QuickWire: Company News About Peer Review, Assessment, and Language Instruction

• Academia.edu, a company that offers scholars an online platform on which to share profiles and research papers and check how often others are using them, has acquired a similar company, Plasmyd, whose technology lets scholars post comments on others’ papers. Academia.edu says it plans to “utilize Plasmyd’s experience in fostering peer review online to build a more reliable validation system around research.”

• ExamSoft, which markets assessment tools, has created a rubric-based assessment platform for capturing information about essays, presentations, class participation, and other subjective components of courses. The company says the new platform will let instructors give students “clear and actionable direction around subjective assignments and assessments.”

• EF Education First, a Swiss company that offers a variety of study-abroad and language-instruction programs, has released a language-teaching app for corporate customers’ Android devices. The company says the app “offers Android device users the same school ‘anytime’ experience” that customers can already have on computers and iPads.