Next Target for IBM's Watson? Third-Grade Math

It knew enough about medical diagnoses and literature to beat "Jeopardy!" Now, an IBMcomputer platform called Watson is taking on something really tough: teaching third-grade math. For the past two years, the IBM Foundation has worked with teachers and their union, the American Federation of Teachers, to build Teacher Advisor, a program that uses artificial-intelligence technology to answer questions from educators and help them build personalized lesson plans. By the end of the year, it will be available free to third-grade math teachers across the country and will add subject areas and grade levels over time. "The idea was to build a personal adviser, so a teacher would be able to find the best lesson and then customize the lesson based upon their classroom needs," said Stanley S. Litow, president of the IBM Foundation.