IBM Corp. announced today that it has teamed up with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the long-running Sesame Street TV series, to build a classroom artificial intelligence-powered education platform using IBM Watson.

The new “intelligent play and learning platform” is powered by IBM Cloud, and it allows educators to build learning experiences using “Jeopardy”-playing Watson’s cognitive capabilities and Sesame Street’s beloved characters.

The first app launched on the platform is a vocabulary teaching tool that is already being tested out at Georgia’s Gwinnett County Public Schools. IBM says that teachers found the app to be a valuable tool for enhancing students’ vocabulary, with some teachers noting that their kindergartners had been able to quickly learn complicated terms such as “camouflage” and “arachnid.”

“Sesame and IBM share a belief that cognitive computing can enhance and spark excitement for learning in children everywhere,” said Harriet Green, general manager of IBM Watson IoT, Customer Engagement and Education. “Together, we are combining Watson capabilities and Sesame’s rich educational knowledge to give teachers new insights about their students’ vocabulary development and ultimately, create a unique learning experience personalized to each child.”

According to IBM, Watson helped the teachers track their students’ progress in real time, and it provided adaptive assessments that allowed the curriculum to be customized for each student to focus on their weak areas.

IBM and Sesame Workshop first formed a three-year partnership in April 2016, and the play and learning platform announced today is the first joint project the two organizations have revealed. IBM says that the cognitive vocabulary app is only the first of many learning experiences coming to its platform, and it is currently working on other apps with Sesame Workshop that focus on other skills.

“Educational technology like the platform we’ve created with IBM Watson is a promising new channel for learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and we’re excited to explore it further,” said Jeffrey Dunn, chief executive of Sesame Workshop.

IBM’s cognitive solutions have been a main source of growth for the company in recent years, and IBM has formed a number of partnerships to expand Watson into new territories outside of its traditional enterprise role. For example, in addition to education, IBM Watson has also become popular in the medical community, where it is currently being used to diagnose cancer and streamline health care systems.

You can watch a video introducing the IBM and Sesame Workshop’s new cognitive vocabulary app below:

Photo: John O’Boyle/Feature Photo Service for IBM