Innovative Tech-Based School Supply Eases Research Paper Woes

Builder™ Research Paper Edition from Mead® Simplifies the Process, Helps Students Better Organize Thoughts and Research
By: Mead
 
Aug. 3, 2010 - PRLog -- KETTERING, OH (July 23, 2010) – As kids take to the classroom this fall, there’s one assignment they’ll inevitably gripe about – the research paper. An important standard in curriculum from middle school through college, the research paper is a stress point for many students who say the assignment is tedious and leaves them overwhelmed and panicked.  

Understanding the importance of the project, the school supply innovators at Mead have created a solution to ease those research paper woes and build confidence in writing -- Builder™ Research Paper Edition. This revolutionary software program helps students plan, organize and write better research papers using a step-by-step guide, from planning a schedule and establishing a thesis, to creating an outline and writing the paper.

“Research papers are stressful on kids and teachers because they’re new to students, and they don’t understand the process as young learners,” says Stephanie Kirk, English teacher at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Tenn., who tested the product with her students. “With the Builder software, students were motivated to work on their papers because they could see them taking shape right away. I cannot imagine teaching the research paper again without the Builder tool.”

Conveniently housed on a single flash drive with nothing to download to the computer, the Builder software simplifies the complexity of the research paper by breaking it into easy-to-digest steps – no more time-consuming tasks like filling out note cards by hand or piecing various on-line resources together. The program is unlike anything on the market because it integrates all the steps of writing a research paper into one easy-to-use tool. Plus, it offers “check points” along the way to encourage critical thinking and keep students on task with the ability to track and share their progress.

“Learning how to learn is at the core of the research paper assignment, and this vital skill is essential if we expect students to be successful in today's and tomorrow's world,” says Jamie Coch, co-founder of the forward-thinking tool. “By leveraging technology, we have created a system that simplifies the process of organizing and synthesizing research in a way that’s beneficial and enjoyable for students. We are excited to provide students and teachers with a tool that helps simplify the learning process.”

Schools serving as product field testers found great success using an early version of the program to complete the research assignment. Examples include**:
•81% of students believed the Builder software helped them stay more organized throughout the process;
•79% of students thought it helped them plan better papers;
•85% of students said they would both use the program for their next paper and recommend the software to their friends.

Following the field test, students also said things like “I would have never finished my paper without Builder. I probably would have failed the class,” and “It made a hard assignment easy. I completed the paper before it was due.” ** (Check out classroom test-site videos at www.meadbuilder.com)

“If you’re going to tout a tool as simplifying and improving the writing process, the technology itself better be simple to use,” says Richard Harris, Builder co-founder. “With no training, students can sit down and simply begin to use the program. As evidenced in our research and classroom trials, the Builder software simplifies, manages, and organizes a once-complicated framework through an interface that is easy to use, self-evident and transparent.”

Because the software is portable, it also gives students the flexibility to work on their project at home, at school, in the library or anywhere else they study. It can be used over and again for any research paper assignments throughout a student’s educational career, making it a wise one-time investment.

The Builder software is available at an introductory price of $39.95 at www.MeadBuilder.com. To purchase the product, test drive an online demo, review frequently asked questions and hear what teachers and students are saying about the new tool, visit www.MeadBuilder.com.

About MWV Consumer & Office Products
MWV Consumer & Office Products, a division of the MeadWestvaco Corporation, is the leading manufacturer and marketer of the most trusted brands in school supplies, office products, planning, and organizing tools, including Mead®, Five Star®, AT-A-GLANCE®, DayMinder®, Cambridge®, Academie®, Day Runner® and Amcal® brands, among others. MWV Consumer & Office Products produces notebooks, folders, decorative calendars, stationery products, and time management and personal organizers for every stage of life. For more information, please visit www.mead.com.

About MWV
MeadWestvaco Corporation  provides packaging solutions to many of the world’s most admired brands in the healthcare, beauty and personal care, food, beverage, media and entertainment, home and garden, tobacco, and commercial print industries. The company's businesses also include Consumer & Office Products, Specialty Chemicals, and the Community Development and Land Management Group, which sustainably manages the company’s land holdings to support its operations, and to provide for conservation, recreation and development opportunities. With 20,000 employees worldwide, MWV operates in 30 countries and serves customers in more than 100 nations. MWV manages all of its forestlands in accordance with internationally recognized forest certification standards, and has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the sixth consecutive year. For more information, please visit www.mwv.com.


**Based on student feedback from field tests at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Tenn., Summit Country Day in Cincinnati, Ohio, and North Hills Junior High in Pittsburgh, Penn.
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Source:Mead
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Tags:Mead, Builder, Research Paper, Education, Learning, School, Technology, Students, Teachers
Industry:Education, Technology, Research
Location:Cleveland - Ohio - United States
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