Governor Corbett Unveils New, Web-Based Resource for Pennsylvania’s Students, Teachers, and Parents

| August 20, 2014

GLEN MILLS, Pa. – Governor Tom Corbett yesterday was joined by lawmakers, superintendents, teachers, higher education representatives and education partners at Garnet Valley School District, Delaware County, to launch Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U – a collection of free, online, educational resources.

Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U brings state standards-aligned resources to the world’s largest online catalog of free educational content that helps educators create courses, including lectures, assignments, books, quizzes and syllabi, and offer them to millions of iOS users.

“This initiative, which is the culmination of nearly a year of work among various education partners, is designed to provide middle and high school students, parents and teachers with access to no-cost, high-quality, state standards-aligned resources to increase student achievement,” Gov. Corbett said. “I want to thank all of the educators as well as the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals and the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development for their contributions to this project, and their continued commitment to students.”

Pennsylvania Learns is one of several initiatives Governor Corbett has focused on to ensure students are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful in the workforce, postsecondary education and the military.

For the last three years, Governor Corbett’s Ready to Learn education agenda has transformed the state’s education system. Through targeted initiatives, the Governor has increased accountability and transparency of public schools, infused stronger educational resources into classrooms and focused financial resources on supporting all students. Pennsylvania Learns is Governor Corbett’s commitment to put high-quality educational resources at students’ fingertips.

The first phase of Pennsylvania Learns, launched yesterday on iTunes U, includes course resources for grades 6-8 in math, algebra I, biology, and grades 9-12 in English language arts.

“As schools continue to shift to more digital-based classroom instruction and course materials, Pennsylvania Learns provides teachers with additional resources to help students achieve,” said Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq. “As we raise the academic bar, we must ensure that high-quality, aligned materials are available to students and teachers. Pennsylvania Learns is not just a repository, but rather and online, on-demand network that allows students, teachers and parents to access the tools they need, whenever they need them.”

Sixty educators from school districts, intermediate units, and postsecondary education institutions are working with the department in course and content development. Pennsylvania Learns on iTunes U will make it easy for teachers to find and include high-quality digital content from the App Store, iBook Store, and iTunes Store as well as videos and other web-based sources that align with Pennsylvania’s standards.

“Along with the collaboration and creativity between the educators working on this project, the best part about this work was our constant and consistent focus on Pennsylvania’s students,” said Anthony Gabriele, curriculum supervisor at Garnet Valley School District. “While collecting the resources and building the courses, we constantly asked: ‘What resources and tools would engage our students? What skills and takeaways would empower our students? How will this tool best help our teachers reach each and every student in his or her classroom?’”

The Department of Education is continuing to work with Pennsylvania educators to provide additional course resources through Pennsylvania Learns in the future.

Note: Pennsylvania Learns can be accessed by visiting the iTunes Store and searching for “Pennsylvania Learns.”


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