Wireless handhelds are practical, versatile tools for digital differentiated instruction

Pembroke Pines, Fla. - Mar. 22, 2006 - "Formative assessments" and "interactivity" have become key words in educators' quest for effective instruction. Debuting at the 2006 Florida Educational Technology Conference, LearningSoft's new Indigo Learning System incorporates both concepts via a wireless network and handheld devices that deliver fluid assessment and powerful student computing for the K-12 classroom.

The handheld devices are comfortable to use and feature a thumb keyboard, 90 MHz ARM processor, high-resolution gray screen, integrated wireless networking, and stereo sound. Students use the devices to receive and complete individualized, standards-aligned assessments, and the results are automatically sent to a teacher's computer to serve as immediate reviews of student progress or forecasts of student scores on state tests.

According to David Cole, CEO of LearningSoft, "In addition to providing formative assessment, the devices function as interactive instructional content players, e-book readers, browsers for teacher-specified web sites, and text editors for light composition such as journal writing. Teachers can use Indigo to obtain an ongoing picture of each student's academic progress, adapt curriculum content to individual learning styles, interests and achievement levels, and further personalize instruction through electronic messages to specific student."

LearningSoft plans to add to Indigo's rich-media content through partnerships with other educational companies. The additional instructional content will be integrated into the Indigo standards-based content browser and presented seamlessly with the assessment content. "We intend to leverage Indigo's full capabilities for instruction that students can use inside or outside of the classroom," said Cole.

Before the Indigo Learning System's official debut, LearningSoft partnered with the Hawaii State Department of Education and the Jacoby Group of Companies in a pilot project that will place the wireless assessment devices in the hands of 1,000 Hawaii students.

Pricing and Availability
Available August 1, 2006, the Indigo Learning introductory price of $3,500* is for a 24-unit classroom set, including: 24 student devices w/ chargers, WiFi access point and cables, Indigo Classroom Manager with assessment wizard, performance reporting and more than 35,000 state-standard-aligned assessment items. For more information, visit www.learningsoft.net or call 1-866-550-3922.

About LearningSoft
LearningSoft, a member of the Jacoby Group of Companies, is a hand-held computing and assessment company focusing on affordable technologies for schools. Its Indigo Learning System is a unique one-to-one computing platform offering hand-held computers along with standards-based curricula that allow educators to develop fluid assessments that are available instantly. The system also provides immediate feedback to educators to affect instruction and student comprehension and success. For more information visit www.learningsoft.net.

About the Jacoby Group of Companies
The Jacoby Group of Companies is committed to investing in the future of the communities in which it does business.

Our approach leverages the diverse core competencies of the group; melding education with research, energy and real estate to develop opportunities that empower today's and future generations. Current projects are providing public education outreach and technology to help school children succeed academically.

Supporting research in subjects as diverse as aquaculture, computational intelligence, marine biology, and energy, we recognize that findings in these fields not only advance our knowledge, but they can synergize to benefit the community as a whole.

* Does NOT require a projector to display assessment items or illustrations.