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Columbia University and Cognitive Arts, a leading designer and developer of e-learning technology for the education and corporate training markets, announced today that they have signed an agreement to develop courses for a program which will be launched by Columbia as "Columbia Continuing Education Online." The program will be part of Columbia Continuing Education and Special Programs, a unit of Columbia's Arts and Sciences division.
Columbia and Cognitive Arts plan to build a program which will focus on courses traditionally offered by Columbia Continuing Education, including courses for Columbia's Computer Technology and Applications (CTA) Program and American Language Program (English as a second language). Columbia will also work with Cognitive Arts to develop courses in more traditional academic disciplines, such as basic economics and psychology. The courses will be Columbia courses, powered by Cognitive Arts proprietary learning technology that uses problem-based learning in the context of real life situations. Cognitive Arts' approach is based on the theoretical work and design strategies of its founder, chairman and chief technology officer, Roger Schank.
Columbia Continuing Education Online is the latest example of Columbia's leadership position in the field of online education. "This new relationship with Cognitive Arts allows Columbia to examine and deploy new media as tools to enhance our educational resources and to expand content delivery opportunities, in keeping with the overall mission of the University," said David Cohen, Vice President of Columbia Arts & Sciences.
"Our agreement with Columbia University is a milestone in the evolution of how new technologies are changing education," said Joseph J. Bianco, President and CEO of Cognitive Arts. "The Aberdeen Group asserts that the worldwide market for e-learning software, services and content is expected to reach $10 billion in 2002. That market is going to be shaped in part by what we are doing with Columbia today. We believe we are setting the standard for the most effective learning in the future."
The first CTA courses and business writing courses for the American Language Program are already under development. Columbia and Cognitive Arts anticipate that they will be available on a new Columbia Continuing Education Online Web Site in the late fall of 2000. Plans for additional courses will be completed this summer.
"Cognitive Arts is excited to work with Columbia University," said Schank. "Combining Columbia's expertise in a variety of disciplines with our experience in designing educational software allows for the possibility of creating powerful learn-by-doing offerings in a multitude of subject areas."
About Continuing Education and Special Programs
The mission of Columbia's Continuing Education and Special Programs is to make the very best that Columbia has to offer available to the broadest possible audience from around the nation and the world. Continuing Education opens the gates of Columbia to a wide array of people with diverse needs and interests. Current campus-based programs include: Advanced Information Technology Management Program (AITM); American Language Program Business Careers Initiative; Computer Technology and Applications Program; Creative Writing Center; Foreign Language; High School Programs; ACCESS, a customized corporate training program; Study Abroad Programs; Special Student Programs; and Lifelong Learners Program.
About Cognitive Arts
Cognitive Arts' "learn-by-doing" approach to learning is based on the theoretical work and design strategies of its founder, chairman and CTO, Roger Schank. Over the past 25 years, Schank has led the revolution in the scientific understanding of how people learn, remember and reason.
Cognitive Arts, formerly Learning Sciences Corporation, is the leading designer and developer of e-learning solutions for the education and corporate markets.
Its curricula have been used by thousands of students and Fortune 500 employees. Clients have included Hewlett Packard, IBM, First Union, GE Capital, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With over 150 employees and offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, Cognitive Arts optimizes the medium to engage the student completely in the learning environment - an environment which allows the student to learn by doing, fail safely, and immediately learn through timely coaching and expert stories.
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