McGraw-Hill Selects Paris High School Class to Participate in All-Digital Writing Course Pilot and Video Contest

PARIS, Texas, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- With today's teens immersed in digital technology at home, McGraw-Hill School Education Group is bringing online and interactive learning into the classroom at Paris High School in Paris, Texas.  Thirty PHS seniors have been selected to participate in a special pilot program of Glencoe's Writer's Workspace, a new all-digital writing program that is designed to engage students while providing rigorous writing and grammar instruction. As part of the pilot, the seniors will participate in the Writer's Workspace Student Video Project, a joint effort between McGraw-Hill and Paris High School that will equip the students with their own Flip video cameras so they can produce 2-minute journalistic broadcast segments about their experiences with Writer's Workspace and digital learning overall. The competition kicked off on November 1 and concludes on December 10.  Winners will be announced on December 15 and all videos will be posted on YouTube and other social media channels.

At Paris High School, the video project is being led by veteran Dual Credit English IV Teacher Connie Dodd and judged by broadcast journalism teacher Tim Taylor. "We're excited to introduce our students to Writer's Workspace and present them with a learning assignment that truly embraces the digital nature of the platform," said Dodd.   "Students will have the opportunity to analyze the program, reflect on their experiences with it, and think more broadly about the benefits of using digital tools to enhance their skills and achievement in the classroom."

"We're extremely pleased to partner with McGraw-Hill in this innovative project," said Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Student Services Mark Hudson. "This year Paris High juniors and seniors are each receiving their own laptop, and the Writer's Workspace pilot melds perfectly with our goals for 21st century learning."   Also assisting with the project is Paris ISD Instructional Technology Specialist Missi Downs.

Using their Flip cameras, students are expected to creatively capture video footage of their peers working on Writer's Workspace in the classroom and present their opinions of the program and the concept of digital learning in a journalistic style. The first-place student will receive an iPad and the second-and third-place winners will each receive an iPod Touch – all courtesy of McGraw-Hill.

"Access to digital technology is essential in 21st-century classroom learning, and we are proud to partner with Paris High School to bring the fully digital Writer's Workspace to its students," said Stephen Mico, senior vice president of McGraw-Hill Education's Literacy and Humanities group. "By pairing a writing course with a broadcast journalism assignment, we're giving students an opportunity to apply a natural and very practical extension of storytelling in today's society."

Writer's Workspace, designed for middle and high school students, supports guided writing and grammar instruction through a three-step process. First, students are expected to think about and respond to literature in the genre they will be writing in, then bridge to writing through short and focused exercises, and finally, continue building acquired skills by writing longer compositions.  Key student components include 24 writing workshops per grade level and interactive student models and graphic organizers, as well as a comprehensive grammar and composition eBook. Teachers are provided with a management system to review and comment on student writing during any stage of the writing process. Teachers can assess student writing using a rubric generator or an online essay grader, which automatically scores student's compositions. The teacher guide offers suggestions to differentiate instruction for a variety of different learners.

The program will roll out to Texas this year and to other states in 2011. For more information about Writer's Workspace, visit: www.glencoe.com/texaswriting. For additional information about McGraw-Hill Education offerings, visit www.mheonline.com.

About McGraw-Hill School Education Group Literacy & Humanities Center

Literacy and civic skills develop critical thinking and are the foundation of educational success. The McGraw-Hill Education Literacy & Humanities Center helps students establish these skills as well as expands their knowledge of literature, social studies, and world languages. A variety of proven PreK-12 programs and digital platforms combine to improve students' literacy skills and build a strong foundation for success.

About McGraw-Hill School Education Group

The McGraw-Hill School Education Group, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a leading 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. The School Education Group 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.

SOURCE McGraw-Hill Education