutions such as libraries, Head Start programs, and community centers.

The post Celebrating Our 2nd Billion first appeared on Age of Learning.

Read the case study…

The post ABCmouse.com Case Study: Using Early Learning Technology to Prepare Head Start Families for Kindergarten first appeared on Age of Learning.

Why is that worth noting? Because it was the 1,000,000,000^th learning activity completed on ABCmouse.com. Yes, that’s one billion with a b.

That’s a big number, but what’s most important is what it represents. Ever since we launched ABCmouse.com, our goal has been to help children learn. More specifically, we set out to “help children build a strong foundation for future academic success.” And our commitment to that goal is stronger than ever—we are hard at work expanding our curriculum and creating new ways to “Bring Learning to Life” for children throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Providing highly engaging, curriculum-focused learning resources to millions of children, families, and teachers is important, but even more important is the impact these resources are having.

We’re reminded of this every day through the sheer volume of feedback messages that we receive from parents and educators—more than one million to date. More formally, the independent research studies we’ve commissioned show that both teachers using ABCmouse.com in classrooms, and families using ABCmouse.com at home, are seeing children improve not only in academic readiness, but also in motivation, engagement and self-confidence.

Furthermore, large-scale research studies assessing the effectiveness of ABCmouse.com have concluded that ABCmouse.com accelerates learning and helps children make significant gains in phonics, vocabulary, literacy and numeracy. In one such study, children who had regularly used ABCmouse.com scored more than 50 percent higher on assessments of early reading and math skills than children who had just subscribed.

That’s what the one billion milestone is really about—positive impact on a large scale.

Of course, reaching this milestone represents a considerable effort from our ever-expanding Age of Learning team of professionals. We could never have achieved it without the dedication of our expert Curriculum Board, our highly talented visual artists, designers, writers, editors, composers, musicians, voice-over artists, producers and engineers, not to mention our capable management team. I thank them all for their steadfast commitment to achieving our goals.

Now, on to the next billion!

The post 1 Billion and Counting  first appeared on Age of Learning.

Read the case study…

The post ABCmouse.com Case Study: An Effective Digital Learning Resource Can Significantly Improve Motivation, Engagement, and Self-Confidence first appeared on Age of Learning.

About ABCmouse.com

Designed for children ages 2 to 6+ in collaboration with nationally recognized early learning experts, ABCmouse.com offers a comprehensive, supplementary curriculum that includes many thousands of learning activities spanning the subject areas of language, reading, mathematics, science, social studies, and health, with art and music. Activities include books, animated instructional presentations, games, puzzles, songs, music videos, and art activities, along with many rich site features, such as the Classroom, Zoo, Farm, and Basics area, that help develop vocabulary, foundational skills in language arts and mathematics, and general knowledge.

ABCmouse.com is available on computers, tablets, and smartphones as a low-cost subscription for families, and is provided at no cost to educators and various community programs through Age of Learning’s unique Education Access Initiatives. More than 45,000 educators actively use ABCmouse.com in their classrooms.

South Florida

A study of ABCmouse.com in South Florida included more than 320 students in 11 different schools. During the first phase of the study, the treatment group had full access to ABCmouse.com and the control group did not.

All children were assessed on foundational literacy and math skills during the study, using the same assessment instrument. Among the key findings: In the study’s first 8 weeks, children using ABCmouse.com significantly accelerated their learning of key literacy and math skills. It took children in the control group, who were not using ABCmouse.com, an average of 16 to 24 weeks to make the same progress.

San Antonio, Texas

In San Antonio, Texas, a nationally recognized education research organization designed and implemented a study of ABCmouse.com. This study included more than 1,900 participating children, evenly distributed among control and treatment groups. These children represented multiple school districts and were assessed with a variety of standard assessments.

Researchers found that children using ABCmouse.com made significant gains compared to children in the control group on a range of key early reading and math skills, including phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, letter knowledge, counting sets, numeral knowledge, shape discrimination, and arithmetic operations.

Nationwide

A third independent study commissioned by Age of Learning involved more than 4,500 ABCmouse.com subscribers using the curriculum at home. This study compared knowledge and skills of children who had completed a number of ABCmouse.com learning activities in varying periods of time with children of the same age who had just subscribed to ABCmouse.com but had not yet begun using the curriculum. In this study, children were measured on a range of academic skills through a guided online assessment developed by independent assessment experts.

Following the assessments, researchers found that children who used ABCmouse.com scored significantly higher on several key academic skills than peers who had not used the curriculum. On a number of these skills, including letter identification, phonemic awareness, sight word recognition, number identification, and counting, children with regular usage scored more than 50% higher than peers in the comparison group who had just subscribed.

Summary of Study Findings

These studies found that:

• ABCmouse.com accelerates learning, with children developing early literacy and math skills significantly faster as a result of using the curriculum.
• ABCmouse.com helps children make significant gains in phonics, vocabulary, literacy, and other reading skills, as well as numeracy and other key math skills.
• Children who regularly use ABCmouse.com at home score more than 50% higher on several reading and math skills—on some skills, more than 80% higher—than peers who have not yet used the curriculum.

We will be highlighting more results from research on ABCmouse.com in the months ahead.

The post Age of Learning Research Highlights – Three Large-Scale Studies Assess the Effectiveness of ABCmouse.com first appeared on Age of Learning.

Read the case study…

The post ABCmouse.com Case Study: Differentiating Instruction and Engaging Families with Technology first appeared on Age of Learning.