McGraw-Hill and Wipro to Develop Affordable Mobile Learning Platform

(Press Release) DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 26, 2011, PRNewswire—The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), a premier global financial information and education company, and Wipro, a leading technology solutions provider, will work together to develop "mConnect" an open-standard mobile learning platform designed to bridge the skills gap in emerging markets.

Initial pilots in India will focus on the most critical needs for India's students and workers: test preparation for entrance into universities that will best prepare them for the workplace and English-language training, an increasingly essential skill in the global economy. The intention is to extend this program later to other countries in Asia and in Africa.

mConnect will offer low-income, rural or otherwise underserved students and workers personalized, adaptive education and assessment programs that can provide direct feedback in multiple modalities through cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices. For students who want to establish and advance their careers by learning English, for example, mConnect will provide opportunities to hear conversations, review new vocabulary delivered via SMS and get personalized instruction that customizes the pace and presentation of material to match their learning needs.

"Through advances in mobile learning, McGraw-Hill and Wipro have an unprecedented opportunity to deliver high-quality, low-cost education to students and workers in rural areas and cities with limited access to resources," said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies, who made the announcement in Davos. "In a country with more than 700 million cell phones, mobile learning will help level the playing field for education in India in ways never before possible. The success of our pilots in India will serve as a powerful example of how business, schools and governments around the world can harness the power of mobile learning to give more people the skills to succeed in the global Knowledge Economy."