McGraw-Hill Education to Utilize IMS Global Learning Consortium Technology Standards in Partnership With Blackboard

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At HigherEdTECH, McGraw-Hill Education today announced seamless integration of its Connect platform and Blackboard Learn™ using certified standards initiated by IMS Global Learning Consortium.  IMS Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) v1.0 provides a single framework or standard way of integrating rich learning applications with platforms like learning management systems.

McGraw-Hill is one of the first major educational content providers to adopt the LTI framework and by doing so:

• increases options for students and instructors when selecting learning applications,
• reduces support costs for institutions, and
• enables easy integration of applications within the learning system or portal.

"As we continue to develop innovative technologies for the classroom it is critical that these technologies are able to connect seamlessly without having to develop and maintain custom integrations, thereby improving efficiency and lowering costs overall," said Bruce Marcus, senior vice president, Information Technology, McGraw-Hill Education. "By utilizing the LTI framework we will be able to offer all course resources in a single, online environment, designed to significantly improve faculty and student workflows. As technology moves forward in education, standards and frameworks will be essential to enabling innovation," added Marcus.

"Providing leadership in the implementation of the LTI open standards indicates that McGraw-Hill and Blackboard are committed to providing faculty and students with a seamless and elegant user experience," comments Dr. Rob Abel, chief executive of IMS Global Learning Consortium. "This is the beginning of a new era of integrated and innovative learning tools that are easy to integrate in a secure way regardless of their source or location on the Internet."

The partnership between Blackboard and McGraw-Hill Higher Education leverages the strengths of both organizations to develop a best-of-breed integration between Blackboard Learn and McGraw-Hill digital content and tools.  Unique in higher education, the partnership of McGraw-Hill Higher Education and Blackboard preserves the spirit of academic freedom and openness.  Blackboard remains publisher agnostic, McGraw-Hill remains LMS agnostic, and students, instructors, and institutions collectively benefit.

To learn more about the combined offerings of McGraw-Hill Education and Blackboard  please visit www.domorenow.com

About IMS Global Learning Consortium

The mission of the IMS Global Learning Consortium is to advance technology that can affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment.  To ensure that the "Learning Impact" of technology-enabled innovation is achieved around the world, IMS's influential community of educational institutions, suppliers, and government organizations develops open interoperability standards, supports adoption with technical services, and encourages adoption through programs that highlight effective practices.

IMS GLC represents more than 160 member organizations and Common Cartridge & Learning Tools Interoperability Alliance participants. These participant organizations represent every sector of the global learning community. They include hardware and software vendors, educational institutions, publishers, government agencies, systems integrators, multimedia content providers, and other consortia. IMS provides a neutral forum in which members work together to advocate the use of technology to support and transform education and learning.

About McGraw-Hill Higher Education

McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a leading innovator in the development of 21st century teaching and learning digital solutions for postsecondary and higher education markets worldwide. Through a comprehensive range of traditional and digital education content and tools focused on improving student learning outcomes, McGraw-Hill Higher Education empowers and prepares professionals and students to connect, learn and succeed in the global economy. 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.

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education