Revel puts students on
the path to success

Anci Shah, instructor and computer
programming department chair at
Houston Community College (HCC),and her colleague, Suma Roa, haveused Pearson products for many years.
Before adopting Revel, the computer
programming department utilized
Pearson’s MyProgramming Lab.
In 2019, as a result of having a positive priorexperience with Pearson, Suma piloted Pearson’s
Revel with the hopes that its digital narrative, online
homework, and variety of resources would offer
students a seamless, comprehensive learning solution.
After the pilot, Suma was pleased with all that Revel
had to offer her students and all the capabilities it
provided for her as an instructor. She suggested thatthe department’s committee consider its adoption.

1Pearson — Revel Houston CC Spotlight

As the department chair, Anci was on the committee,
and together with her fellow committee members, she
looked at Revel with several criteria in mind.
• First, the materials must be cost-effective for students.
• Second, it needs to be intuitive and easy for students.
• Third, it must have seamless integration with HCC’slearning management system.
• Lastly, publisher support must be timely.
After reviewing course materials, the committee foundthat Revel hit all these points, and they decided to adopt
it in their Program Fundamentals 1, 2, and 3 (DataStructures) courses.

Self-checks promote student successIn addition to meeting the four main standards, Revel
offered students multiple opportunities for practice withimmediate feedback without burdening the instructors
with grading.
Furthermore, with the growth of online courses at HCC
and the subsequent difficulties they noticed with their
online students, the committee felt that Revel’s embeddedassessments and interactivity could provide them witha comprehensive learning solution that would help theirstudents succeed.
Anci appreciates how the assessments in Revel arebroken down into manageable chunks and interwoven
with interactive activities because this method keeps
students engaged and learning without weighing themdown with too much reading.

The practice the self-checks offer has also been beneficial
for Suma’s students. She recommends students
complete them prior to assessments as they are a good
way to gauge their topic mastery and provide ample
opportunities for studying.
In addition to the self-check questions, the ability tosearch within the text and take notes helps Suma’s
students when they study.
“The most beneficial tool or resource for students are theself-check questions at the end of each topic for practiceand that it is digital so they can quickly search any topic
and jump to where that is in the text.,” she says. “They canalso make notes or flashcards. All those things are really
helpful for them.”

Content that helps students learn better
Many students enter the Programming 1 course with very

“I think the embedded assessments, videos, animations,little or no computer background. Therefore, this course isand self-checks just give students a really good way to

crucial in ensuring they understand foundational concepts

review each little section without being overwhelmed,”

because otherwise they will not be set up for success inshe says. “The concepts are kept to a minimum, and thesubsequent courses.

readings aren’t too long, and then there are all those littlechecks in there. My students have commented on how

Says Suma, “I have received feedback that the animations

helpful that has been.”

and videos are what helped them understand the material
a lot better. I have definitely had a lot of students say that
Revel really helped them. Those embedded assessments“I think the embedded assessments,
videos, animations, and self-checks
just give students a really good way
to review each little section without
being overwhelmed.”2

really help them to grasp the concepts.”

Students also find the Revel app convenient. Because

With the overarching goal of helping her students

students are so busy and typically always have theirsucceed, Anci sees the value of Revel for her students.

phones, they can access their Revel work wherever ismost convenient for them. “Everything is online andShe can also see how it would be beneficial foron the go. The app that they download is a really neat

instructors teaching similar courses saying, “I wouldthing,” Suma says. “They no longer have any excusesrecommend Revel because the bottom line is that wethat they don’t have their textbook because they always

want our students to be successful. If you are looking

have their phones. That’s a really great thing.”

at one book versus another, Revel is the one that has
all the animations and embedded assessments toA seamless experience for students andinstructors
Revel’s LMS integration has been helpful for thehelp students. Why would you not choose it? We justwant our students to be successful, and Revel canhelp, so they should definitely use it.”

instructors at HCC, allowing the grades to sync without
interruption, according to Anci. “The grades in Revel areincorporated into our LMS very easily,” she says. “Wecan incorporate them with a click of a button, so that’s
been very, very helpful.”“I have definitely had a lot of students
say that Revel really helped them.”

Suma has also found the LMS process to be seamless.
She points out that easy grade syncing is not only
helpful for her as an instructor, but also for herstudents, as they are able to keep track of theirprogress all in one convenient place.

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