Analytics tool tracks higher-ed classroom performance
Connecting state and local government leaders
Connect Insight, a mobile analytics tool, helps instructors visualize how individual students are performing relative to their peers.
Education content giant McGraw-Hill introduced what it called the first-of-its-kind analytics tool for higher education that lets teachers plot the performance of individual students and classes using new big data and visualization technologies.
McGraw-Hill said the mobile tool, called Connect Insight, lets instructors identify how individual students are performing in a class relative to their peers, as well as gauge the effectiveness of their teaching content and assignments.
The tool also gives faculty members insights – not just information, says McGraw-Hill – about the progress of the class as a whole and acts as an “early warning system” to identity and help struggling students, according to the company.
"With Connect Insight, we're taking data analysis to a new level by helping instructors see a fuller picture of how students are performing and providing the information they need to coach at just the right time," said Brian Kibby, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
The mobile application works with McGraw-Hill Connect, the firm’s online learning platform for higher education.
"An instructor's time is precious and shouldn't be wasted on manual data analysis or sifting through voluminous data reports that don't connect the dots about student performance," said Stephen Laster, chief digital officer of McGraw-Hill Education.
The company introduced the technology at SXSWedu, the annual Austin, Texas, conference and festival for education professionals.
In other announcement from the gathering, McGraw-Hill launched Practice Spanish: Study Abroad, a multiplayer language learning game that provides college students an immersive environment while learning the language.
The Spanish learning game adds to McGraw-Hill educational gaming portfolio, the company said, which includes Government in Action and Practice Marketing.
Government in Action allows students to explore the day-to-day experiences of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Students can compete “to obtain political capital” by developing legislation and weighing political moves or launching a national media campaign. Players have limited resources to spend, so cooperation with other students is crucial to success in the game.
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