IBM Watson Education and Pearson to Drive Cognitive Learning Experiences for College Students

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Pearson (FTSE: PSON) the world's learning company, today announced a new global education alliance intended to make Watson's cognitive capabilities available to millions of college students and professors.  

Combining IBM's cognitive capabilities with Pearson's digital learning products will give students a more immersive learning experience with their college courses, an easy way to get help and insights when they need it, all through asking questions in natural language just like they would with another student or professor. Importantly, it provides instructors with insights about how well students are learning, allowing them to better manage the entire course and flag students who need additional help.

For example, a student experiencing difficulty while studying for a biology course can query Watson, which is embedded in the Pearson courseware. Watson has already read the Pearson courseware content and is ready to spot patterns and generate insights.  Serving as a digital resource, Watson will assess the student's responses to guide them with hints, feedback, explanations and help identify common misconceptions, working with the student at their pace to help them master the topic.

"With Watson and this incredible collaboration with Pearson, we are changing the way college students learn.  The idea of having a built-in resource to help tackle the challenging questions college students get stuck on is amazing," said Harriet Green, General Manager, Watson IoT, Cognitive Engagement & Education.  "Our goal is for college students to feel empowered, improve study performance and assist educators with breakthrough academic content."  

"Digital learning opens up exciting new possibilities to improve access and outcomes in education. Our partnership will use the power of Watson to help students stay engaged and deepen their learning, complete their degree and be better equipped for their careers," said Tim Bozik, President of Global Product at Pearson. "Teachers are the most important factor in delivering a great education. The partnership will support teachers by providing better digital tools and enabling personalized learning for their students." 

The IBM Watson-Pearson collaboration aims to help address the challenges students face as they balance busy work and course schedules with the demands of advanced learning. More than 60 percent of all job openings by 2018 predicted to require some college education¹, but 40% of students in four year public universities don't complete their courses on time², and many of these don't complete at all.    This is creating a need for a flexible virtual resource that college students can access when they need it. With the combination of Watson and Pearson, students will be able to get the specific help they need, ask questions and be able to recognize areas in which they still need help from an instructor. The goal of this always-available approach to tutoring is that it may become the difference between a student successfully completing a required course or dropping out.  

Pearson and IBM are innovating with Watson APIs, education-specific diagnostics and remediation capabilities.  Students will be able to dialogue with Watson in real time by asking questions on a particular topic.  In another scenario, Watson will be able to search through an expanded set of education resources to retrieve relevant information to answer the student's question. During the dialogue with the student, Watson will constantly assess the student's responses and guide them with hints, feedback, explanations and identify common misconceptions.  Watson also will be able to support the student by answering their questions, showing how the new knowledge they gain relates to their own existing knowledge and, finally, asking them questions to check their understanding. Students can respond in natural language to questions Watson asks, and Watson will use the student's responses to provide help, show areas they have improved and where they still need to work on. 

"I like the accessibility, mastery, reading and learning part of it.  I can't be available 24 hours a day," said Professor Sherry Grosso, Economics, University of South Carolina, Sumter.

"To think that when I'm reading, I could just say, 'Watson, can you explain this to me a little bit more?' that would be great. It would be nice to know that it's there," said Shadi Rum, a Saint Petersburg College student and aspiring nurse.

The idea of adaptive learning systems delivering personalized education has been around for a long time.  Most of the current systems, however, use measures such as multiple choice and fill in the blanks questions that offer only a partial view of a student's understanding.  Through conversation and the use of natural language, the Watson-based adaptive learning technology will help students gain a better understanding of the subject material. 

Pearson currently reaches 75 million students of all ages around the world across its full range of services including books, software, English language teaching, assessment, qualifications and online learning. In the US College sector, Pearson reaches 13 million students per year with digital tools and content. 

For more information, please go to http://ibm.co/pearson

About IBM Watson Education: 
IBM Watson Education is transforming education worldwide with cognitive computing putting the learner in the forefront. The power of Watson cognitive computing can ingest volumes of information from text, audio or video and organize it in a way that becomes easily personalized to each learner's needs and aptitude. IBM Watson Education solutions are aimed at improving a student's performance and empowering educators to personalize education for every type of student from pre-kindergarten, K-12, higher education and adult and lifelong learning. For more information about IBM Watson Education, please visit: www.ibm.com/watson/education. 

About Pearson 
Pearson is the world's learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning.  We believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. For more, visit www.Pearson.com.

¹ Projection of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, Georgetown University. (2010)
² U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016)

Media Contacts:
Hanna Smigala
IBM Media Relations  
203-512-5497
[email protected] 

Jonathan Batty
IBM Media Relations
+44 7880 086571
[email protected]

Laura Howe
Pearson
[email protected]
202-748-3284

Tom Steiner
Pearson
[email protected] 
+44 7787 415 891

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SOURCE IBM

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