Apple Computer and Houghton Mifflin Company Announce ARPA Funding

CUPERTINO, California--December 16, 1993--Apple Computer, Inc. and Houghton Mifflin Company today announced that they and their partners in the East/West Consortium have won an award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense to develop authoring tools and instructional software. Together with PWS Publishing (Boston), the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Colorado, and Stanford University Medical School, Houghton Mifflin and Apple, the founding members of the Consortium, will develop new authoring tools to enable teams skilled in education, but not in programming, to design educational software that will be effective and user friendly and will dramatically reduce the time needed for students to learn new skills.

The ARPA award provides dollar-for-dollar matching funds of up to $3 million to be divided among the Consortium members for the first eighteen months of the project. Half of the funds from ARPA will go to the university members who have pioneered the development of innovative educational software and authoring tools. Contingent upon satisfactory progress by the Consortium, ARPA will contribute an additional $3 million for the second eighteen month period. Development of the authoring tools and instructional applications is part of the Technology Reinvestment Project, a government-wide collaborative effort to focus commercial attention on technology innovation, infrastructure, education, and training issues of importance to the national economy and national security.

For the partners of the East/West Consortium, the potential for this project extends quite clearly into educational and commercial applications that will benefit a wide range of instructors and students from elementary, secondary, and higher education as well as business, government, and defense training. The authoring tools will help create instructional applications for engineering, mathematics, sciences, second language learning, medical training, and other content areas.

Jim Spohrer, Apple Distinguished Scientist & Manager of the Authoring Concepts Group, said, "Apple has a strong commitment to learning and education, and we are pleased to be part of the East/West Consortium. The easy-to-use authoring tools developed under this program will play a major role in future instructional systems." Nader F. Darehshori, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Houghton Mifflin Company, said, "Committing more resources to instructional technology development is an important part of Houghton Mifflin's corporate strategy, and the matching funds received will support that intent. The electronic products developed under this initiative will be targeted to the high school and college markets with the appropriate operating units taking responsibility for them. This is consistent with our strategy to involve each of our divisions directly in software development. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with such outstanding partners and the support of the government to broaden learning opportunities for students."

Based in Cupertino, California, Apple Computer, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets personal computer, server, and personal interactive electronic systems for use in business, education, home, science, engineering, and government. A recognized pioneer and innovator in the personal computer industry, Apple does business in more than 120 countries across the world.

Houghton Mifflin Company is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and is a leading publisher of textbooks, instructional technology, assessments, and other educational materials for the elementary / secondary school and college markets, as well as an extensive line of reference publications, fiction and nonfiction for adult and young readers.

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