GLENDALE, CA., August 8, 1995 -- Knowledge Adventure announced today that it has acquired Fanfare Software, an independent developer of early learning software. Fanfare Software developed Knowledge Adventure's award-winning curriculum software titles JumpStart Kindergarten and JumpStart First Grade.
Barton Listick, founder and chairman of Fanfare Software, will be named a vice president of Knowledge Adventure. He will report directly to Bill Gross, founder and chairman of the company. The staff of Fanfare Software will relocate to Knowledge Adventure's new expanded headquarters building in Glendale.
JumpStart educational software products are the first software products to cover the entire curriculum of a particular grade level. The JumpStart Series currently includes JumpStart PreSchool, JumpStart Kindergarten and JumpStart First Grade.
Designed for children ages 4-6, JumpStart Kindergarten introduces and reinforces lessons found in kindergarten curricula nationwide and includes animated characters to act as guides throughout the activities. In JumpStart First Grade, children ages 5-7 learn 92 educational skills in 18 modules teaching math, geography, science, and reading comprehension from eight interactive books with 52 illustrated stories.
Bill Gross of Knowledge Adventure said, "Barton and I share the vision of providing children with a head start on their educational success through the innovative use of software technology to create complete curriculum software programs. In addition to the home and school markets, this acquisition will make it easier for us to further extend the JumpStart Series to international markets as well as multiple platforms, on-line, and the Internet.
Barton Listick of Fanfare Software said, "I am very excited about joining forces with Knowledge Adventure, a market leader and true innovator. This partnership gives me the opportunity to draw upon the resources of a larger organization to fulfill my dream of providing the most compelling and exciting children's software possible. Together, we will change the way children learn forever by building an entire JumpStart Elementary School."
JumpStart Series has pioneered several innovative features including Progress Reports and Adaptive Learning . Parents and teachers can track improvement in various areas with a comprehensive Progress Report that records the child's progression through the use of the JumpStart products. With JumpStart's Adaptive Learning Technology, children remain challenged as each JumpStart product adapts itself to the child's individual ability level. By tracking a child's success-to-attempt ratio in the product, Adaptive Learning Technology modifies the difficulty of the activities by automatically increasing or decreasing the level of difficulty depending on a child's success rate throughout the activities.
Knowledge Adventure, Inc., headquartered in La Crescenta, California, was founded by Bill Gross in 1991. Knowledge Adventure is a leading producer of interactive multimedia products that combine rich cont ent and unmatched technology in innovative and compelling exploratory formats. The company's products include its Adventure Series (Aviation Adventure, Space Adventure II, Science Adventure II, 3-D Body Adventure, 3-D Dinosaur Adventure and Undersea Adventure); a series of reference titles including Random House Kid's Encyclopedia and My First Encyclopedia; a series of children's creativity products including Magic Theatre, the Spider-Man Cartoon Maker and the X-MEN Cartoon Maker ; and curriculum and skills products including JumpStart Kindergarten and JumpStart First Grade.
Located in Santa Monica, California, Fanfare Software was founded in 1988 by Barton Listick. The company is noted for creating interactive products with engaging characters, compelling storylines, addictive game play, and strong educational value.
Fanfare Software's most recent products include Computer Carnival, JumpStart Kindergarten, and JumpStart First Grade.
Knowledge Adventure, Science Adventure II, 3-D Dinosaur Adventure, Undersea Adventure and Space Adventure are registered trademarks of Knowledge Adventure, Inc. My First Encyclopedia, JumpStart Kindergarten, Aviation Adventure, Space Adventure II, 3-D Body Adventure are trademarks of Knowledge Adventure, Inc.
Fanfare Software is a trademark of Fanfare Software.
Marvel Comics, Spider-Man and all other characters names and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof TM and © 1995 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and used with permission. All rights reserved.
Magic Theatre and Instinct are trademarks of Instinct Corporation.
All other marks mentioned herein belong to other companies.
