LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Age of Learning, Inc.®, the creator of the highly successful ABCmouse® online learning program used by millions of children ages 2 to 8, today announced the upcoming release of Adventure Academy, a massively multiplayer online game for elementary and middle school age children featuring thousands of learning activities in a fun and safe virtual world. Available for families on computers, tablets, and smartphones beginning May 1st, Adventure Academy “brings learning to life”™ as it builds critical knowledge of essential curriculum topics in language arts, math, science, social studies, and more.
Age of Learning developed Adventure Academy to address the alarmingly low levels of academic proficiency among elementary and middle school students, prioritizing the areas the National Assessment of Educational Progress has consistently shown a majority of American students are not proficient in, including reading, math, and science. Adventure Academy offers learners opportunities to explore hundreds of topics within these subjects and learn in ways that are highly engaging and effective.
With a substantial investment over the past three years, commensurate with those made in other premier (or “AAA”) online games, Age of Learning assembled a world-class team of curriculum and instructional design experts, master teachers, game designers, artists, animators, and engineers to build Adventure Academy with the quality and engaging features of a AAA game. The curriculum team comprises experts with hundreds of years of combined classroom and curriculum development experience. The game development process is led by creators of some of the most successful titles in the history of online gaming, including Kevin Beardslee, one of the original creators of World of Warcraft®; and Alex Galvagni, former General Manager of leading game studio Turbine®, creators of The Lord of the Rings Online®, Batman: Arkham Underworld™, Dungeons and Dragons Online®, and Game of Thrones Conquest®.
Age of Learning has brought the same curriculum-first approach to Adventure Academy that it successfully used in creating ABCmouse, which has helped educate nearly 20 million children to date. A dozen research studies, including several randomized controlled trials, show that ABCmouse accelerates learning and drives significant gains in literacy and math with as little as 45 minutes of usage per week.
“Our sole focus at Age of Learning is to help children build a strong foundation for academic success,” said Doug Dohring, founder and CEO of Age of Learning. “Our outstanding team has executed on this mission for many years, developing highly engaging and effective educational programs that early learners enjoy, and families and teachers trust. Adventure Academy allows us to now meet parents’ demands to bring learning to life for older students during the critical elementary and middle school years.”
In developing Adventure Academy, Age of Learning’s curriculum leadership conducted an in-depth review of state, national, and international educational standards, and collaborated with practicing teachers across the United States to identify the highest priority curriculum topics that students have the most difficulty with in school. As a result, the Adventure Academy curriculum emphasizes key topics such as reading comprehension, vocabulary development, mathematical operations, fractions, world geography, American history, physical science, life science, earth science, and scientific inquiry.
“Too many of our students struggle in elementary school and beyond because of gaps in their understanding of key academic knowledge and skills,” said Kimberly Oliver Burnim, a National Teacher of the Year and Age of Learning Curriculum Board Member. “There’s never been an educational program like Adventure Academy, which can engage elementary and middle school students so fully and help them grasp challenging concepts so effectively. It’s a revolutionary resource for families.”
At launch, Adventure Academy will focus primarily on concepts and skills taught in 3rd through 6th grades. Not only is Adventure Academy an invaluable resource for elementary students, but also for middle school students who would benefit from a comprehensive review of these topics and the opportunity to fill in gaps from earlier grades. Over time Adventure Academy will continually add new content, expanding and advancing the curricular breadth and depth.
“It’s amazing to hear my son talk about what he learned in the game and connect it to everyday experiences,” said Sally Bjorklund, whose son was one of the early adopters of Adventure Academy. “We recently visited a science museum and one of his favorite exhibits was a pulley system that looked identical to the one in Adventure Academy. He was so excited to show us how it worked! Having this tool has been invaluable for our family.”
Adventure Academy includes these key features:
- Thousands of learning activities across hundreds of topics, including curriculum-based games, books, a wide range of other types of reading materials, educational videos, and additional interactive experiences addressing all major academic domains.
- Builds critical knowledge and skills in language arts, math, science, social studies, and more.
- Hundreds of hours of educational interaction and gameplay, with hundreds of additional hours to be added in the near future.
- Learners create avatars to explore an ever-expanding world, complete learning quests to unlock new zones, and interact with other learners.
- The same engaging experience across all platforms—smartphones, tablets, and computers—with the ability for up to three children in the same household to play simultaneously within the same parent account with individual profiles.
- Subscription-based service, fully COPPA compliant with no advertising or in-app purchases.
- Safe social elements that enable players to interact with other learners in-game, including filtered chat functionality. Parents control the level of interaction their children have with other learners through this filtered chat and can block all in-game communication, if desired.
The Adventure Academy™ app will be available through the Apple App Store or Google Play and can also be accessed at www.adventureacademy.com. Families can purchase an annual subscription for less than $5 per month, or a month-to-month subscription for $9.99, both including up to three separate student profiles per household.
About Age of Learning, Inc.
Age of Learning is a leading education technology innovator, creating engaging and effective learning resources to help children build a strong foundation for academic success. Based in Los Angeles, the company is Bringing Learning to Life® by blending educational expertise, innovative technology, and insightful creativity. Age of Learning’s flagship product in the U.S., ABCmouse.com® Early Learning Academy, is a comprehensive curriculum for preschool through 2nd grade, available on all major digital platforms and used by millions of children. Age of Learning recently launched ReadingIQ™, an advanced digital library for children 12 and under designed by literacy experts, with thousands of high-quality books from leading publishers, including the largest collection of National Geographic Kids digital titles available anywhere. Connect with Age of Learning on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.
