Amplify (company)

Amplify is a curriculum and assessment company launched in July 2012. Amplify Curriculum was built on the foundation of Wireless Generation, the educational company News Corp bought in 2010. Amplify products and services provide assessment and analytics for data-driven instruction and next-generation digital curriculum based on the Common Core State Standards.[1]

Amplify Education, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryEducation
PredecessorWireless Generation
Founded2000 (2000)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Headquarters55 Washington Street Suite 900, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. 11201-1071
Key people
  • Larry Berger
Productscurriculum, assessments, consultations
Websiteamplify.com

News Corp sold Amplify in 2015 for an undisclosed sum to the Emerson Collective, a philanthropic organization founded by Laurene Powell Jobs. Larry Berger, co-founder of Wireless Generation, is now the chief executive of the new company.[2][3]

Company overview

Amplify was formed after the purchase of Wireless Generation, which was founded in 2000 by Larry Berger and Greg Gunn. The company sold its products and services to districts and states that used government funding for early reading and other programs. It also developed and maintained the New York City online warehouse of student data ARIS, and wrote the algorithm for the School of One, the New York City Department of Education's math help system. Larry Berger served as the CEO of Wireless Generation until the sale of the company in 2010. At the time of the sale, the users of Wireless Generation software included three million students and 200,000 educators.[4]

In November 2010 a 90% stake in Wireless Generation was purchased by News Corp for $360 million. News Corp changed the name of its subsidiary in 2012 to Amplify.[5] Following the acquisition, News Corp invested about half a billion dollars into the company in order to expand its offerings to devices and digital curriculum, designed to replace hard copy textbooks, and to decrease the price-point gap between traditional textbooks and tablet-based education.[6]

Joel Klein, former chancellor for the New York City Department of Education and an executive vice-president with News Corp served as Amplify's CEO until 2015.[7] During his time as CEO, Klein stated that the goal of Amplify is to encourage the integration of computer technology into the common educational environment, rather than a separate learning environment such as a laboratory.[8]

Since 2015, Amplify has found success with its curriculum and assessment offerings. Its 2018 revenue was $125 million and it now serves nearly 4 million students. Its science program has been adopted by several large urban districts, including Chicago, New York, and Denver and has 950,000 users.[9]

Assessment

Amplify provides assessment tools for K-12 schools. Tools are available for Math and ELA, Pre-K to 8th Grade. Amplify also provides secure data hosting, reporting and management for educational institutions.[10] Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium signed a contract with Amplify to create a digital library of formative assessment professional learning tools designed for Common Core State Standards teachers. Amplify also signed a contract with Smarter Balanced before its purchase by News Corp to develop reporting tools for teacher assessment.[11] The library provides online access to teachers for formative test items, and assessment tools.[12] Amplify's software uses data analysis to plan teaching tactics and track educational results.[13] This has included the provision of data coaches to teachers in Delaware.[14]

Curriculum

Amplify provides print, digital, and blended core curriculum for ELA and science. ELA curricula are based upon the Common Core State Standards and the science curriculum is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. The science program was developed in partnership with the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California Berkeley. In each lesson, students take on the role of a scientist or engineer. The lessons focus on natural phenomena and the application of concepts to real-world problems.[15]

The Amplify ELA curriculum also includes educational games that can be played by students in and outside of class time,[6][10] and a library of 300 pre-loaded books.[16]

In 2018, Amplify announced that it entered the digital supplemental market with two programs: Amplify Close Reading and Amplify Fractions.[17]

Ostrilope

The Ostrilope is a fictional creature created by Amplify as a part of their Natural Selection unit. It is modeled after an ostrich, with some differences, notably their lack of wings, and fur instead of feathers. The Ostrilope is used in many lessons regarding natural selection, usually to observe how species change.[18]

Thornpalm

As for plants, the thornpalm is a fictional species of plant created . The Thornpalm's closest correlation resembles a Yucca brevifolia also known as a Joshua Tree. The Thornpalm is used in many lessons regarding natural selection, usually as a food source to the Ostrilope. In Amplify's provided curriculum, the Thornpalm's height can often be changed by the user, as well as the size of its thorns and its water storage capabilities.

Tablet
Main article: Amplify Tablet

In March 2013, Amplify released the Amplify Tablet, a customized Asus Android tablet with a suite of subscription-based software, offering education-oriented features and apps designed for K-12 learning environments.[19][20][21] In March 2014, the company released a new version of the Amplify Tablet designed by Intel.[22] In 2015, Amplify announced it would cease marketing the tablet to new customers but would continue to service its existing customers.[3] Amplify is no longer in the hardware business. Since 2015, its focus has been exclusively on curriculum and assessment.[9]

References
  1. Dawson, Christopher. (2012-07-23) News Corp unveils Amplify: New partnership with AT&T for digital ed. ZDNet. Retrieved on 2013-07-19.
  2. "News Corp sells digital education brand Amplify". Reuters. 6 October 2015.
  3. Sean Cavanagh, "News Corp. Announces Plans to Wind Down Amplifyís Tablet Business," "MarketBrief", August 13, 2015.
  4. Anna Phillips (November 22, 2010). "Murdoch buys education tech company Wireless Generation". Chalk Beat. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  5. "News Corp brands education business Amplify". AP Online. July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  6. Travis Andrews (August 29, 2013). "Inside News Corp's $540 Million Bet on American Classrooms". Mashable. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  7. Lukas I. Alpert and George Stahl, "News Corp Sells Its Amplify Education Businesses," The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2015.
  8. "Joel Klein interview". Wall Street Journal. January 18, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  9. Harris, Ainsley (16 October 2018). "Inside Laurene Powell Jobs's big bet on digital curriculum". Fast Company.
  10. Amy Chozick (May 6, 2013). "News Corp. Has a Tablet for Schools". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  11. Sean Cavanagh (March 14, 2013). "Amplify Insight Wins Contract from Common-Core Testing Consortium". Education Week. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  12. Dian Schaffhauser. "Amplify Insight Creating Digital Library of Assessment Tools for Smarter Balanced". The Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  13. Calvin Reid (December 5, 2012). "News Corp.'s Joel Klein Outlines Plans for Amplify Education Unit". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  14. Michele McNeil (May 25, 2011). "Delaware Pushes to Meet Race to Top Promises". Education Week.
  15. "Will new standards improve elementary science education?". 11 July 2018.
  16. Jordan Shapiro (March 3, 2014). "Amplify's Middle School Content Makes Learning Look Beautiful". Forbes. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  17. "All the Upgrades and Updates From Apple, Google and More at ISTE 2018 - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 28 June 2018.
  18. "Ostrilope by Amplify". www.thingiverse.com. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  19. "News Corp. Has a Tablet for Schools". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  20. "No Child Left Untableted". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  21. "News Corp.'s Amplify Unveils Education Tablet". PC Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  22. Carol Rotella (September 12, 2013). "No Child Left Untableted". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
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