Unlocking Student Potential with the Launch of Learning Matters
Education should not be seen as a privilege.
As part of our commitment to widening the availability of education for all students and teachers, we at McGraw Hill are proud to announce the launch of our Learning Matters grant.
In celebration of the launch of this programme, we will be offering £100,000 worth of technology licenses and services to higher education institutions in the European Region. Learning Matters will increase availability of our digital solutions to more learners, bringing affordable access to quality learning platforms to a wider audience. The doors are now open for Institutions to apply for the chance to receive a grant to bring cutting-edge McGraw Hill technology into their classrooms.
Read on to find out how your organisation can apply today!
Our vision for the future
Learning Matters is a focus for the whole team at McGraw Hill. It ties in with the UN’s fourth sustainable development goal (SDG), which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,” by 2030.
Students are heading into a dynamic world of work. They need to be ready to adapt to rapid - and unexpected - technological, social and global changes. Our mission is to accelerate learning and to support educators in using technology to unlock each student’s full potential.
But like any worthwhile endeavour, we cannot do it alone. We can only achieve our goals through global partnerships with universities and institutions. Working together with expert teams on the ground will enable us to create and deliver engaging, efficient, and effective learning experiences right where it counts - in the classroom.
Partnering to provide equitable learning opportunities
The pandemic has exposed a lack of flexibility in Higher Education. Through no fault of their own, institutions all around the world have not had the right technology to deliver classes under pandemic conditions. Despite organizations’ best efforts and educators’ hard work, delivering adequate learning experiences has been a huge challenge.
In consequence, students everywhere are experiencing learning loss – and closing schools can lead to a lower completion level of degrees at higher education levels. . Because of the distance, students sometimes also perceive there is a lack of support, and suffer from motivation issues and additional stress – especially during exam times.
Learning Matters aims to address these issues.
“After all the disruptions and challenges that have occurred in the past year, we wanted to establish a better way to communicate and scale our commitment to partnering with universities to build solutions that allow them to deliver the best online or hybrid course solutions for their students,” says Robyn McKenna, Regional Business Director.
The Learning Loss report speaks strongly about impact for students/institutes in high-poverty schools. When responding to something as serious and widespread as COVID-19, industry leaders and institutions can only adapt within the constraints of their own budgets. That’s where our new program comes in.
“We have seen that affordability and accessibility have played a large part in how quickly some institutions have been able to implement their digital strategy,” continues Robyn. “With Learning Matters, we want to give institutions the chance to apply for support so that we can partner with them to deliver the best solution for their students.”
Connect in action – it's time to revolutionise your teaching
We spoke to Dr. Graham Shelton-Rayner PhD, BSc (Hons), SFHEA, Associate Professor and Curriculum Lead for Biological & Pharmacological Sciences at Coventry University. He explains how his team integrated Connect at the School of Life Sciences, after developing a new bioscience common first year.
“We embraced the opportunity to support our courses and students by curating a bespoke resource that formed the essential reading across the breadth of our modules,” he says.
Dr. Shelton-Rayner goes on to say that his students have benefited from a range of learning tools and resources. What’s more, his team has been able support their diverse learning needs:
“The Connect learning platform allows our course teams to provide an authentic, interactive and adaptive personalized learning pathway for each member of our student community.”
His department has also made full use of Connect’s full range of course-ready resources.
“This includes the use of adaptive weekly reading activities utilising the ‘smartbook’ functionality that help set the foundation of knowledge in preparation for discursive face to face (or in the case of this past year, Zoom) sessions.”
His team has then further consolidated student learning through the inclusion of formative multimedia-rich quizzes.
“We have also actively integrated Connect into our summative provision by building assessments that are administered through the same interface, ensuring familiarity and the confidence to focus on the material and not the assessment tool,” he says.
And the students aren’t the only ones who’ve benefited from the integration of Connect with the School of Life Sciences. The teaching team finds it quick and simple to use and it has made an appreciable difference to their workload. “Day-to-day administration is amazing: you can build an adaptive reading exercise or quiz in minutes!”
What’s more, Connect comes with full support at every step. Our Implementation & Support team is on hand to help you whenever you need them:
“The support McGraw Hill provides during the initial build and also post implementation requires a special mention,” he says. “Many of my module leaders are saying they feel as though they have gained an extra member to their team.”
Applying for a grant
Student success depends on good teaching combined with a supportive, well designed learning environment. Ensuring that your courses remain accessible, scalable and deliverable online is therefore a key priority for many higher education professionals.
Learning Matters is an opportunity to apply for up to £100,000 of McGraw Hill technology solutions, so your educators have the support and tools they need to do what they do best. The grant is intended to help you implement the changes you need to ensure the coming academic year is successful for both your students and academic team.
As part of our services, our teams at McGraw HIll will work closely with the winning Institution(s) to built a sustainable development plan. Partnering with you hand in hand through the building of bespoke courses, and throughout the implementation process, we will also help you with a multi-year plan and ensure strong KPIs are set to help gain funding for the future.
Applications open on the 10th May and close on the 7th June. Successful applicants will be announced on the 14th June.
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