1. We are pleased to launch the expanded usage of Smarthinking, an online tutoring service, at SSU. Smarthinking has been proven to enhance student performance and will support our Complete College Georgia plan, our QEP mission, and will reinforce compliance with SACS standards.

2. We have already piloted the use of an aspect of the service with selected ENGL 1101, 1102 and 099 courses, as part of the QEP (during Spring 2012, Summer 2012, and Fall 2012). The results of requiring the service in these writing courses has improved skills, grades, and has been positively received by students and faculty alike.

3. “Smarthinking is an excellent online tool for students to have at their disposal. Students enrolled in my composition courses were able to take the constructive feedback from an online tutor and begin to critically examine their writing from an organic and content-based level. These fruitful discussions enabled them to “re-envision” their ideas and truly engage the revision process. Many students praised Smarthinking in their final reflective essays, and I can truly say that I saw a difference in student writing and engagement.” –Professor Joyce White

4. “Smarthinking provides a supplementary channel for instructing students in essay writing without using classroom time.” --Dr. Jenni Halpin

5. “I have had a positive experience using this service in my stage grading. As either a first or last step in the writing process, I am able to make revision a part of my grading. And the beauty is this requires little if any commenting on my part. I can easily check to see if the essay the student submitted reflected the changes recommended by Smarthinking or not. As coordinator of Freshmen Year Composition, I have also heard positive outcomes from other instructors, namely that final writing projects have been stronger in form, content, and mechanics, with time saved in commenting on at least one stage in the grading process. Additionally, it is a great step to incorporate before or just after peer review in the classroom.” --Dr. Michael Lewis

6. A New Smarthinking Feature: Writing Practice Research shows developing writers build confidence, reduce errors, and improve critical thinking skills the more they write. Writing Practice from Smarthinking allows you to get your students writing more without burdening you with more papers to grade.

7. A New Smarthinking Feature: Writing Practice With this tool, instructors select a prompt from one of four genres (narrative, persuasive, problem & solution, and response to literature) to assign to their students for practice, extra credit, or grades. In addition to highlighting spelling and grammar issues, Smarthinking’s Writing Practice provides critical pedagogical feedback using a rubric that focuses on six aspects of writing (ideas, organization, conventions, sentence fluency, word choice, and voice).

11. Smarthinking will be available for all students and faculty to utilize, beginning next week Username = SSU email address Password = SSU