TECHNOLOGY MAKES BILINGUAL EDUCATION MORE ACCESSIBLE; SCHOLASTIC SOFTWARE
HELPS LEAD THE WAY 

Educational publisher produces new videodiscs and software that allow
teachers and students to work in the languages that suit their needs
best.

November 23, 1992--New York, NY--For years, Scholastic mc. has been the
largest publisher and distributor of children's books in the English
speaking world. Now, the company is leading the way in multilingual
publishing as well, by capitalizing on two of the most effective tools in
education today--the computer and the videodisc.

"These technologies have created a whole new way to produce high-quality
multilingual materials in a timely and cost effective way," said Peter
Kelman, Publisher of Scholastic Software. "The costs involved in
publishing books in second and third languages may be prohibitive in many
cases. But with software and videodiscs, it's relatively inexpensive to
include two or more languages on a single product. As a result, we can
give teachers the tools to serve all the children in their
classrooms--without substantial increases in price to schools."

Scholastic's bilingual offerings now include a Spanish/English edition of
SuperPrint for the Macintosh, the best-selling classroom publishing
program. This version of SuperPrint provides every menu, help screen, and
dialog box in both English and Spanish, and contains a special feature
that allows students and teachers to toggle between Spanish and English
operation whenever they like. "We want people to be able to switch quickly
and easily between languages," said Kelman, "We think that makes the
product more flexible for teachers and more supportive for students."

In an even bolder move, Scholastic Software has begun to develop customized
bilingual versions of SuperPrint in other languages for school districts
that purchase district-wide licenses for the product. According to Kelman,
this initiative makes good sense for schools. "Purchasing a district-wide
license is most certainly the way to get the most value from a district's
software budget. And with customized bilingual versions, teachers will be
able to use the software more effectively too, helping districts respond
to the special language needs of their particular student populations."

Another in Scholastic's lineup of bilingual products is a Spanish edition
of Math Shop Jr. for MS-DOS computers. This product, which helps students
in grades 14 develop fundamental mathematics skills, now comes with both
English and Spanish disks, so teachers can load the version that meets
each student's needs best.

Scholastic is also making videodiscs easier to use in bilingual classrooms.
The company will soon introduce the Interactive NOVA Videodisc Library, a
collection of Level I videodiscs from the award-winning NOVA series with
audio tracks in both English and Spanish. Because each of the segments in
the NOVA series is brief (between 2 and 5 minutes?), it's easy for
teachers to show them in both English and Spanish, so that
Spanish-speaking students can review the content carefully without having
to overcome language barriers. Scholastic has also provided English and
Spanish language tracks in its new two-volume Science Place series of
videodiscs, which are designed for science curriculums in grades K-2.

"We see bilingual education as a two way street," Kelman said. "It's
important for students who are new to this country, or to English speaking
communities, to develop the language skills they need to learn and work
productively in class. But it's also important for English speaking
students to develop their facility with other languages. We see our new
bilingual and multilingual products as a way to make all students
comfortable with that diversity--while still focusing on the curriculum."

Scholastic software products can be ordered through Scholastic
Representatives, Authorized Education Dealers, or directly from
Scholastic. For ordering information, write or call: Inquiry Department,
Scholastic Software, P.O. Box 7502, 2931 East McCarty Street, Jefferson
City, Missouri 65102. To order by phone, call 1-800-541-5513.

Scholastic Software is a division of the Instructional Publishing Group of
Scholastic Inc., one of the nation's leading publishers and distributors
of children's books, classroom and professional magazines, and other
educational materials. The Company also produces family-oriented video and
television programming. Scholastic operates in the United States, Canada,
Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

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