Cengage Learning offers educational content, technology and services for K-12, higher education, and professional and library markets worldwide. Explore eTextbooks and materials, set up courses and curate your own teaching library with a Cengage Instructor account.
Blackboard Learn users can integrate Cengage content through the LMS Integration Building Block. This integration works with Blackboard Learn Release 9.1 SP 5 and later.
Online Courses
Cengage Learning offers a variety of online course materials for students. These include eTextbooks, online homework access codes, study guides and other resources. The company also provides online tutorials for students who need help navigating their online courses.
Taking an online course is convenient and cost effective. You can read your eTextbook on your computer or mobile device, and you can also watch videos, download supplemental materials and take quizzes. You can even chat with a faculty partner to ask questions and receive support.
With a Cengage Unlimited subscription, you get instant access to eTextbooks and all online learning platforms (MindTap, WebAssign, SAM, OWLv2, CNOWv2 or Cengage Infuse) for a one-time flat price. You can purchase a Cengage Unlimited plan directly from your campus bookstore, or you can sign up for a Cengage Unlimited subscription online.
As more schools pivot to online or hybrid instruction, students are increasingly looking for ways to make the transition. In fact, a spring 2022 installment of the Digital Learning Pulse Survey conducted by Bay View Analytics on behalf of education technology company Cengage and industry partners found that three-quarters of community college students want to take more courses fully online in the future.
While some big publishers have resisted the use of OER in their course-materials products, Cengage is making a clear statement that they're serious about this strategy by launching OpenNow, which takes open content from sources like OpenStax and adds assessments, content and technology to produce a product that it claims is ready to teach "out of the box."
All written content on the OpenNow platform will be registered under an open CC-BY license so that institutions can adapt and customize it to fit their own teaching needs. Moreover, all materials on the platform - including assessments - will be made accessible to people with disabilities.
Textbooks
Cengage Learning is one of the leading publishers of textbooks. They have a wide range of titles and subject areas to choose from. They also offer a variety of subscriptions that provide students with access to their course materials and study tools for an affordable fee.
The cost of textbooks is high, and many students struggle to afford them. This is especially true when they’re taking a class on a topic they don’t know much about. They’re often forced to make sacrifices, such as skipping meals or taking fewer classes.
In an attempt to keep costs low, publishers are adopting “inclusive access” models that include the cost of textbooks in a student’s tuition. This strategy has been praised by publishers for its affordability, but critics say it doesn’t take into account how much instructors spend on the materials they buy.
Textbooks with access codes are another option for instructors who want to save money, but a recent report by the Public Interest Research Group of Washington suggests they’re not so affordable. They’re undercutting the resale market and can prevent students from using cheaper alternatives like sharing or renting books.
The most effective way to cut costs is to ask for a discount or opt for open educational resources. Commonly known as OERs, these free resources can be accessed on a computer or a smartphone, and can help students learn without spending money. They can also be a great resource for teachers looking to create interactive lessons. They’re not always as well-known as traditional textbooks, but they can be an excellent alternative to costly paper copies. Besides saving money, OERs can also improve teaching and learning.
Supplemental Materials
Cengage Learning offers a number of supplemental materials to support students’ education. These include a variety of textbooks, course modules, ebooks, and other digital resources that help students achieve their academic goals.
Supplemental materials often help students stay up-to-date on new research and information and are also a great way to keep course content fresh. This helps students remain confident in their knowledge and encourages them to take their learning to the next level.
Additionally, supplemental materials can help students develop new skills that can be applied to their fields of study. This is especially important for adult learners who may be looking to go beyond the basic skills required in their current jobs.
These supplemental materials are designed to enhance student learning by supporting specific educational needs or goals and by promoting growth in factual knowledge, critical thinking and ethical standards. Some supplemental materials have a specialized focus on particular topics, such as math or science, and others are more general in nature.
A supplemental material’s rigor also varies from one course to the next, with a greater emphasis on content and reading levels for remediation or review courses. Some supplemental materials provide more complex discussions, activities, and assessments to extend students’ understanding of the subject.
In addition to a focus on specific educational goals, supplemental materials should also be aligned to academic standards and be consistent with pedagogy in the classroom. This is particularly important for English language learners, students with disabilities and advanced learners.
The rigor of supplemental materials varies from course to course and also depends on the intended purpose for the materials, which can include a variety of instructional strategies, such as providing additional practice problems. Some supplemental materials are designed to be used in the classroom with teacher guidance and support, while others are more general in nature and are meant for independent learning.
Digital Resources
Cengage Learning offers a wide range of digital resources for students, teachers and institutions. These include eBooks, online courseware, eLearning solutions and study tools. These tools help students study on their own or with an instructor and boost performance.
While Cengage began over 100 years ago as a publisher of schoolbooks, the company has evolved into a leading education and technology company that provides an array of products including textbooks by subscription, distance learning courses, at-home quizzes and test preparation materials. This has resulted in a significant increase in Cengage’s revenue.
For a long time, the challenge for Cengage was scaling its technology systems in an environment that had millions of students accessing its resources simultaneously and at high volumes. The organization needed to ensure its platform could meet the demands of students and maintain strict performance and security standards.
One of the first steps Cengage took was to develop a cloud-based software solution that would provide secure, high-performance access to its digital resources without the need for an on-premises server. This allowed the company to scale its operations and support its students without worrying about downtime or disruptions.
Another step the company took was to offer a subscription service that gives students access to its entire library of digital resources. This initiative, referred to as Cengage Unlimited, has helped more than 3 million students save more than $270 million on their course materials.
As the pandemic forced colleges and universities across the country to offer their classes online, the need for affordable digital learning materials was paramount. As a result, Cengage created Cengage Unlimited for Institutions, which provides digital learning materials at scale through a content license model. This offering also includes scalable academic services and professional development to support faculty with online teaching, including bootcamps and office hours.
Instructor Resources
Cengage Learning provides a variety of resources to help instructors with their courses. These include Canvas Announcements and Discussions, MindTap, WebAssign and more. You can also find instructor training videos and user guides on Cengage LMS Instructor Support.
Use the Cengage building block in Blackboard Learn to easily add Cengage content into your courses, including eTextbooks, courseware and other learning materials from Cengage, as well as a range of additional teaching tools. To install and configure the building block, follow the Cengage LMS Support guide.
Students are required to create an account with Cengage before they can access a digital product. To learn more about creating an account and downloading digital products, visit the Cengage Learning website.
You can also purchase Cengage Unlimited, which offers unlimited access to Cengage courseware, eBooks, study guides and other resources, for a single semester or year. If you do not extend your Cengage Unlimited subscription, the CU Products will no longer be available after the semester or year ends.
The CU Products may be updated, removed, added or replaced by Cengage from time to time in its discretion without notice to you. You are responsible for ensuring you have the most current versions of the CU Products.
When you download test banks, it’s best to save them to your TestGen folder rather than uploading them directly from the Cengage website, as this will ensure that you have the most up-to-date files. To do this, click on the Download button at the top of the test bank page and select the folder where you want to store the file.
You can also access a course-specific tech support link in your Carmen course, which will eliminate the need for students to create a separate account and enable them to search the Cengage knowledge base and create a support case. For more information, watch the Adding a Technical Support Link self-tutorial video or contact your Cengage representative.