What Is the NEW MySkillsLab?
MySkillsLab offers the best online resources for developing readers and writers, all in one easy-to-use application.
Efficiently blending the market-leading and proven practice from MyWritingLab and MyReadingLab into a single application, MySkillsLabs offers a wealth of practice opportunity and extensive progress tracking for combined reading-writing courses.
Reading
MySkillsLab improves students’ mastery of 26 reading skills across four levels of difficulty via mastery-based skill practice, and improves students’ reading levels with the Lexile® framework (www.Lexile.com) to measure both reader ability and text difficulty on the same scale and pair students with readings within their Lexile range.
Writing
MySkillsLab offers skill remediation in grammar and punctuation, paragraph development, essay development, and research, and improves students’ overall writing through automatic scoring by Pearson’s proven Intelligent Essay Assessor (IEA) (available in summer 2012).
For more than half a decade, MySkillsLab has been the most widely used online learning application for the combined reading-writing course across two- and four-year institutions. We have published case studies demonstrating how MySkillsLab (or, individually, MyReadingLab and MyWritingLab) consistently benefits students’ mastery of key reading skills, reading comprehension, writing skills, and critical thinking.
Learn more about MySkillsLab's features for:
For students
The new MySkillsLab accommodates these differences through personalized learning, integrated learning aids, and a more intuitive navigation.
Personalized Learning
MySkillsLab now has three levels of assessment: Path Builder, Skills Check, and Mastery Test (post-test diagnostic) in each content area. Students begin by completing the Path Builder to receive a personalized set of content modules in a format called the Learning Path. Within each module is a Skills Check, an additional diagnostic to assess students’ proficiency with topics in the module and determine what topics are mastered and which need more work. The Mastery Test then reassesses students’ mastery of the topics. This deliberate macro to micro assessment helps to keep students focus on problem area and accelerate their progress.
- Students begin by completing the Path Builder, a comprehensive diagnostic tool aligned to specific outcomes. Once students complete a Path Builder diagnostic test, they receive a personalized set of content modules, in a format called the Learning Path. Every student's personalized Learning Path shows at a glance which modules to practice.
- Within each module is a Skill Check, a diagnostic to assess students' proficiency within the module and determine what topics are mastered and which need more work.
This acute focus on personalized assessment and learning make MySkillsLab tailored to each student’s specific strengths and weaknesses.
Integrated Learning Aids
Within each skill topic, MySkillsLab activities now offer integrated learning aids to reinforce learning:
- “Help me Solve This” provides additional, unique instruction about the topic at hand (writing only)
- “Ask My Instructor” enables students to e-mail their instructor for help right at the point at which they are struggling. Students can e-mail a query accompanied by a copy of the question or concept with which they are struggling
- Animations provide interactive, visual (and audio) summaries of the topic’s key concepts
- The Glossary assists students by defining key or technical terms
Navigation
The new interface makes navigating MySkillsLab more streamlined and intuitive, which results in greater efficiency and student engagement.
The Homepage now consists of three areas: the left-hand navigation column, the week’s “To Do” calendar, and the entry point to the Learning Path. When students visit the site, they are never at a loss for what they need to do that day.
For instructors
As course demographics and dynamics shift and instructors and departments are pressed to produce better outcomes results, we have continued to develop MySkillsLab to meet your needs. The new MySkillsLab offers you more control over your course and its content, enhanced course management features, and a more powerful Gradebook.
More control over course and content – NEW!
Instructors can now exercise greater control in customizing MySkillsLab to match their teaching style and course goals. New options include:
- making all four content levels (reading only) in MySkillsLab available in a single course
- creating new activities and assessments or editing existing items
- creating new or editing existing diagnostics
- releasing content to select students
Among the customization options for each Homework, Quiz, and Test item are the options of assigning due dates, tracking late submissions and giving of partial credit, setting or removing prerequisites, and establishing the mastery score.
Furthermore, in Pearson’s commitment to implementing the Section 508 recommendations, much of our content has been redeveloped to be read by screen readers. While creating an assessment or assignment, instructors will see an icon next to the questions formatted for screen readers. It is our hope that this enhancement will make our technology and content accessible to all users.
Course Management
The new MySkillsLab now offers these options and tools:
- hide and/or rename features or course areas (such as Study Skills)
- assign “section instructors” (a.k.a., TA status) who have limited privileges within the course, such as assisting with grade tracking.
- Chat & ClassLive tools engage classes in synchronous chat and whiteboard sessions
- email the entire class or select students
Gradebook
All student work in MySkillsLab is captured in the online Gradebook. Instructors have detailed reports, such as class summaries that track the progress of their entire class and show individual student detail, as well as topical views.
New Gradebook functions include:
- flexible grading options (weighting, drops, etc.)
- exporting grades for individual assignments or assessments, mastery status, and performance by module
- importing outside grades
- searching/emailing students based on specific criteria, such as overall average, assignment performance, and work activity
