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More than 1.2 million students and professors nationwide are now using McGraw-Hill Connect - an advanced all-digital teaching and learning exchange for higher education.

Customize Instruction, And Engage Online

Since the online platform was introduced last fall, colleges and universities across the country have embraced this 21st century learning tool, which enables professors to easily customize instruction and allows students to master content and succeed in courses.

With Connect, students are now engaged with course content outside the classroom - from wherever they are and from whichever device they use to access the Internet. In fact, a recent survey of Connect users shows that more than 90 percent of students access Connect frequently at home or in their dorm rooms, helping them remain engaged with class content throughout the day, week and semester.

With this increased access to course content, nearly 3/4ths of the students using Connect feel better prepared for exams and assignments, according to a McGraw-Hill research study.

"Connect is an extremely effective and powerful tool for 21st century teaching and learning," said Ed Stanford, president, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. "We're very pleased that Connect is yielding excellent results in college classrooms across the country, enhancing faculty productivity and driving greater student achievement."

Instructors and students cite key benefits of Connect:

• quality of content,
  
• ease of use,
  
• integration with text,
  
• the ability to reinforce classroom material 24-7
  

Of the professors surveyed by McGraw-Hill, 80 percent stated that they are using Connect to improve student learning and retention.  

Surveyed students said that Connect helps

• reinforce classroom concepts through practice tests and quizzes,
  
• prepare them for success on assignments and exams,
  
• master course content.
  

"Connect is a great product, and now I cannot imagine teaching my class without it. My students like the feedback and the practice they get from doing the homework," said Jerri Buiting, Professor of Marketing at Baker College in Flint, Mich. "Connect really helps keep my students engaged."

26 academic disciplines

Connect currently covers 26 academic disciplines and about 15 more will be added this year. To view more information about Connect, visit www.mcgrawhillconnect.com.

About McGraw-Hill Higher Education:

McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a provider of teaching and learning solutions for 21st century post-secondary and higher education markets worldwide. Through a comprehensive range of traditional and digital education content and tools, McGraw-Hill Higher Education empowers educators and prepares professionals and students of all ages to connect, learn and succeed in the global economy. McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) , has offices in 33 countries and publishes in more than 65 languages. Additional information is available at http://www.mheducation.com/.

Source: McGraw-Hill Higher Education; McGraw-Hill Connect

Doubling Research Budgets

With enactment of the America COMPETES Act, the US set the basic research agencies -- National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) -- on a path to doubling their research budgets.

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Nearly two-thirds of papers cited in the U.S. patent applications were supported through federal funding, according to the AAAS report. However, applying the results of the research and getting the new technologies to the market is often the sticking point. This gap is often referred to as the "Valley of Death."

Commercialization in Small Business with Public-Private Partnerships

In addition to programs, like the Technology Innovation Program at NIST, which helps small high-tech entrepreneurs bring new technologies to the market, one of the policy strategies is to create public-private partnerships. Government funding can mitigate some financial risk -- which can lead to a faster pace of innovation -- and the private sector can ensure that the new technologies can get over the Valley of Death and to the market.

Advanced Vehicle Technology Act

Provides the most comprehensive authorization to date for long-term sustained funding of public-private vehicle R&D and commercial application activities in the DOE Vehicle Technologies Program.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership at NIST

This is the only program of its kind to help keep small American manufacturers on the cutting edge by enhancing growth, improving productivity and expanding capacity.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, (ARPA-E)

Modeled after the highly successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, received an overwhelming response -- 3,700 white papers -- far exceeding anyone's expectations. There is pent-up need for this type of transformational technology development that will result in green jobs here in the U.S.

America COMPETES Act

Reauthorization is due in 2010 to improve science, technology, engineering, and math education, to develop a skilled workforce to develop and manage new technologies.

"When I graduated from college, I competed with graduates from my community for jobs. A few years later, graduates were in competition with jobseekers from all over the country. When my 8-year-old daughter graduates from college, she will compete with graduates from all over the world. The world is getting smaller, and that's why it's critical that the U.S. ensures its places as a leader in innovation for years to come," summarizes Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.), chair of the US House Science and Technology Committee. 

We need not only to keep producing the world's best scientists and engineers, but we need to ensure that all of our children are prepared to step into the technical, high-paying jobs of the next century. I'm encouraged that the White House had been engaged on this issue, with the president's speech this week and the release of a white paper on a strategy for innovation.

The U.S. has a vested interest in ensuring that we develop not only new technologies but also better ways to make existing products. Half the world's workers make less than $2 per day. We cannot -- and do not want to --compete on wages. We need to have faster, more efficient means of production to ensure that products are made here in the U.S.

Changes in technology are the only source of permanent increases in productivity, according to a 2001 report by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership at NIST is the only program of its kind to help keep small American manufacturers on the cutting edge by enhancing growth, improving productivity and expanding capacity.


He points out that technological innovation surpasses financial and real estate economic benefits.  Hmmm....

"About half the growth in our GDP since World War II is related to development and adoption of new technologies.  We spend less than 3 percent of our GDP on R&D, which offers an incredible return on investment, for the government and businesses alike. Unlike the recent boom and bust of the financial and real estate markets, technological advancements can provide long-term, sustainable economic growth."

Read more of Rep. Gordon's excellent editorial.