Pearson uses Foursquare’s data in its new free app to help students find more productive places to study

• New Inspired Locations of Learning app helps students’ productivity
• Free to download for iOS and Android
• Share inspiring study locations on Foursquare

LONDON, 27-3-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, today launched a new free app – Inspired Locations of Learning – to help students find more productive places to study. The app uses Foursquare’s data to let students discover and share tips to reveal the best and most inspiring study locations around their universities and cities.

Finding the right spot to study is always a challenge for university students – libraries are often overcrowded and campuses can be full of distractions. Research by the University of Salford has shown that factors in the physical study environment such as noise, light and air quality can affect academic progress over a year by as much as 25 per cent.¹

Pearson’s new community app allows university students and staff to share their favourite places for study, often complemented with the best coffee and wifi on hand. So far, Pearson has listed over 200 such spots at universities in the US, UK, India and Indonesia, and is now looking for students to add their own global favourites.

As well as finding better places to study, the first 1000 students who sign up to the free app will have a school textbook donated in their name to a library in Africa through a partnership with Book Aid International. In addition users in the first month will have the chance to win a year’s worth of university books.

David Rosenberg, business development manager at Foursquare, said: “Foursquare exists to help our users make the most of where they are, including finding inspirational places to study and learn. The Pearson app has neatly integrated our technology to make this a simple and easy to use process on any device.”

Tom Glover of Pearson said: “The current list shows that better places to study can be found in the least likely places, from parks, cafes or even castles. The challenge lies in finding these hidden gems, wherever they may be in the world and we’re hoping that the global learning community will enjoy helping contribute to this list of landmarks by adding their own favourites.”

Book Aid International director Alison Hubert commented: “Pearson is one of Book Aid International’s strongest supporters. We are delighted that the evolution of Pearson’s community app will connect students around the world through book donations and the love of learning. We know from our work with libraries in under-resourced communities in Africa that Inspired Locations of Learning evolve in unexpected places and sometimes under the most challenging circumstances imaginable – such as in slums, refugee camps or prisons.”

The app works on any iOS or Android device and is available for free at http://inspiredlocations.pearson.com

ENDS

For more information please contact

33 Digital

Name: Tom Rouse
P: 020 7608 4647
E: tom.rouse@33-digital.com

About Pearson
Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning.

We provide learning materials, technologies, assessments and services to teachers and students in order to help people everywhere aim higher and fulfil their true potential. We put the learner at the centre of everything we do.

www.pearson.com

About Book Aid International
Book Aid International works in partnership with libraries in Africa to support environments in which reading for pleasure, study and lifelong learning can flourish.

Every year Book Aid International provides over half a million new books donated by UK publishers to libraries in sub-Saharan Africa. The libraries we support are in schools, universities, hospitals, refugee camps, slums and remote communities. We also provide training for librarians to ensure that readers get the very best from our donated books, and grants for purchasing locally-published books and for library refurbishments. Our work is practical, effective and empowering.

About Foursquare
Foursquare is a free mobile app that helps you keep up and meet up with friends. Since 2009, more than 45 million people have joined Foursquare, checking in around the world over 5 billion times. Those check-ins power the Foursquare Explore search engine, which provides personalized recommendations of the best places nearby. In addition, more than 1.6 million businesses (from large brands to small merchants) have used Foursquare advertising and merchant tools to attract and maintain valuable customers. More than 50,000 developers, including some of the internet’s most popular properties use the Foursquare API to add location to their apps. Foursquare was founded in New York City, and has offices in San Francisco and London.
[1] http://www.salford.ac.uk/built-environment/about-us/news-and-events/news/study-proves-classroom-design-really-does-matter