Macmillan Learning Acquires WriterKEY to Support College Writing Instruction
Houston, TX (PRWEB) April 06, 2016 -- At the Conference on College Composition and Communication today, Macmillan Learning announced the acquisition of WriterKEY, an online application designed to improve the teaching, learning, and assessment of writing across the curriculum. WriterKEY provides a space for instructors to comment on student writing in written or verbal form. Accompanying analytics show student progress and point to learning gaps.
“Writing is essential in every student’s college and professional career,” said CEO Ken Michaels. “WriterKEY helps students improve this foundational skillset by marrying intelligent feedback loops with rich analytics. This acquisition strengthens our ongoing commitment to support the teaching of writing at colleges and universities.”
Designed by English teachers, the product’s goal is to make instructors more efficient and effective by supporting best practices in responding to student writing. With WriterKEY, instructors can build assignments based on teaching objectives and students can complete those assignments with peer review options to draft, reflect, revise and submit—all online.
“The most effective time for the teaching of writing is in the process of revision,” said WriterKEY co-founder Doug Silver. “After using our product, more than 80% of teachers state their students have more opportunity for revision now that they use WriterKEY. They are getting the chance to improve their writing at the moment when it matters most. I’m very excited about leveraging the partnership with Macmillan Learning to improve writing in higher education.”
Macmillan Learning Managing Director, Susan Winslow stated, “Writing, reading, and critical thinking are core life skills, and WriterKEY allows not only for a better student experience in acquiring them, but gives excellent analytical data about the learning process for writing. Bringing together the strong Composition teams at Bedford/St. Martin’s with WriterKEY will allow us to create highly effective data-driven tools for writing, for both students and instructors.”
“WriterKEY puts student writing at the center of the course,” said Senior Publisher Leasa Burton. “Teaching writing works best when students can learn in the context of their own writing, and that is exactly what WriterKEY supports as students reflect and revise. With analytics based on a teacher’s own objectives and review, WriterKEY gives instructors a powerful view into how writers are doing across drafts or a series of assignments. “
WriterKEY will be available for trial in spring 2016 and for purchase for fall 2016 courses.
About Macmillan Learning
Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. Our legacy of excellence in education continues to inform our approach to developing world-class content with pioneering, interactive tools. Through deep partnership with the world’s best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers, we facilitate teaching and learning opportunities that spark student engagement and improve outcomes. We provide educators with tailored solutions designed to inspire curiosity and measure progress. Our commitment to teaching and discovery upholds our mission to improve lives through learning. To learn more, please visit http://www.macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, or join our Macmillan Community.
Kate Geraghty, Macmillan Learning, http://www.macmillanlearning.com, +1 4126546004, [email protected]
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