McGraw-Hill Higher Education Introduces Interactive Digital Learning Tool for Public Speaking Instruction

Public speaking is an essential skill for college students nationwide and it is developed through effective classroom instruction and guidance, followed by continuous practice and feedback. All of these aspects of teaching and learning this craft are reinforced with precision through a revolutionary interactive learning solution from McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a premier provider of print and digital materials for the post-secondary and higher education markets.

McGraw-Hill's new digital solution enables students to use The Art of Public Speaking (Stephen E. Lucas) -- the well-known textbook now in its tenth edition. Since it was first published, Lucas has defined the art for more than 10 million students and instructors. The tenth edition offers a revolutionary digital experience -- McGraw-Hill Connect Lucas and Connect Lucas Plus. The Connect Lucas products allow students and instructors to access all course materials including a complete media and research library featuring the top 100 American speeches, as well as study aids and speech preparation and assessment tools from a single place, connectlucas.com.

With Connect Lucas, students use the traditional printed text. Specially marked icons in the text guide students to the media-rich, interactive features available at connectlucas.com. Connect Lucas Plus allows students and instructors to access the fully-integrated, media-rich textbook from connectlucas.com. As students read the book online, linked icons guide them to embedded media-rich, interactive features.

"Public speaking must move beyond lessons in the classroom to better prepare students for success in their professional lives," said Steve Debow, president, McGraw-Hill Higher Education Humanities, Social Sciences, and Languages. "The Connect Lucas teaching and learning solutions take public speaking courses to the next level by providing students with the necessary resources and tools to create and present more effective speeches in real-world business situations."

Evaluation is an important part of any learning process and especially important for public speaking. Connect Lucas products allow for instructor commentary as well as peer-to-peer evaluation through embedded comments within video speeches all via the "Speech Capture" feature. Each comment has a timestamp so the student can review his or her videotaped speech and identify the specific sections that were critiqued. A video database of sample speeches and an online forum where students can comment on each other's work are two particularly helpful software features that allow students and instructors to address problems within a speech and ensure mistakes are corrected effectively. This level of attention and direct critique helps create an interactive online community and positive learning environment where students can have discussions and offer constructive criticism to each other, anytime.

Instructors can create, administer and grade assignments and exams completely online via the Connect Lucas products. Course material also may be customized, enabling instructors to include the features and lessons most relevant to their specific classes. In addition, a broadcast page provides a digital arena for instructors to communicate with their students.

  For more information, please visit www.connectlucas.com

  About McGraw-Hill Higher Education

McGraw-Hill Higher Education is a premier provider of teaching and learning solutions for the post-secondary and higher education markets worldwide. It is a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, a leading global provider of instructional, assessment and reference solutions that empower professionals and students of all ages. McGraw-Hill Education has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 60 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

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SOURCE: McGraw-Hill Higher Education

CONTACT: Tom Stanton of McGraw-Hill Education, +1-212-904-3214,
tom_stanton@mcgraw-hill.com

Web Site: http://www.mheducation.com/