A longtime supportive of innovative tech alternative, Pearson is now partnering with the tech startup Alleyoop to retool interactive education. The idea basically comes down to “structuring existing content like a Facebook game”: students search for help with their homework via the Alleyoop website, which then culls through its partner website to build a personalized curriculum. Mashable reports the story:

These paid sites are where the Zynga aspect really comes in. Just as they do in Farmville, teens can use a virtual currency to instantly access premium content on Alleyoop. They earn “Yoops” for completing challenges and other tasks, but they have to bring some real bling to the platform in order to access features such as one-on-one tutoring at a rate faster than they can collect Yoops on their own. The sites providing the paid services share revenue with Alleyoop.

I wonder how this will complement Apple’s forays into schoolwork.

-Yannick LeJacq

[Image and story via Mashable]