HLT expands mobile learning with purchase of app developer gWhiz
Education app creator Higher Learning Technologies (HLT) has purchased mobile learning app developer gWhiz, absorbing over 150 learning apps and publishing agreements in the process. The company’s mobile studying products will now include primary to college level study tools, as well as exam training tools and professional career advice. GWhiz's education apps have been downloaded by more than six million people, and HLT will gain several partnerships with global publishing and education companies as a result of the acquisition.

Coralville, Iowa – February 16, 2017 – Higher Learning Technologies, Inc. (HLT), creator of many of the highest grossing and most popular educational apps, and developer of more than 40 mobile study products, today announced it has acquired mobile learning app developer gWhiz.

As part of the acquisition, HLT will absorb gWhiz’s existing catalogue of more than 150 learning applications and publishing agreements. The acquired mobile studying products include course-specific study tools from primary school through college prep as well as professional career and exam training products such as veterinary medicine, real estate, engineering and architecture.

gWhiz’s educational app suite consists of more than 200 apps that have been downloaded by over 6 million people. The acquisition also includes numerous partnerships with some of the largest publishing and education companies around the world. A list of the gWhiz mobile learning products can be found here.

gWhiz was started in 2008, making it the oldest mobile education provider in the marketplace. And the company’s products have been successful — gWhiz learning tools have been downloaded more than 5 million times.

The new, HLT post-acquisition mobile learning inventory will be the largest, most diverse and most popular mobile learning and training catalog in the market. With the gWhiz acquisition, HLT’s total reach, in terms of the number of learning applications offered and total customer base, is expected to more than double. The new, expanded offerings will also accelerate and expand HLT’s ability to meet the growing mobile education and training demands of corporate and workforce learning.

“We’re very excited to aggressively expand our product portfolio with this major acquisition,” said HLT co-founder Adam Keune. “Our platform is used by millions of learners as they successfully master the concepts and apply their knowledge through mobile-first test preparation. Acquiring the gWhiz product line accelerates our rapid growth even further, reaching even more students who are preparing to pass the exams they need to achieve their career goals.”

HLT has won its place as the market leader in mobile study tools because, rather than simply converting existing material to a mobile-compatible, digital format, HLT’s resources are designed and customized for mobile devices. HLT mobile study tools also help users diagnose problem areas and develop an action plan to stay organized – improving the likelihood of success.

In the past 12 months, HLT has launched nearly a dozen new mobile learning tools in test preparation and clinical reference areas including accounting and pharmacy. HLT’s flagship product, the nursing licensure exam app NCLEX Mastery, has been downloaded more than 1.3 million times and remains one of the top grossing mobile apps in education.

The acquisition and strengthened position of HLT in the mobile learning market is especially significant because mobile learning is a rapidly growing segment of education technology. According to the 2016 McGraw Hill Digital Study Trends: Student Habits survey, 46% of higher education students now say the ability to study on mobile devices is either “extremely” or “very” important. The percentage of those who say mobile studying is “extremely” important has jumped from 13% in 2013 to 19% in 2015 to 22% last year.

“There’s little question that the future of learning, from preschool to corporate training, is mobile,” said HLT CEO Alec Whitters. “Students, especially professional and career-focused students, study in their own ways and on their schedules. We’re racing to meet learners where they already are – hungry for great learning products on their mobile devices.”