McGraw-Hill Education Launches K-12 Digital Programs at Annual ISTE Conference

PHILADELPHIA, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ISTE CONFERENCE (BOOTH #915) -- Today at the International Society of Technology in Education's (ISTE) annual conference, McGraw-Hill Education launched a series of K-12 products designed to meet schools' growing demand for digital solutions that increase student engagement and effectively drive achievement.

The products address four principal themes in educational technology: bookless learning and mobile devices, serious gaming, interactive whiteboard instruction and assessment solutions.

McGraw-Hill is showcasing 24 digitally-focused products at its paperless booth, including four that are launching at the conference:

• CINCH™ Learning: An all-digital, cloud-based curriculum for K-12 math and 7-12 science, CINCH Learning is the first program of its kind that students can access on any tablet, computer or mobile device they choose. With educational games and social networking elements – such as the ability to highlight content and spark a discussion that appears like a Facebook comment thread – CINCH Learning offers instructors a number of ways to engage students. The program is fully customizable from the district down to the teacher level, and is available via subscription, representing a new revenue model for McGraw-Hill Education. CINCH Learning, which includes online assessments, is correlated to individual state standards as well as the Common Core State Standards.

• Spark!: Developed in partnership with 360Ed, Spark! is a cutting-edge suite of online courses designed to engage students with a wealth of rich-media content and an online network that encourages them to collaborate and explore. Spark! combines skill-based gaming, social networking, customizable lesson planning, a learning management system and on-demand professional development. Spark! will launch in August for high school biology and Algebra 1, with more math and science courses to follow.

• College & Career Readiness: To address the problem of the growing number of students who are unprepared to enter college or the workforce, McGraw-Hill Education has created a first-of-its-kind, all-digital program designed to promote post-secondary success. This product builds students' knowledge of how to finance college, navigate the application process and choose a career path, and offers guidance from virtual mentors. And because McGraw-Hill Education understands that students' needs are as varied as the students themselves, the College & Career Readiness program is fully customizable for states and districts.

• Acuity for High School: The first high school assessment product to emerge from the Common Core State Standards, the Acuity InFormative Assessment™ solution for high school helps teachers gauge student performance and deliver tailored instruction for every student. Acuity for high school goes beyond simple Common Core alignment to adapt to the new way that these new standards have asked students to think. Launching in the subject areas of English and math, the program contains four elements of a comprehensive assessment system: ongoing skills measurement, in-depth reporting, data analysis, and resources for individual instruction and intervention. With Acuity for high school, teachers can build tests according to their own scope and sequence and deliver them in print or online. The program will be available for classroom use beginning in September.

• LAS Links Online: The first K–12 English language proficiency assessment program to offer a truly digital experience, LAS Links Online captures students' spoken and written responses digitally, allowing teachers to score responses anytime, anywhere. The all-digital testing environment provides a standardized, comfortable testing experience that allows all students to do their best. LAS Links Online provides teachers with immediate access to diagnostic reports, allowing them to quickly determine vital information about a student's English language proficiency, as well as rubrics and exemplary responses to help ease the scoring process and promote professional development. The program will be available to all customers beginning in August.

"We're excited to launch innovative learning solutions that combine the latest digital technology with leading content that's backed by years of research and field-testing," said Bob Bahash, president of McGraw-Hill Education. "McGraw-Hill has long been focused on developing content and programs that drive student achievement by helping teachers deliver engaging learning experiences, and today's digital technology has given us the tools to do this even more effectively."

The International Society for Technology in Education is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PreK–12 and teacher education, representing more than 100,000 professionals worldwide. For more than three decades, ISTE's annual conference has been the world's premier educational technology event, featuring hands-on workshops, lecture-format and interactive concurrent sessions and discussions with industry leaders.

McGraw-Hill's presence at ISTE's conference includes product demonstrations, workshops and presentations by Dr. Kathleen King ("Social Media Scaffolds Learning and Assessment: Peer Learning and Groups", Tuesday at 12:15 p.m.) and Jonathan Parley ("From Levels to Lessons: Using Digital Games in the Classroom," Wednesday at 11:45 a.m.). Conference attendees who visit the McGraw-Hill booth may enter a drawing to win a McGraw-Hill Companion Touch PC. Giveaway items also will be available. Several prize drawings also will be made available to McGraw-Hill Education's followers on Twitter, where the company will be posting live tweets from the conference under the hashtag #ISTE11. The company's Twitter account (@MHEducation) can be found at (http://twitter.com/MHEducation).

About McGraw-Hill School Education

McGraw-Hill School Education, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a leading global innovator in the development of 21st century teaching and learning solutions for K-12 education markets, offering traditional and digital instructional, assessment, and reference content and tools for teachers and students. McGraw-Hill School Education addresses critical areas in primary and secondary education through Learning Solutions Centers focused on improving student learning outcomes and promoting digital innovation in literacy, STEM, college and career readiness, and intervention and special needs education. All of McGraw-Hill's content for elementary schools and secondary schools is available in digital form. McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com.

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

SOURCE McGraw-Hill School Education