Project Learning Curve, a push by Domtar Cor., Montreal, Que., Canada, to increase focus on handwriting and the research that shows how much it benefits students, won a Silver Lion this past week at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Cannes is considered the world's most prestigious annual advertising and communications awards honoring marketing excellence. Roughly 40,000 entries, including work for the world's biggest brands, are being judged at the annual festival, held in Cannes, France.

Domtar's "Project Learning Curve" was recognized in the Mobile Services category. The honor came after Domtar spearheaded the creation of the world's first handwriting tracker—an app that connects a digital pen to paper. Just like wearable fitness trackers encourage people to exercise their hearts by tracking their miles, the Project Learning Curve app encourages students to exercise their brains through handwriting. It also allows teachers to monitor what students write on paper, gauge how much time is spent handwriting in class and at home, and set classroom goals for students, such as writing enough characters to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

This honor follows an April announcement that Domtar won a Merit Award for Product and Mobile Integration from The One Show, one of the world's most respected competitions recognizing the best creative work in advertising, interactive, design and branded entertainment.

"We're certainly proud of these awards, but what we're really proud of is how Project Learning Curve illustrates how print and pixels can complement each other in the classroom, giving students the best chance of success," said Paige Goff, Domtar's VP of sustainability and business communications. "A growing body of research underscores the importance of handwriting and the brain development it stimulates, yet a growing number of classrooms have eliminated handwriting from the curriculum because of the greater availability of technology. 

Parents and teachers can learn more about Project Learning Curve and watch a short video. Anyone with the Anoto pen can also download the free app.

Project Learning Curve is part of Domtar's PAPERbecausecampaign, which showcases the effectiveness and sustainability of paper. Since its launch in 2010, the campaign has been profiled in The New York Times, featured on the front page of USA Today, honored by readers of Newsweek, written about in Communication Arts and a series of videos done as part of the campaign has been viewed more than half a million times on YouTube.

In 2013, Domtar's "Paper Hotspot" the SXSW Interactive Festival was also named a finalist for a Cannes Lions award.