Email News Release: Wiley is Turning the Textbook "Inside Out"

[Liblicense-L Listowner <liblicen@pantheon.yale.edu>]

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 14:31:55 -0500
From: ARBrown@wiley.com
Subject: Email News Release: Wiley is Turning the Textbook "Inside Out" 

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Email News Release
December 7, 2004

Contact:
Susan Spilka
sspilka@wiley.com
(201) 748-6147

Wiley is Turning the Textbook "Inside Out" To Support the Many Ways
Students Study

Hoboken, NJ, December 7, 2004

This fall, as many as 50,000 students have found a way to get better
grades and save money on course material at the same time. What they have
discovered is eGrade Plus, a flexible online learning environment that
combines a complete textbook with innovative homework and assessment tools
that accommodate many different learning styles.

Wiley's "inside out" development process for eGrade Plus began with the
diverse learning and spending needs of students and the teaching needs of
instructors.  As a result, students using eGrade Plus have numerous ways
to navigate through their text and course content.  For example, a student
having difficulty with a homework problem can click on a link and go to a
relevant section in the online text, the instructor's notes, a
PowerPoint® presentation, or even an interactive simulation that reviews
the concept visually. Others who do their work in the traditional linear
fashion can read their assignment in the complete online textbook or in
print and then answer assessment questions for immediate feedback on their
understanding of the concept.

"I liked that the entire book was online so that finding information was
easier and less time consuming.  Every chapter and section is only a mouse
click away, so having to go through the book by flipping pages is no
longer an issue," said Shannon Struth, a student at Brevard Community
College.

Not only do students think that eGrade Plus helps them learn the material
better, they like the flexibility it provides them in terms of what they
are required to purchase.  eGrade Plus registration codes are packaged
with new copies of the textbook for no additional charge.  Or, students
can choose to forgo buying a print copy of the book and simply purchase
access to eGrade Plus for Wiley's introductory price of $30 a term.

Faculty have also been impressed with the impact eGrade Plus has had on
their students' learning.  "Based on the results of our first exam,
students exam scores have notably improved this semester. I don't know
what else it could be besides eGrade Plus, unless I suddenly have a lot
better prepared students," says Dr. Ken Hiltebeitel, an accounting
professor at Villanova University.

Not only has eGrade Plus helped improve student test scores, but it has
made professors lecture time more efficient.  "eGrade Plus saves me about
25% of lecture time because I set up my assignments so that my students
can immediately see the solution to a problem they get wrong.  This means
that I do not need to spend class time reviewing these solutions," says
Steve Teeter, a professor at Utah Valley State College.

Part of the reason for its success is that while it offers valuable and
robust functionality, it is not intimidating or complex—professors and
students say that eGrade Plus is easy to use.  "I think eGrade Plus is
just great. I can set up a one-week homework assignment in less than four
minutes, and I can easily monitor students when they are having trouble,"
says Jearl Walker, a Physics professor at Cleveland State University and a
Wiley author.

eGrade Plus represents Wiley's investment in the future of educational
publishing and is developed and maintained by Wiley's own software
development professionals.  "Wiley's commitment to helping teachers teach
and students learn is a constant goal in a market that is changing
rapidly," said Bonnie Lieberman, Senior Vice President and General Manager
of Wiley's Higher Education business.  "Wiley has made a significant
commitment to building eGrade Plus and its supporting systems.  We believe
eGrade Plus is an outstanding example of the contributions publishers can
make to the higher education environment and we are proud to be leading
the way."

Wiley's dedicated investment has also been paid off for customers with its
reliability.  With 50,000 customers, hundreds of unique courses, and as
many as 15,000 students on the eGrade Plus system on any given day, eGrade
Plus has delivered 99.97% uptime with no outages this fall.  In addition,
more than half of instructors using eGrade Plus attended Wiley's free
peer-to- peer (led by faculty for faculty) training sessions before the
semester began and all student and faculty eGrade Plus customers have
access to Wiley's extensive technical support resources for the product.
This type of reliability and support has been a key to our customers'
success with eGrade Plus this fall.

About eGrade Plus eGrade Plus is a comprehensive learning environment that
includes a complete online textbook, interactive homework and assessment
tools, and a suite of resources that allow professors to create class
presentations, correct homework, grade tests, and track student progress.
eGrade Plus is now available for over 40 Wiley titles in courses across
the Business, Science, Social Science, Engineering, Computer Science, and
Modern Language curriculum.

For more information, to search available course titles, and to view a
demo of eGrade Plus, please visit http://www.wiley.com/college/egradeplus.

About Wiley Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., provides must-have
content and services to customers worldwide. Our core businesses include
scientific, technical and medical journals, encyclopedias, books, and
online products and services; professional and consumer books and
subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and
graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley has publishing, marketing,
and distribution centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and
Australia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbols JWa and JWb. Wiley's Internet site can be accessed at
http://www.wiley.com.


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