MathSoft brings breakthrough software to the classroom with StudyWorks for schools; Innovative math & science software provides revolutionary distance learning services via the MathSoft Collaboratory

Business Wire, Sept 17, 1996

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1996-- MathSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ:MATH) today announced StudyWorks for Schools, a breakthrough product in high school and college software and the first to give teachers a tools-based, interactive teaching and learning environment. With StudyWorks for Schools, teachers can integrate software and distance learning approaches into their current math and science curriculum and provide students with an "active-learning," content-rich learning tool.

StudyWorks for Schools is a new instructional edition of the award-winning StudyWorks for Math and StudyWorks for Science software available in retail stores for students to use for learning and preparing homework. StudyWorks for Schools integrates seamlessly with existing curricula, works with graphing calculators, includes a content-rich math and science reference library, and comes with a Teacher Resource Guide featuring sample lesson plans, classroom presentations, lab and homework exercises and tips for maximizing the use of the technology. It also connects teachers and students to each other via the Web-based MathSoft Collaboratory for a variety of distance learning applications, including virtual study groups, on-line tutoring, and the dissemination of class or lab notes, problem sets, exams and solutions.

StudyWorks defines a category of "active learning" software tools that make math and science teaching come alive with live math notation, integrated text, interactive graphs and animations. StudyWorks for Schools and the StudyWorks home products are designed to exceed standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for making students active learners. Both organizations recommend a broad use of software tools to enhance both the power of the learning environment and the range of content available to students. StudyWorks software serves as enabling technology for these standards and its interactive nature will aid schools in meeting and reaching the standards.

"Teachers unfortunately are getting more education technology than solutions so it can be difficult to sort out the important from the merely interesting," said Charles Digate, president and CEO of MathSoft. "StudyWorks for Schools is intended to be an important first in classroom software and is designed as a carefully thought- out teaching solution that works well with existing teaching plans and tools, including the widely-used graphing calculators. Moreover, we are aiming to provide technology that will expand classroom learning, especially in critical math and science subjects. StudyWorks for Schools delivers a lot of educational value as a teaching aid for today and for the 'wired' on-line teaching community that is rapidly developing."

StudyWorks has been recognized as one of the "Top 100 Software Products" by HomePC magazine, featured in Newsweek magazine's "CyberScope" column and called "a step forward in tackling tough high school subjects" in Business Week.

"As early users of StudyWorks software, we've already begun to see the benefits in applying the technology in our curriculum," said Tom Cinella, a math teacher at Lee High School in Lee, Massachusetts. "It's interactivity and built-in source material are great for the students because it can really make math and science come alive. The Teachers Resource Guide also helps make the difference between StudyWorks for Schools being another software package and a valuable teaching aid."

With StudyWorks for Schools, teachers and students can formulate and solve problems by defining variables and functions, document their work in standard mathematics notation and communicate with other teachers and students via the Internet. The Teachers Resource Guide includes lesson plans, sample exercises, guidelines and other resources which can be used in successfully implementing StudyWorks into a high school or college math and science curriculum.

The MathSoft Collaboratory -- accessible at http://webserve.mathsoft.com -- is for interactive discussions on math and science topics between students and teachers in a class or from around the world. StudyWorks users can "chat", obtain homework assignments, tips and helpful reference information. The site also includes a "Homework Hints" forum where students may post questions and solicit helpful hints or even full solutions from other forum participants.

StudyWorks' products are excellent companions to the widely- used graphing calculator. Data transferred from calculators to the PC can be directly imported into StudyWorks for analysis and inclusion in homework and lab reports. StudyWorks also includes strategies for taking the SAT II math and science exams, using material from The Princeton Review, the nation's leading test preparation company and producer of "Cracking the SAT II."

Pricing and Availability

StudyWorks for School is now available for Windows with a single-user price of $69.95. A Macintosh edition will be released in November. The product is available from the major educational software catalogs and MathSoft educational re-sellers. Lab and site licenses are also available to schools and school districts directly from MathSoft.