McGraw-Hill Education Enters Higher Education Gaming Market with Launch of McGraw-Hill Practice Line of Simulations at SXSWedu

Company’s new suite of games includes “Government in Action,” a 3D, multiplayer game that provides personalized, experiential learning for college students

McGraw-Hill Education today announced its entry into the higher education gaming market with the launch of McGraw-Hill Practice, a suite of hands-on, experiential learning games that provide the next generation of digital, personalized learning experiences for today’s students. Included in the McGraw-Hill Practice suite is Government in Action, the industry’s first 3D, multiplayer game for the American Government course, which is taken by more than 750,000 students per year. Government in Action, which McGraw-Hill Education developed in conjunction with Muzzy Lane Software, simulates the experience of being a member of the U.S. Congress, allowing college students to apply the concepts and principles they are learning in the classroom by collaborating with and competing against their fellow students to secure political capital and get re-elected. Government in Action and the other games in the McGraw-Hill Practice suite are designed to reinforce learning while increasing engagement, a key element of successful instruction in today’s classroom.

Gaming has been one of the most popular trends in education in recent years. While all students have their own unique and preferred learning style, learning by actively engaging with a subject is a learning method shown to appeal to a large number of today’s students. Popularized by educational theorist David Kolb and supported by numerous studies, experiential learning has been proven to be one of the most efficient and effective ways to learn difficult or complex concepts. Government in Action, which was built based on the cognitive science behind experiential learning, helps students not only engage with the concepts of their American Government course but apply those concepts in their daily lives and personally understand how the American government actually works.

The McGraw-Hill Practice suite of games expands McGraw-Hill Education’s leadership in innovative, personalized learning. Earlier this year, the company launched the LearnSmart Advantage suite of adaptive learning products, which includes SmartBook, the world’s first-ever adaptive e-book. The company also recently made its adaptive learning platform, McGraw-Hill LearnSmart, available for the K-12 market.

“At McGraw-Hill Education, we’ve built our digital solutions with the understanding that digital, personalized learning in its many forms – adaptive technology, games and data-driven instruction – is simply the most effective way to learn,” said Stephen Laster, chief digital officer of McGraw-Hill Education. “With McGraw-Hill Practice and Government in Action, we’re incorporating the leading principles of cognitive science and technology in our product development. By tapping into the way today’s students learn most successfully – including real-life simulations and the competitive elements of gaming – we are helping to improve student performance.”

Government in Action allows students to explore the real-world challenges and day-to-day experiences of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Students compete and collaborate with classmates to obtain political capital by developing and passing legislation and strategizing political moves, such as seeking co-sponsorship of a bill from a member of the competing party or launching a national media campaign. Players have limited resources to spend, so cooperation with other students is crucial to finding success in the game.

“Government in Action has helped me bring my American Government course to life by creating an engaging environment for students to explore the reality I’m teaching,” said Professor Jason Seitz of Georgia Perimeter College. “Government in Action helps my students tie all of the concepts in my course together to develop a deeper understanding and knowledge of the subject. With an engaged classroom, I can spend less time transferring facts and more time exploring implications. Not only has Government in Action made studying American Government more enjoyable for my students, it has made teaching it more fun, too.”

Accessible online through McGraw-Hill Connect, Government in Action is available to students taking the American Government course at participating institutions. The game starts at a price point of $40 per semester. A demo of the game is available at http://www.mhpractice.com/. The McGraw-Hill Practice suite also includes Practice Marketing and Practice Operations. Practice Marketing is another multiplayer simulation that puts students’ marketing skills to the test in a competitive, real-world environment designed to support the Marketing Principles course. Practice Operations brings operations management to life by allowing students to manage operations of a clothing manufacturing and distribution company while reinforcing key concepts that promote critical thinking and strategic decision making. McGraw-Hill Education expects to launch more games in the McGraw-Hill Practice line over the coming months.

McGraw-Hill Education at SXSWedu
For more information about Government in Action, the McGraw-Hill Practice suite, and to preview all of the company’s digital offerings, visit McGraw-Hill Education at the 2013 SXSWedu Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.

• Brian Kibby, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education, will share his thoughts on the “Making Public/Private Partnerships Work,” panel on March 5 at 12:00 p.m. CT.
• Jeff Livingston, McGraw-Hill Education’s senior vice president of Education Policy and Strategic Alliances, will be speaking on the panel “From Legacy to Uncertainty: The Digital Future of Major ‘Textbook’ Publishers” on March 6 at 12:00 p.m. CT.
• McGraw-Hill Education will post live tweets from the conference through its Twitter feeds (@MHEducation, @MHhighered) using the conference hashtag #MHESXSW.

Additional information about McGraw-Hill Education can be found at http://www.mheducation.com/.