On Monday, NetDragon announced that, in collaboration with Pearson Education Asia, the company will launch a new one-stop ‘intelligent education solution’ for the Hong Kong K-12 market. The solution, known as Longman Plus, marks the first output of the partnership between the two education leaders in April at the Digital China Summit.

Longman Plus appears to be a SaaS-style education solution which promises any and all of what the two edtech providers offer. Services described in the press release include “digitalized teaching, personalized learning, and assessment for Hong Kong K-12 learners.”

Longman Plus, an All-of-the-Above SaaS Solution

These services are broken down into 5 ‘modules,’ which include Smart Class, Resource Center, Study Center, Assignment, and eBook. Longman Plus promises to offer as needed services like lesson planning, course supplements, and homework marking. In addition, the software offers a broad data analytics service that will track learners’ progress, assess their weaknesses, and deliver reports to both teachers and families on a suggested best course of action should the student in question require any kind of educational intervention.

To offer such a comprehensive service, the collaboration takes Pearson’s wide experience and catalogue of educational products. The U.K.-based publisher and assessment provider remains the world’s largest publishing company. In putting up their U.S. K-12 course supplement division for sale in the spring, however, the company may soon give up their #1 spot. Pearson currently operates numerous other educational divisions, such as Connections Academy, which takes care of the heavy lifting for numerous U.S. virtual charter schools.

NetDragon, on the other hand, initially made its mark by developing and operating massive multiplayer online games. In recent years, the company has pivoted to focus more on education. Since 2015, NetDragon has acquired edtech companies such as Edmodo, Knowledge Adventure, and Promethean World. With Longman Plus, the company offers its extensive back end support and data analytics architecture.

Pearson and NetDragon’s Ongoing Relationship

“With high quality and diversified learning contents plus globalized assessment and qualification system supported by advanced technology, Pearson aims to offer learners more personalized learning experience in a more efficient and effective way,” said Managing Director of Pearson Greater China Joe Lam, in a statement. “Longman Plus will be able to support the teaching and learning during the whole learning cycle and provide valid feedback. The launching of Longman Plus will satisfy the increasing needs of digitalized learning, and provide the learners with more efficient and personalized learning experience.”

“Leveraging NetDragon’s cutting-edge R&D powerhouse of learning technologies, our cooperation with international education giant Pearson will take the K-12 education market as the starting point and make it the best practice,” said NetDragon rotating CEO Dr. Xiong Li in a statement. “Both parties will join hands to build internationalized education solutions and jointly explore the nature and trends of education. In the future, we hope to promote human bonding through education cooperation, and to link education technology with the Belt and Road Initiative. Together with Pearson, we will expand China’s advanced digital education technology and teaching concepts to the wider international market.”

Longman Plus is currently being piloted by 5 schools among a student body of 3,000. In the following months, Longman Plus will be made available to any Hong Kong schools using Pearson products.

Featurd Image: Rod Bristow, Pearson Education president, speaking at Policy Exchange 2014. Policy Exchange, Flickr.