Growth Spurt: Reality Based Learning introduces online reading readiness subscription service

Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, May, 2001

Reality Based Learning Corp. (RBLC, Redmond, WA, www.rblc.com) is bringing online K-1 Literacy and K-2 math programs to school and consumer markets, and portions of those offerings will also be sold to pre-K markets. RBLC pairs learning activities with real-time assessment tools to provide schools with quantifiable results. The company began creating educational content for CD-ROM and LAN environments in 1998, says Ron Cornelius, chief of sales and marketing, and last spring decided to migrate to a fully enabled Internet product. In September of 2000 the company went live with Literacy Launcher. Literacy Launcher is likely to be the umbrella brand name for a range of literacy products for different ages.

One of the company's current market priorities is bringing a subset of those activities to market as a kindergarten reading readiness assessment program. Children can complete the activities on their own, or an adult can manipulate the mouse or keyboard as a child points at the screen. Cornelius stresses that these are "authentic activities," computer recreations of tasks children would do elsewhere. The Internet delivery has the advantage of analyzing performance and reporting on a child's level of fluency. RBLC has already inked distribution deals with QualKids (see p. 2) and Canadian telecommunications firm Telus (www.telus.com). Subscriptions valid for the learning lifetime need of a the child are about $30.

Cornelius says the company is actively seeking other strategic distribution partners for schools, child care facilities and homes. The company is particularly interested in partners who concentrate on integrating computing into the classroom experience. A school's license of the product allows their users to access from school, home or any web-enabled computer. Cornelius expects school experiences and endorsements to drive home subscriptions.

RBLC's management system allows performance to shape the child's experience by delivering an appropriate curriculum object from the database. The system can also create several different views of performance data for teachers, administrators or districts. Cornelius says the system was designed to run through other management systems, thus facilitating functioning either independently or in conjunction with a system such as Encarta Class Server. An upcoming release of the management system will allow teachers to resequence activities to better fit their classroom needs.

Institutional and angel financing has fueled RBLC this far, and Cornelius says the company is working toward a second round of funding. Saying they have done the hard work in creating the content, the company now needs funding and distribution partners. Cornelius estimates that the K-1 literacy project is about 60% complete, and a full launch is anticipated this fall.