Thomson Course Technology Unveils New, Automatic Online Project Grader for Microsoft Office 2003

New tool saves time, allowing faculty members to focus on planning and instruction

BOSTON, MA August 14, 2006 - Thomson Course Technology, the worldwide leader in computer education products and services and part of Thomson Learning, introduces SAM 2003 ProGrader™, a new, first-of-its-kind, online software package that automatically grades students' Office 2003 case projects. The software is designed to save instructors time by grading submitted assignments in seconds.

Faculty members can spend hours building, assigning and hand-grading Microsoft Office 2003 case projects. SAM 2003 ProGrader™ allows for review and grading of homework without opening individual data files, thus returning hours of valuable time to instructors for more meaningful instruction and planning.

"This is the type of product we've been looking for to take online assessment to the next level," said Lancie Afonso, College of Charleston, who viewed an early product prototype this spring.

Key features of the new SAM 2003 ProGrader™ software package include:

• Customizable Projects: Instructors choose, customize, and schedule ready-made Office 2003 case projects.
• Automatic Grading: Student work submitted to ProGrader returns graded results within seconds.
• Reports: Various student and instructor reports are available at the individual and class level.
• No Installation Necessary: SAM 2003 ProGrader™ is 100% online. Students simply need access to the Internet for downloading and uploading files, as well as Microsoft Office 2003 software.
• Live in the Application: ProGrader does not simulate Microsoft Office 2003. Students work in the live application to complete their work.
• Flexible Scheduling: SAM's scheduling system allows faculty to control when student assignments are available.
• Academic Dishonesty Safeguard: Downloaded documents are “tagged” with student login information to help identify the student who completed the assignment.

"This first-of-its-kind technology tool will revolutionize the way instructors look at the grading process going forward," said Alar Elken, senior vice president and general manager, Technology and Trades Division of Thomson Course Technology. “Through SAM ProGrader, instructors will be freed from the tedious manual-grading process of the past, allowing them to spend more time teaching the important Microsoft Office skills students need to be successful, while also giving back to them countless hours previously spent on grading stacks of printed homework assignments and opening data files."

SAM ProGrader becomes available in August 2006. For more information visit: http://samcentral.course.com/prograder.cfm or contact Thomson Course Technology at 800.648.7450.