Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/137888
10 Wednesday, June 26, 2013 MACKIN HAS FULL ASSORTMENT OF E-READER APPS Mackin Educational Resources is proud to announce the latest upgrade to MackinVIA™. It comes in the form of eight new e-reader apps now available for iPad, iPhone, Android tablets and Android smart phones, Nook and Kindle. Additionally, two new apps were created for desktop use for PC and Mac. The free application expands the capabilities of the already popular MackinVIA content management system for e-books and online databases, allowing for offline reading and giving users greater access to their Mackin cloud digital resources from virtually anywhere they choose. "I am very excited about the release of these eight new MackinVIA e-reader apps," says Shannon Miller, a wellknown district teacher, librarian and tech- nology integration specialist from Van Meter Community School District in Van Meter, Iowa. "As an electronic resource management system, MackinVIA has revolutionized my school's library. Now, our students will be able to download ebooks and continue their learning adventures, even when they are offline, from a variety of different devices." More than simply an eResources portal, MackinVIA is now a complete package with its e-reader application. In addition to allowing MackinVIA users to check out and download e-books for offline reading, the app includes features such as keyword search, bookmarking and annotations. There are three integrated levels of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, EasyBib citations and the ability MCGRAW-HILL EDUCATION: USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO REINFORCE STUDENT SUCCESS Recent data shows that 40 percent of students who graduate from high school are not prepared for the rigor of college. We, as educators, have a responsibility to better prepare our students for success, not only in high school, but in college and their careers. At McGraw-Hill Education, one way we are working towards a solution is to develop innovative digital solutions that will assist schools and teachers in better preparing students for their current coursework, as well as success in college and their future careers. Adaptive technologies for the high school classroom Of all the education technologies on the market, adaptive learning technology is best delivering on the promise of person- alizing the educational process to meet the specific needs of each student. After a proven record of success in college classrooms across the country, McGraw-Hill Education introduced its personal digital tutor, McGraw-Hill LearnSmart™, to the high school market this year to improve college readiness. LearnSmart uses the "smartest" adaptive engine in the industry to personalize learning by pinpointing which concepts students know and don't know and assessing their confidence levels to design targeted study paths that improve students' knowledge in the areas where they need it most. LearnSmart has been shown to increase student achievement by up to a full letter grade in college classrooms. The program helps students study more PBS LEARNINGMEDIA: FREE DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR PREK-12 PBS LearningMedia has announced that it now offers more than 30,000 digital resources available for free to PreK-12 educators nationwide. The new resources address nationwide curriculum gaps in digital media and bolster the service's offerings in math, science, English/language arts, social studies and the arts. "These new resources will help educators engage and empower students with different learning styles by leveraging the power of digital media," said Alicia Levi, Managing Director, PBS LearningMedia. "Through PBS LearningMedia, we are providing accessible, flexible and high-quality educational content that brings students faceto-face with the subjects they are studying, ultimately inspiring learning and driving achievement." New content features include interactive games, videos and lesson plans from PBS and PBS KIDS programs, including Constitution USA, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Shakespeare Uncovered, and custom-created interactive math and literacy content for middle school classrooms. Highlights include: Constitution USA: Videos, lesson plans, interactives and images from the PBS program. The new content allows students to explore the meaning and relevance of the U.S. Constitution for all Americans. Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: Videos showcasing the hit PBS KIDS preschool series' social-emotional curriculum to help early learners build the social skills necessary for school and life. Makers: Women Who Make America: A collection of videos from the critically acclaimed program with lesson plans that explore the pioneering contributions of women. Shakespeare Uncovered: Video segments, informational texts, discussion questions and suggestions for extension activities to enhance students' reading, viewing and appreciation of Shakespeare's works. This content is designed for students in grades 8 -12. Ed Tech Show Daily to create highlighted text in an array of colors. Reading offline is as simple as downloading the app and then downloading an e-book through MackinVIA. "We built MackinVIA to function as an e-resource management system that is intuitive and convenient to use, but robust and stable to handle the demands school librarians have," says Randal Heise, Mackin Educational Resources President. "Now, with the expanded capabilities of the MackinVIA reader, students, teachers and librarians no longer need an internet connection to access their eresources. With a simple download, they can carry e-books with them on any device – into the classroom, onto the school bus and into the real world." The MackinVIA portal provides students and staff with simple and convenient access to the entire collection of ebooks and databases a school has efficiently and effectively and come to class better prepared, allowing teachers to focus more on leading rich class discussions or facilitating collaborative learning experiences. Advancing Advanced Placement preparation While Advanced Placement (AP) enrollments are growing at a rate of 10 percent per year, the vast majority of new AP class takers are not becoming AP exam passers. In fact, only 50 percent of students are passing AP exams, and as many as 20 percent of students enrolled in AP classes don't take the test. (*Advanced Placement Program and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, these products.) To increase AP pass rates, which will ultimately help ensure that students are better prepared for the rigors of college courses, McGraw-Hill Education has created a suite of AP preparation programs that help students at every step of their Middle School Math and Literacy Collections: New interactive math and literacy collections targeting subjects not widely covered in the digital space. Online lessons for blended learning: The Walmart Middle School Literacy Initiative produced by WGBH offers blended, cross-curricular lessons that enhance the literacy skills of struggling readers and writers in grades 5-8. Digital learning objects: Created in partnership with the Gates Foundation, these objects explore complex math topics such as understanding integers, making math fun and relatable. PBS LearningMedia is designed to meet the critical needs of educators in 21st century classrooms and was recently honored with the 2013 SIIA CODiE Award for Best K-12 Solution and Best Educational Reference Solution. About PBS LearningMedia As America's largest classroom, teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons acquired. Through just one login, MackinVIA users can explore more than 100,000 fiction and nonfiction digital titles and e-resources from a wide variety of publishers, with hundreds of titles being added each day. Known for its high commitment to customer care and customization, Mackin provides PreK-12 grades with print books, e-books, online databases, audiobooks, video resources and more to schools across the country and around the globe. Learn more about Mackin Educational Resources by visiting www.mackin.com or calling 800-245-9540 – where every phone call is always answered in person and true customer service still exists. For more information, go to www.mackin.com, call 800-245-9540, email mackin@mackin.com or visit booth 9248 at ISTE. AP journey, from course prep and support to exam study tools. Developed with extensive input from an AP Expert Advisory panel, the all-digital learning solutions include: Onboard – designed to help students develop the skills and background information they need to succeed before they enter their AP courses; SCOREboard (built on the same platform as LearnSmart) – an adaptive recommendation engine to tailor studying to prepare a student for success on the AP exam after they complete the course. By making studying more efficient and learning more personalized, these digital tools have the power to help schools and teachers achieve the common goal of making American students college and career ready and properly prepared for a global workforce. For more information, visit online at www.mheducation.com or stop by booth 13184 at ISTE. to life. PBS LearningMedia, a partnership of PBS and WGBH Educational Foundation, is a free mediaon-demand service available to educators nationwide. It brings together the best of public media and delivers research-based, classroom-ready rich media experiences that engage students in exploring curriculum concepts that align with National and Common Core State Standards. Drawing from critically acclaimed PBS programs such as NOVA, Frontline, American Experience, and PBS KIDS programs like Sid The Science Kid, as well as content from organizations including The National Archives Smithsonian, NPR and NASA, the free service offers teachers access to more than 30,000 videos, images and articles to enrich classroom instruction. Nationwide, more than 875,000 teachers have registered access to PBS LearningMedia. More information about PBS LearningMedia is available at www.pbslearningmedia.org or by following PBS LearningMedia on Twitter and Facebook. Or visit booth 10270 at ISTE.