McGraw-Hill Education Brings History to Life with Launch of First-ever Interactive Social Studies Program

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NCSS CONFERENCE (BOOTH #517) -- Harry Potter struggled to stay awake in his Hogwarts history class because he was unable to connect with the subject matter. If only poor Harry had access to McGraw-Hill Education's Networks™, a groundbreaking multimedia social studies learning system that brings history to life for middle and high school students. The system will be demonstrated at this year's National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference. Available through a subscription model and fulfilling market demand for more innovative solutions, Networks combines engaging print and digital resources to help students discover and learn essential social studies content in world history, U.S. history and civics. Introduced this year in Florida, the system will be available nationwide starting in January 2012, offering a flexible solution that can be implemented across an entire district, regardless of the digital capabilities of individual schools or classrooms.

"Teachers are often challenged with finding ways to make history engaging to students," said Stephen Mico, senior vice president of McGraw-Hill School Education Group's Literacy and Humanities learning center. "With the comprehensive digital and multimedia components found in Networks, social studies content transports students to another time and place, increasing their engagement and achievement in the process. Networks expands students' perspectives of the world and facilitates connections – linking teachers with students and students with the people, places and events that have shaped modern-day society and who we are as citizens – while using technology to navigate the path."

With a library of engaging online resources, the program transforms social studies instruction and learning into an exciting and interactive experience for teachers and students. Students can watch videos of inspiring speeches made by historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. They can upload audio of key moments in time such as man's first steps on the moon, or draw inspiration from a collection of images from the Revolutionary War to the pyramids of Egypt, all while taking notes in their virtual notebooks and sharing and submitting assignments online. Instruction is easily personalized, allowing teachers to modify the reading level of specific text for each student to support differentiated instruction. Teachers can use the "Ready-To-Go" lesson plans found in Networks, as well as customize lessons by adding their own materials. With Networks, the ability to tailor assessments, worksheets, assignments, presentations and lesson plans is as easy as a click of the mouse.

At the NCSS Annual Conference, the industry's premier social studies professional development event, McGraw-Hill Education will feature demonstrations of Networks and the company's social studies programs at booth #517. They will offer special giveaways for booth visitors throughout the conference, including drawings to win an iPad. Additionally, the company recently launched three new social studies iPad apps, eFlashcard, Step into Time & Place and U.S. History Timeline, which will be free for download at the iTunes store during the conference. McGraw-Hill Education will tweet live from the conference with activity updates under the hashtag #NCSS11. McGraw-Hill Education's Twitter account (@MHEducation) can be found at (http://twitter.com/MHEducation).

For more information about Networks, visit: http://www.mcgrawhillnetworks.com/.

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Education is a content, software and services-based education company that draws on its more than 100 years of educational expertise to offer solutions, which improve learning outcomes around the world. McGraw-Hill is the adaptive education technology leader with the vision for creating a highly personalized learning experience that prepares students of all ages for the world that awaits. The company has offices across North America, India, China, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions available in more than 65 languages. For additional information, visit http://www.mheducation.com/.

Contact:
Tom Stanton
McGraw-Hill Education
(212) 904-3214
[email protected]

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education