Digital Learning Tools Are Helping Students

A 2017 survey of chief academic officers (CAOs) found that more than 85% said they believe digital learning tools make learning more efficient and effective for students. In addition, 92% said adaptive learning has great potential to improve learning outcomes and nearly 90% would like their faculty to use the technology more often in entry-level and gateway courses.

Students clearly agree, as 94% responding to the fourth-annual McGraw-Hill Education digital student trends survey said using digital learning technologies helped them retain new concepts and 60% said the tools helped to improve their grades.

“Powerful digital learning technology can customize the learning experience for every student, helping him or her understand challenging concepts more fully and empowering them to improve their classroom performance,” said Scott Virkler, chief product officer, McGraw-Hill Education. “As these solutions continue to make inroads on college campuses, we look forward to seeing even more improvements in student learning outcomes.”

Students said digital learning tools were helpful in preparing for tests and exams and completing assignments, and made self-study easier. The survey also reported a majority of students use laptops more than printed materials to complete homework and in test preparation, while just 38% said they used their smartphone on assignments or for test prep.

On the other hand, the CAOs told pollsters that students without the necessary digital devices were holding back campus efforts to go more digital or all-digital.

“Owning a digital device—a laptop or tablet—really is essential for digital access,” said Kenneth C. Green, founding director of The Campus Computing Project. “Although well-intended, extended hours in campus computer labs do not adequately serve the needs or the schedules of full- and part-time students who have families, jobs, and other community commitments beyond their college coursework.”

McGraw-Hill Launches SmartBook at CES

An update to the college textbook was among the new innovations introduced at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. McGraw-Hill Education launched SmartBooks, an adaptive approach to textbooks that acts as a virtual tutor to focus on the individual student’s area of study needs.

“This is about breaking a model that isn’t really working,” Brian Kibby, president of McGraw Hill Higher Education, told The Wall Street Journal.

Available for PCs, Macs, and iOS and Android mobile devices, SmartBook give students an overview of the content in a preview of each chapter. Students then answer a series of questions presented by the software and the textbook recommends material to study, tracks the student’s progress, and continues to update material to view.

SmartBook is part of the LearnSmart Advantage software suite from McGraw-Hill and will be available in the spring for more than 90 courses. Prices for SmartBook were not announced, but the LearnSmart suite starts at $19.99 and can be purchased or rented semester.

Apollo Global Acquires McGraw-Hill Education

Apollo Global Management is making a $2.5 billion investment in education technology with its purchase of McGraw-Hill Education. The private-equity firm, which specializes in leveraged buyouts, sees the acquisition as its entry into a growth industry.

“We look forward to leveraging the company’s leading portfolio of trusted brands and innovative digital learning solutions to drive growth through the ongoing convergence of education and technology on a global basis,” said Larry Berg, senior partner at Apollo, in announcing the deal, which is expected to be finalized early next year.

Education technology has proved attractive to investors over the last few years because of the rise in education costs, innovations in electronic devices, and an increasing demand for digital content for those devices. In fact, investment in education technology companies reached $930 million in 2011, according to a report in the Financial Post.

“I think the future trend is beginning to build a relationship with the individual student,” Eric Bassett, vice president at Eduventures, told eCampus News. “Students are not linear; therefore, institutions cannot have accountability unless you can begin to define impact on individual students. Everything that I’ve seen suggests that Apollo understands these trends.”

However, at least one New York banker said the deal could be a risky one for Apollo.

“Think about textbooks and government budgets getting crushed,” the banker told the New York Post. The unnamed banker added that the John Paulson and Guggenheim Partners’ 2010 investment in Houghton Mifflin ended badly when the publisher went bankrupt. In addition, McGraw-Hill Education reported its third-quarter revenues dropped 11% and its operating profits fell 20%.

The rest of McGraw-Hill, which announced its intention to split into two companies in 2011, will be renamed McGraw-Hill Financial with a focus on finance and global markets. The new company plans to use the estimated $1.9 million in profits from the deal to make acquisitions, pay back previous debt, and fund its stock buyback program.