ST. PAUL, MN--(Marketwired - Jun 8, 2017) -  EMC School (EMC), a leading content provider of language learning educational solutions, today announced the launch of Mirrors & Windows for Passport, its innovative online teaching and learning environment specifically designed for English Language Arts.

EMC's Mirrors & Windows curriculum aligns with College and Career Readiness standards and fully supports all ELA strands in reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary. Through Passport, teachers will have access to between 120 and 200 reading selections and corresponding activities at each grade level from 6 through 12. The diverse range includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and folk literature.

"Passport brings innovative technologies that reflect how today's students communicate and learn, and motivates them to interact with the curriculum beyond reading selections and worksheets," said Mick Demakos, division president of EMC School. "We originally introduced Passport for world language learning in 2014 and we're thrilled to build upon that success with our expansion into ELA. M&W for Passport provides a forward-thinking, holistic approach to learning that is reshaping the modern classroom."

Differentiated Learning via Passport
Mirrors & Windows for Passport combines a variety of educational, social, and life skills that will help students with college and career readiness. Through the program, students can access a variety of relevant and topical information about assignments, produce digital assets such as videos, submit and receive feedback on their work, and communicate with their teacher.

For teachers, Passport offers an easy way to create assignments and track student progress. The technology is intuitive and easy to use, incorporating platforms and interfaces already familiar to today's digital user, which help reduce the learning curve and leave more time for instruction and learning. For example, with Flipgrid, a video collaboration tool integrated into the Passport environment, teachers can introduce a safe and secure social media engagement tool into the ELA classroom.

Teachers can follow the blended learning course as it was designed or access material from other grade levels for true differentiated instruction. Because Passport is a fully digital program, teachers can easily collaborate to create a vertically aligned progression from EMC's extensive library. Levels are tagged behind the scenes, allowing educators to ensure their curriculum is meeting academic standards.

"Nearly 20 percent of high school graduates aren't able to read proficiently¹ and we believe part of the problem is that every child in a classroom is given content at the same reading level," said Brenda Owens, managing editor and product manager at EMC. "Our goal is to provide opportunities for teachers to personalize the learning process beyond a handful of activities and to enable students to identify with literature at their level so they can reflect on what that means for themselves in their communities and extend that understanding to others in the world."

Mirrors & Windows for Passport features a gradual release of responsibility to the student. For example, there are three different levels of reading support, from guided reading to directed reading to independent reading, within each unit. In addition, the curriculum includes comprehensive, project-based college and career readiness modules, such as resume writing and interviewing. Students are able to complete their tasks online and receive immediate feedback, including online writing evaluations.

Passport is fully supported on any computer or mobile device. If students do not have access to the Internet at home, apps are available for them to download materials while they are still at school and later upload their work when they return. All materials are available digitally as well as in print formats.

About Passport
The Passport technology is the outcome of a partnership between EMC School and the University of Minnesota's Institute for Design Innovation (IDI). It blends IDI's research-based language learning platforms with EMC's instructional content aligned with college and career readiness standards. EMC first released Passport for world language learning in 2014. As it grew from a dozen early adopters to serving more than 250,000 students this year, Passport's growth and success inspired the EMC team to develop M&W for Passport. The Program also includes reading selections and activities for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners as well as translations for students beginning to learn English.

About EMC School
EMC School is a recognized leader in world language solutions in classrooms throughout the nation. Founded in 1954, EMC develops instructional materials, supplements, and assessments for the K-12 market, delivering blended learning solutions for world languages, literature and language arts, and computer applications and literacy. For more information, visit us on Facebook, Twitter, or on the web.

¹ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/illiteracy-rate_n_3880355.html