Cengage Delivers Online Learning Platform
Ed tech developer Cengage Learning has launched a new online learning platform.
Called MindTap, the platform is designed to work across devices--traditional computers, smart phones, and tablets--to deliver coursework, learning management, and a range of educational materials. Some of those educational materials are delivered via "MindApps," a collection of apps from Cengage and third-party sources that provide syllabus-aligned instructional activities, along with broader functionality like lecture capture, remediation tools, social networking, tutoring, and plagiarism prevention, among others. MindTap also provides a dashboard for students to access their own work and tools for teachers and administrators to assess and track student learning.
In addition to MindApps, the platform also provides MindTap Reader, a tool that's designed to enhance the electronic textbook experience with "significant reading learning activity functionality embedded within the context of text and other elements including video/audio, annotations, activities, applications and instructor source materials, while also preparing existing products to take advantage of future MindTap services," according to Cengage.
Other features of MindTap include:
- Access to Cengage's Gale library databases and other content;
- Support for third-party learning management systems;
- Support for teachers creating homework assignments and quizzes;
- A wide selection of interactive learning activities;
- An integrated gradebook;
- Multimedia support;
- Social networking tools;
- Text-to-speech; and
- Note-taking and highlighting capabilities;
Further information about MindTap, including a demo request form, can be found here.
| Editor's note: This article has been modified since its original publication to correct a significant factual error. We had previously stated that MindTap is available now for K-12 institutions. It is not yet available for K-12, though it is available for higher education institutions. [Last updated March 28, 2011 at 2:02 p.m.] --David Nagel |