Cengage MindTap vs. McGraw-Hill Connect

We started using the application optimally at the beginning as a digital learning and consultation platform. In it we imported all kinds of bibliographic material so that students could access them with the ease of a tap. The application is perfect for those instructors who are not beginners in HTML. In that case, the application very practically allows them to create a complete course in the shortest possible time because it has a state-of-the-art instructional design. It was excellent for unifying all the basic course plans between teachers teaching the same subject, giving the advantage that all courses at the same level would have exactly the same information and nothing would be overlooked

Incentivized

Content is pretty good, and site is good as standalone tool, but it does not integrate will with any LMS. Grade pass back does not work with Google Classroom or Skyward (unsure about Power School or others) SSO works with Clever, but not Google, so students always have to go through Clever and cannot go directly from Google Classroom to an assignment, even if you posted to Google Classroom through the Connect portal. Problem sets are robust, but difficult to edit and assessments are designed to be web based. Formatting is poor when trying to print assessments that were created online.

Incentivized

• The main advantage of MindTap application is that you can add digital textbooks as a support complement, apart from that they have accessibility tools that integrate between reading voice in high volume and a tool to take notes quickly in case of making a note.
• MindTap allows us to synchronize with applications such as Blackboard to import content into an LMS. We can import and export from grades or preset activities for students. It also has the option to copy and paste content from one semester to another.
• The application has an extension for cell phones, students can access any material such as flash cards wherever they are. It has been completely useful as it shows grades digitally while other institutions only use printed books.
• The application integrates an LTI section where all the information and planning of activities, exams and grades can be imported into the same learning system, unifying the entire course in a single window per course.
• As for the exams and evaluations given to our students, the application also allows us to create self-evaluation questionnaires to determine how effective your instructors are, and they can also create customizable exams for each student.
• The application has a section where we can assign an internal technical support staff so that both teachers and students can contact each other to solve any problems that may arise.

Incentivized

• Integration with Canvas is seamless and easy to use.
• Assignment completion, for students, is straightforward and easy to use.
• The SmartBook allows students to read as they are tested with questions and this helps them learn the material easily without having first trying to read, memorize a chapter and then answer questions.

Incentivized

• They took away some of the variety of assignments and I wish they would add them back.
• Course settings could be more streamlined. Sometimes it’s tedious to make simple changes to the course.
• MindTap will not work unless students turn off pop up blockers, and this is a challenge that blocks an easy start with the software. If this could be worked out, it would give students a better experience at setup.

Incentivized

• McGraw-Hill Connect could do a better job of staying current and making sure all of its videos and references to real-scenarios are up to date.
• It can do a better job of immediate explanation or advice when an answer is incorrect.
• It can improve upon its ability to autosave assignments. If an internet connection gets buggy and kicks the user out of the system, sometimes the assignment progress will be lost. This is because to save the assignment, it takes you out of the assignment and doesn't just autosave.

Incentivized

It's hard to imagine not renewing it as the professors would not want to go back to the way their courses were previously populated. The only thing that would cause us to change would be in the textbook changed and the new company offered a better tool

Incentivized

Very easy to use.

Incentivized

The product will do a majority of what they claim. Your experience will vary depending on how much you love or hate the implementation. The tools are there, but there is a learning curve as people get accommodated to how interaction is expected to be conducted (as opposed to more personal means).

Incentivized

The effort from them always feels strong - I'd just recommend they be more prepared for OS (mac) and LMS (blackboard) upgrades

Incentivized

Personally, I did not encounter McGraw-Hill support. However, I worked with colleagues who needed support and were able to receive in a timely manner. Overall, McGraw Hill Connect is user-friendly (at least from teacher interface) and easy to navigate, which minimizes the need to reach out for support. The help button is useful and provides plenty of immediate support.

Incentivized

It worked seamlessly with Blackboard

Incentivized

MindTap is one of the better/best publisher integrations. The textbook platform alone is exceptionally presented. Most publisher integrations suffer from clunky interfaces or force faculty/students to click through to using their proprietary tools after signing in. MindTap offers the illusion of seamless integration by providing deep links to content, which allows faculty to customize their courses. Only one or two publishers do this, and it really makes a difference when faculty have this kind of flexibility.

Incentivized

Much of our lecture material comes from McGraw-Hill, so it was an opportunity to marry the learning material to a collaborative system that can make the experience more portable and potentially more affordable for our students. The workings are managed off-site so we do not need to care for it on a daily basis.

Incentivized

• The positive impact is to help students practice statistics to solve business problems.
• The negative side is that the pricing might be too high compared to other free options available, even though the free options might not have the same features MindTap has.

Incentivized

• Wasted valuable time trying to figure out the "eBook."
• Did not receive good value for the money spent.
• Did not feel as though the company was interested in keeping me satisfied as a customer, or like their customer service was actually interested in solving any problems.