he book Corduroy, celebrating its 40th anniversary, took center stage in Jumpstart’s third annual Read for the Record campaign on Oct. 2. With the help of Pearson volunteers across the country, the campaign broke the record for the number of people reading the same book on the same day in the U.S.. An early morning reading with NBC’s TODAY show featured a special appearance from First Lady Laura Bush, and other participating celebrities included Greg Kinnear, Mary-Louise Parker, Jumpstart Honorary Spokesperson LL Cool J, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Jon Scieszka, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. And of course the little bear who lost his button. Check out the following video and Bear with us…

or a number of years, access to online classes has been available via desktop computers or laptops. Now, students who are part of the Louisiana Community & Technical College System’s (LCTS) 47 campuses can add their Blackberry Curves to the mix. Working with Pearson, LCTS this month began offering the nation’s first completely customized online learning program that provides access to course materials through that AT&T phone. The platform, managed by eCollege, is designed to help address the state’s workforce shortage - currently 90,000 vacancies - and will help many busy, working adults who don’t have the time and/or flexibility to attend traditional classes.  Take a look…

earson has gone directly to the source to find out what students on campus want. Through the Pearson Student Advisory Board, currently in its second year, a diverse group of college students collaborates with company executives to provide insight into the products and services students need to achieve academic success. “The goal is to make sure we forge a really good connection between our environment and our world, and the culture and world of our students,” says Sandi Kirshner, Chief Marketing Officer, Pearson Higher Education. Several projects emerged from the Board’s initial year, including a student digital archive to house artwork and photos designed for use in Pearson products, and the Student Activity Fund, which supports “Green” programs on campus.

eachers are turning to Pearson’s NovaNet to help reverse the high school dropout rate, which is currently reaching 30 percent. An online program that complements individual student’s learning styles, NovaNet helps them to recover the credits they need to graduate on time. With just an Internet connection, students are able to work at their own pace and complete courses that previously eluded them in traditional classroom settings. Both students and teachers are seeing a difference in students’ level of engagement and performance as they realize their full, but previously hidden, potential. But don’t take our word for it…

he new edition of Miller & Levine Biology is not your mother’s science program. Pearson’s best-selling high school biology curriculum combines hip, engaging resources with more than a decade of proven academic success. New to this edition are the “ecogeeks,” a team of biologists in the field who have created real-world, fast-paced videos connected to topics presented in the textbook. In conjunction with the new website/digital center, www.biology.com, Miller & Levine Biology puts today’s students on the path to 21st century success.  Right this way for ecogeek viewing…

he historic inauguration of Barack Obama is a timely reminder of the importance of our right to vote. Last fall, more than five million students from across the U.S. participated in the nation’s oldest, largest, and most successful voter-education project, The National Student/Parent Mock Election, for which the Pearson Foundation served as a partner. Students got into the political spirit by holding debates, hanging posters, and even taking to the airwaves to announce the results. Regardless of who they voted for, participating in the Mock Election helped students discover what it means to be an American citizen. Tune in and join the campaign trail…

he Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta is one of the more than 10,000 schools in 49 states using PowerSchool, the fastest growing, most widely used student information system. This innovative software program provides real-time access to student information, and creates a collaborative environment for parents, teachers, and students to work together. “One of the things we’re known for is being a cutting-edge school,” says Kim Bearden, Co-founder and Executive Director at Ron Clark. “Out of all the programs out there, PowerSchool was the one we most wanted to have in our school, and we are very, very pleased with that decision.” See what others at the school and in the community are saying…

ong-term memory, not the regurgitation of information, is the key to successful education, says Pearson’s Judy Boehmer, an expert on brain function. Rather than simply overload students with facts and figures, educators need to understand more completely how the brain processes information, and teach in a way that helps students learn for the long-term. Challenging teachers at the annual midwinter conference of the Texas Association of School Administrators, Boehmer said that “if we want the children to really understand the meaning of what teachers are teaching, we have got to give them time to consolidate that learning.” Watch the coverage from Austin’s KXAN, and see what you remember…

hat would you call a new project that gives books to needy children? That’s right: We Give Books (you guessed!). Cooked up by The Pearson Foundation and Penguin, here’s how it works: Pearson employees can test the prototype at www.wegivebooks.com (love that name) read on the site (with a child, if possible), and those reading efforts are converted to book donations to a range of not-for-profits working in the field of literacy including Jumpstart, Room to Read, and United Through Reading. Although it will become public, right now the project is for Pearson employees only.

Here’s how to participate.  Currently, for every 50 pages you read, you earn one book for the charity(s) you select. Feel free to come back as many times as you want to, and submit your comments via the survey:

1. Click on or copy/paste www.wegivebooks.com into an Internet browser. Doing so should result in a log on box popping up.
2. Enter username pearsonus and password pilot. This should get you in to the “We Give Books” website.
3. Explore the website and click on the graphic or register link in the center of the homepage to get into the Book Garden reading experience.
4. Register for the reading experience and start reading.
5. Take the survey via one of the links on the We Give Books website.

Since we are testing the program out on you for the next few weeks, please don’t share the URL or news of this program outside the company for now.