New Features Available Now
We’ve got some exciting new features to make your students' learning experience even better!
New eBook vs. SmartBook
Read Anywhere App
Accessibility
Maximize the Connect® Experience in Your Classroom
Maximize the Connect Experience in Your Classroom
Congratulations! You are on your way to a teaching and learning experience that will engage your students in empowering ways from day 1!
Check out some tips on how to get the most out of Connect. Trust us, your students will thank you for it.
Instructor Tips
To get you started, here are some quick tips on various features of Connect from the 84% of instructors who use and require Connect in their courses.1
Hover over each segment of Connect to see how you can better use it in your classroom.
Quality of content and relevance to coursework
Tip: Make Connect at least 15% of the grade to ensure student engagement in your assignments. Connect gives you the flexibility to create learning assignments based on your specific class objectives, while consolidating all your course materials and assignments in one place.
Adaptive eBook access
Tip: Ensure all students have access to all course materials on day 1 through Connect, including the reading. Assign and track SmartBook* reading assignments ahead of class so you know your students are reading the material and prepared for your time together.
*Not available in all courses.
Ease of use (e.g. getting started, assignments, grading)
Tip: Set aside time in advance of the semester to familiarize yourself with Connect and set it up for your class. The good news is the time you put in now pays off as once you’ve created your course, you can just copy it for your other sections! Instructors who have used Connect for multiple terms say that once you’ve set it up once, it only takes 15 minutes to do for other classes.
Quality of quizzing/ assessment content & capabilities
Tip: When setting up your course in Connect, consider what activities you spend time on in class that you would like back, like quizzes. Assign these activities outside of class and focus more of your energy on teaching and monitoring student performance.
Reporting analytics features/functionality
Tip: Pay close attention to data from Connect and SmartBook* reports. This reporting gives you deeper insights into your students’ learning and performance in real-time, so you can gain insights to help you optimize your class interactions based on your students’ learning needs or to address individual student needs outside of class. *Also available in LearnSmart reports.
Intuitive user experience
Tip: Make a non-credit first-day-of-class assignment so students can see how easy Connect is to use! Use the new Connect Orientation Videos narrated by students to aid in students quickly understanding how to use Connect to maximize their study time. You can assign these short video clips from the Connect question picker.
Diverse types of learning or assignment content
Tip: When setting up Connect, assign your students different types of learning content to have them practice skills you’ll be asking them to apply on the exam. Use different question types for assignments, so your students aren’t always answering multiple choice questions, and let them digest course content in different ways through audio, video, and reading.
Content adapts dynamically based on concept mastery
Tip: Assign SmartBook (or LearnSmart in some disciplines) as part of the grade so students complete this regularly. Within SmartBook in Connect, there are the “Practice” functionalities where your students answer assessment questions to reinforce their comprehension after reading. Students then have access to personalized reports to show them which topics they’re struggling with to study.
LMS Integration
Tip: If you haven’t already integrated Connect with your Learning Management System (LMS), check with your campus LMS admin to see if they have installed Connect. Then use our integration video if you need help pairing your course.
Tips to Save Time Getting Started
You don’t need more hours in the day; you just need Connect! In fact, a majority of instructors who use Connect say that it saves them time when teaching.
The data shows that instructors who use Connect spend 72% less time on administrative tasks, and 90% more time on active learning experiences.2
Save Time Getting Started
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Get Trained: Schedule time to get hands on with our Implementation Team to get started off right.
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Plan Ahead: Set aside course creation time over the summer to get done before the beginning of semester stress starts.
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Integrate with Your LMS: Integrate Connect with your LMS to add Connect assignments and record Connect assignment grades directly into your LMS workflow and gradebook.
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Set Dates: Finalize assignment dates in your syllabus and add corresponding assignments to Connect up front or, if teaching the course for the first time, stay ahead of your students by a few weeks to learn and adapt as you go.
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Get Familiar: Get to know the Connect interface and navigation from the student perspective so you are the expert – just click on the Student View button on your course home page and take some assignments (and see what you learn)!
Get the Most from Adaptive Learning
Personalize Student Learning In and Out of the Classroom
Your expertise should be devoted to providing more personalized experiences for your students. Smarbook helps your students study more efficiently and focus on areas they're struggling with. Connect Insight then lets you track student performance so you can tailor your class lessons based on your students' learning needs.
Tips to Help Students Get the Most from SmartBook
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Assign Readings for Points Ahead of Class: In Connect, assigning “reading” and “practice” through SmartBook help students understand their knowledge gaps, allowing them to effectively prepare for class.
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Leverage Reports to Shape Lectures: Connect and SmartBook offer a wealth of reports to help instructors gain a deeper knowledge of student performance. Data on baseline knowledge, student confidence, and user behavior (like time to completion) can help you shape class time to best address student challenges, skip over what they know, and take learning to a higher level.
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Encourage Students to Use SmartBook Reports: Individualized data helps students understand where they are succeeding, where they are struggling, and everything in between. This data can help students make the most use of their study time. Likewise, by reviewing "Time Spent in LearnSmart" vs. "Student Performance" helps students see how their study time affects their performance.
No SmartBook? Tips to Help Students Get the Most from LearnSmart
- Assign LearnSmart modules for Points Ahead of Class: In Connect, assigning “practice” through LearnSmart helps students understand their knowledge gaps, allowing them to effectively prepare for class.
- Leverage Reports to Shape Lectures: Connect and LearnSmart offer a wealth of reports to help instructors gain a deeper knowledge of student performance. Data on baseline knowledge, student confidence, and user behavior (like time to completion) can help you shape class time to best address student challenges, skip over what they know, and take learning to a higher level.
- Encourage Students to Use LearnSmart Reports: Individualized data helps students understand where they are succeeding, where they are struggling, and everything in between. This data can help students make the most use of their study time. Likewise, by reviewing "Time Spent in LearnSmart" vs. "Student Performance" helps students see how their study time affects their performance.
"Overall, Connect has allowed me to fine-tune my lecture. I am able to go into detail quicker in the lecture period since the students have completed their SmartBook modules and have an understanding of chapter topics... Students tend to generate more detailed questions now, specific to the topics discussed."
-Professor Vanessa Hörmann, professor of Biology, Broward College
Let Reporting Influence Your Course
Precision matters in today’s academic environment. For instructors, Connect offers a variety of reports to help assess performance by individual student or for the whole class. From progress on assignments, to metacognitive awareness, to identifying the most challenging learning objectives, Connect reports provide instructors with the deep insights they need to make informed decisions about their course, as early as the first assignment.
Tips for using Connect's reporting and insights capabilities
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Use Connect Insight: This visual analytics dashboard provides easily digestible information on student performance by assignment, topic, or even time on task.
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Use the “At-Risk Report”: Identify students who might be vulnerable to dropping out of your class or are struggling to keep up. This early alert system allows you to be more proactive in reaching out to students to help them overcome their challenges.
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Tailor lectures, class time, and office hours using reports: SmartBook reports provide insights on the topics that your students struggle with most, allowing you to refine lectures and class time to best address overall class needs while empowering you with student specific data for one-on-one time.
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Encourage your students to use reports: Connect’s reports can help students track their own performance, allowing them to make more informed decisions about study time.
“The ability to tailor a student’s learning experience toward the things the student doesn’t know rather than what the student has already grasped is incredible, especially when there are huge numbers of students involved. This experience allows the course to be individualized for each student rather than offering a one-size-fits-all, 'canned' course experience.”
-Professor Tiffiny Guidry, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa
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