This first-of-its-kind research and innovation incubator, led by Boston Children’s Hospital pediatrician and Harvard professor Dr. Michael Rich, is bringing together science-based solutions and information about the effects of digital technology on our brains, bodies, and behaviors.

The Digital Wellness Lab and its partners are creating the system necessary to produce and sustain a continuous stream of science-based information focused on the digital wellness of individuals and society. Their work will focus on

• Researching how the interactive media technologies we use and the way we use them affect human development and our physical, mental and social health.
• Educating and empowering supporters, from children and parents to tech innovators, content producers to clinicians, educators to policymakers, with evidence-based guidance, living strategies, tools, and best practices for media and technology use that promote wellness and healthy human development.
• Understanding, characterizing, preventing and treating media use-related disorders, developing clinical protocols to recognize and respond to problematic interactive media use, tools for educators, and strategies for parents caring for children in a digital age.
• Innovating in synergy with technology developers, content creators and educators to shape a digital environment that supports the wellness of children, adolescents and adults.

The Digital Wellness Lab released its comprehensive and authoritative 2021 Family Digital Wellness Guide today. This research-based resource was created to address parents’ and caregivers’ concerns, to clarify confusion, and to empower families to be actively involved in their children’s digital lives at every stage of development. The Digital Wellness Lab conducted a pulse survey to measure how the pandemic lockdown year has affected kids’, parents’ and families’ digital behaviors and wellness. The results of this national survey, also launched in a report today, will serve to guide the Lab’s efforts in its inaugural year.

We look forward to our ongoing collaboration with and support of the Digital Wellness Lab and the important work they are doing.

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The announcement of this partnership between Age of Learning and the Florida House of Representatives is one of the highlights of Celebrate Literacy Week, Florida! and the New Worlds Reading Initiative. The initiative is designed to help improve literacy rates through Florida’s first-ever statewide book delivery and parental-engagement program.

Age of Learning’s partnership offers every Florida family FREE access, through Dec. 31, 2021, to a comprehensive digital library of books at ReadingIQ.com/NewWorlds.

Literacy Week and the New Worlds Reading Initiative are meant to highlight how essential it is for children to have access to books to foster a lifelong passion for learning and put them on a path to success. Currently, only 47 percent of Florida’s students beginning elementary school are academically prepared for kindergarten, and only 43 percent of the state’s 3rd grade students are reading at grade level based on statewide assessments. These 3^rd grade reading struggles lead to negative long term educational outcomes: 88 percent of students who do not graduate from high school struggled with reading in 3rd grade. The free access to books offered to Florida families by Age of Learning through our ReadingIQ digital library is expected to help improve literacy rates in the state.

“Age of Learning is excited to support the New Worlds Reading Initiative through our ReadingIQ program,” said Age of Learning CEO Paul Candland.  “The easy-to-access ReadingIQ platform will immediately provide Florida’s children with thousands of high-quality titles from popular publishers that help them build and grow a love of reading, all while improving comprehension and literacy. This resource will also allow parents to develop a better understanding of their children’s current reading level and progress through the assessment feature of ReadingIQ, while ensuring each child has access to books that match his or her interests and level.”

Florida families can sign up for free access our comprehensive digital library at ReadReadingIQ.com/NewWorlds.

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Adventure Academy

Our partnership with HMH brings an outstanding collection of classic, award-winning children’s titles, some of which include:

• Jumanji and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• Several Curious George^® titles by H.A. Rey
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
• The Napping House by Audrey Wood
• Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Our recent nationwide survey of 1,000 teachers and 1,000 parents found that lack of access to high-quality books is a major challenge for children 12 and under, and that expanding availability is critical to improving reading skills. Students with access to both a traditional and digital library are 53% more likely to be reading above grade level, and exposure to a significant variety and volume of books fosters a lifelong love of reading. Guided by these findings and our team of literacy development experts, Age of Learning continues to expand our educational programs with quality children’s literature and non-fiction.

“Increasing children’s access to books that engage, inspire, and educate is fundamental to our mission,” said Doug Dohring, founder and CEO of Age of Learning. “Partnering with HMH to bring more award-winning and classic books to ReadingIQ, ABCmouse, and Adventure Academy will provide more opportunities for children to experience the joys and benefits of reading in our educational offerings.”

Our award-winning ReadingIQ platform recently added Reading Level Assessments, developed by the assessment team here at Age of Learning, in cooperation with leading education and assessment research organization SRI International, to seamlessly match learners with books at the appropriate reading level. ReadingIQ includes three widely used book leveling systems—Accelerated Reader^®, Lexile^®, and Guided Reading—and all books in the HMH collection are assigned a reading level. Many HMH titles are also professionally voiced to support engagement and comprehension among pre-readers and developing readers.

Visit www.ReadingIQ.com, www.ABCmouse.com, and www.AdventureAcademy.com to learn more about Age of Learning’s educational programs, or download the apps via Apple’s App Store or Google Play. All programs are available for families on a low-cost subscription basis.

The post Age of Learning Announces Partnership with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Bringing Large Collection of Award-Winning and Classic Titles to ReadingIQ, ABCmouse, and Adventure Academy first appeared on Age of Learning.