Oakland, Calif. — September 3, 2009 — Scientific Learning [1] (NASDAQ:SCIL), creators of the Fast ForWord® [2] family of products, today announced the fall line-up of speakers for “The New Science of Learning: Change the Way Students Learn [3]” webinar series. Featuring renowned neuroscientists, authors and educators, the series is designed to help K-12 educators understand how the science of “brain plasticity [4]” can inform classroom instruction and empower children to gain success in learning and in life.
“The New Science of Learning” series begins Thursday, Sept. 24 with a session titled, “Change the Way Students Learn,” presented by Dr. William Jenkins [5]. A co-founder of Scientific Learning Corp., Dr. Jenkins is an expert in learning-based brain plasticity, behavioral algorithms, and psychophysical methods, as well as multimedia and Internet technology. He joined the company at inception from a position as an associate professor at the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at the University of California San Francisco.
In the second webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 30, Michael Horn, co-author of “DISRUPTING CLASS: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns,” will lead a discussion on the theory of disruptive innovation. It will include his thoughts on how online learning is disrupting our notion of a classroom and how it offers the possibility of moving toward a student-centric learning system that is much more focused on different people’s distinct learning needs.
“Our understanding of how people’s brains work and learn has improved vastly through neuroscience and cognitive science research. This research is at the core of the Fast ForWord family of products, and it holds the potential of helping millions of students overcome obstacles to their success,” said Andy Myers, president and CEO of Scientific Learning. “By combining scientific expertise with appropriate, effective technologies, Scientific Learning is leading the way to a pedagogical change in support of improved student learning. We are pleased to bring this information to educators through the webinar series and its esteemed speakers.”
Other presenters in the series include David Boulton [6], a learning activist and director of the Children of the Code Project [7]; Carmyn Neeley, executive director of the Foundation for the Education of Young Women [8]; Kathleen Leos, CEO of the Global Institute for Language & Literacy Development [9]; and Ana Bishop [10], a specialist in the integration of technology into K-12 bilingual and ESL curriculum. Bishop is the former unit manager for professional development for the Office of Instructional Technology of the New York City Department of Education, and the former chairperson for the National Association for Bilingual Education.
The webinars are free of charge but pre-registration is required. For more information on dates and times or to register, visit http://info.scilearn.com/forms/Webinars2009 [11].
About Scientific Learning Corp.
Scientific Learning creates educational software that accelerates learning by improving the processing efficiency of the brain. Based on more than 30 years of neuroscience and cognitive research, the Fast ForWord® family of products provides struggling readers with computer-delivered exercises that build the cognitive skills required to read and learn effectively. Scientific Learning Reading Assistant™ combines advanced speech recognition technology with scientifically-based courseware to help students strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to become proficient, life-long readers. The efficacy of the products has been established by more than 550 research studies and publications. For more information, visit www.scientificlearning.com [12] or call toll-free 888-358-0212.