Learning company Pearson has announced the launch of REVEL – an immersive digital learning tool that replaces both the printed textbook and existing online learning tools for General Studies courses. REVEL is designed for the way today's students learn, think and consume content. It aims to keep students engaged in their study materials and, in turn, get the most out of their courses.
Students attending class unprepared to engage in discussions, think critically and demonstrate a grasp of core concepts is one of the biggest challenges facing educators. These activities help foster what are commonly called 21st Century Skills that have become so vital to subsequent courses and ultimately, employers. This lack of preparation is often due to incomplete reading assignments, lack of effective practice and generally coming to class not fully prepared to do college-level work. For their part, students often say that for many of their courses, and particularly some of their elective courses, the study materials are passive, laborious and not reflective of how they interact with content.
REVEL directly addresses these challenges by interweaving text-based reading material, interactive exercises, infographics, social features and video segments to provide an engaging experience that helps students take an active role in their learning. This design will increasingly draw upon principles of learning design and theory for cognitive load-balancing and retention. With REVEL, educators can track the time students spend on each reading assignment and their performance on assessments, thus providing a comprehensive view of students' engagement and understanding prior to class. REVEL also provides a fully mobile experience, which enables students to read and interact with course material on their devices at anytime and anywhere.
The creation of REVEL incorporates feedback from more than 23,000 educators and students. Pearson gained this feedback over several years to ensure REVEL accurately reflects their preferences for teaching and learning. By listening and leveraging the best thinking in instructional design, and by applying advanced learning and assessment technologies, all of REVEL's key aspects — from features and content to performance dashboard reporting — were informed by live interactions with educators and students.
The product will be used by 12,000 students at 50 institutions in fall 2014, and the initial courses will include Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Sociology, and Public Speaking.
