(Justmeans.com / CSR News) - January 27, 2012 - Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, is pleased to take part in a panel on Thursday 16 February at RocketSpace, a technology innovation hub in San Francisco, that will focus on the possibilities of informal learning. The evening event is the first panel on educational technology hosted by RocketSpace. 

Pearson last year joined RocketSpace as a founder member of the Corporate Ambassador Program, and Pearson now has permanent desks at RocketSpace alongside more than 95 resident technology startups. RocketSpace has rapidly attracted many of San Francisco’s most promising startups and is a central part of San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee’s plan to support co-working hubs as vehicles to continue the city’s tech industry growth.
 
The panel at RocketSpace will be comprised of Pearson executive editor for digital publishing Chalon Bridges, Udemy co-founder Gagan Biyani, Junyo co-founder Steve Schoettler, GoGoMongo! CEO Ahmed Siddiqui and Sifteo co-founder David Merrill, with the discussion chaired by EdSurge’s Leonard Medlock.
 
Pearson is delighted to participate in the panel on informal learning because we believe that people of all ages learn not only in school but in many other ways – including through their communities, hobbies, friends and colleagues.
 
Each part of Pearson – the FT, the Penguin Group and our education business – is a pioneer in the use of digital and mobile technologies to transform and enhance education and publishing, so Pearson views participation in RocketSpace as a way to share ideas with other technology companies.
 
Diana Stepner, Head of Future Technologies at Pearson, said: 'When it comes to digital innovation, the boundaries between traditional and new companies no longer exist. We believe in working with talent wherever it may be, and do not expect innovation to come just from our own internal startups and teams. We firmly believe in the need to engage effectively with the next generation of startups and entrepreneurs.'
 
Pearson’s Future Technologies and Partnerships team has a regular presence in technology and innovation hubs in the US and UK, running developer workshops for our API developer.pearson.com platform (Plug & Play at developer.pearson.com), hosting innovation events, collaborating with start-ups on the incubation of new ideas and sharing industry expertise. 
 
Learn more and sign up to the Future of Education event here.
Find out more about Pearson’s developer community here: developer.pearson.com

About Pearson plc
Pearson is the world’s leading learning company. Our major businesses are: Pearson, the world's biggest education business, providing print and digital learning materials and services used by more than 100 million students of all ages every year; The Financial Times Group, which has an international network of business and financial newspapers and online services that are read by millions of business executives and investors every day; and Penguin Group, which is one of the pre-eminent names in consumer publishing, with an unrivalled range of fiction and nonfiction, bestsellers, and classic titles. Through our books, newspapers and online products and services, Pearson helps people of all ages to live and learn. See www.pearson.com

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Contact Information:

Pearson plc

http://www.pearson.com

Charles Goldsmith

charles.goldsmith@pearson.com

020 7010 2314