Entire Arkansas school system given access to Britannica’s online education suite

Arkansas students are starting the school year with a dynamic suite of high-quality digital resources from Britannica Digital Learning, courtesy of the Arkansas Department of Education.

Under a new licensing agreement by the department, every school, teacher and student in the state-as well as their families-have unlimited access to five of Britannica’s major online education services for study, homework help, classroom lessons and projects, research, math practice, reading and other activities. The program covers all public elementary, middle and high schools, each of which will receive these products:

• Britannica Online School Edition: A vast resource of knowledge, research and information, including the Encyclopaedia Britannica, that, among other things, supports Common Core State Standards and provides informational texts for all subjects, as well as student research and teacher lesson planning.
• Image Quest: Millions of easy-to-use, high-quality images from more than 50 international collections, including Dorling Kindersley, Getty, Britannica and National Geographic. Images are rights-cleared for educational use, so students and teachers are free to use them for school projects.
• Pathways: Science: An inquiry-based, collaborative classroom program designed to overcome scientific misconceptions.
• SmartMath Practice: a fun and adaptive math practice program for grades K-8.
• 21st Century Explorer: an information and research collection for struggling readers in middle school and high school.

The Britannica products are designed to promote academic success and have a wide range of uses in the classroom, in the library or media center, and at home. The Web-based services are available not only in school, but to students, teachers and their families at home or anywhere they have Internet access 24/7.  The sites can be accessed from PCs, laptops and mobile devices in general, including tablets and smartphones.

“The Department of Education has proven its commitment to student achievement and academic excellence in Arkansas,” said Michael Ross, a senior vice president at Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. and general manager of Britannica Digital Learning. “These services, taken together, give students and teachers a rich set of resources for exploring and studying virtually any subject.”