Great River Learning's (GRL) mission is to publish highly engaging and interactive educational products for students; and provide individualized solutions for educators.
For more on our unique publishing approach, check out
Great River Learning's (GRL) mission is to publish highly engaging and interactive educational products for students; and provide individualized solutions for educators.
Since 2005, GRL has challenged the status quo of traditional textbook publishing. Our publications:
Most textbooks contain suitable content, but we know many students only open their textbooks when they’re preparing (or cramming) for a quiz or test. The traditional, print-focused, one-size-fits-all textbook approach is antiquated and unnecessary. Technology and multi-media can be powerful components that enhance or enrich students’ educational content. Most publishers, however, continue to attach loosely tied and mediocre websites to encyclopedic textbooks. The result is an unreasonably expensive product that is too bulky to cover within a standard academic term. In addition, many educators need to supplement their textbook with more contemporary or relevant examples.
Today’s students have grown-up with technology and multi-media. They’re used to using their smart phones and other devices to access information and communicate. Instead of fighting this reality, GRL chooses to take advantage and integrate these types of technologies.
Roughly 200,000 students use our titles each year in a variety of disciplines, and that number continues to grow. Approximately 90% of our products are fully online and 10% include a printed book. In some cases, the physical book is designed to be a necessity and in other cases, the book is purchased as an option.
The design and scopes vary from project-to-project. At one end of the spectrum we have text-heavy material that requires the use of a physical book. Some include a few, select multi-media elements and others don’t have any at all.
A little further down the spectrum, we’ve developed publications as a hybrid between a media-rich textbook and a workbook. Students regularly read, watch, interact, check their comprehension, and move-on to the next chunk of content.
Further still, we have publications that are designed and inspired from non-traditional educational sources. For example, we have a publication whose layout and aesthetic approximates an online magazine.
Lastly, we have publications that are quite different and “out-of-the-box.” Some of our publications have very little text, but are media-rich and interactive. The example here shows an immersive journalism publication where the student plays the role of a reporter. They obtain the writing assignment, reviews media-rich videos, mock press releases, audio files, and tweets before writing their story.
At GRL, we believe that our publications are only as good as their instructional design, functionality, and reliability. Our instructional design consulting and support before, during, and after product launch help ensure success.
Each publication we develop includes short and long-term planning. You can learn more about the process on the How We Work page.
The project development coordinators focus on facilitating the conceptualization and planning for each new publication. They also monitor developmental progress, and ensure the timely launch of each project.
The author relations coordinators focus on maintaining positive and productive working relationships with our authors. They monitor the educational and administrative performance of our titles, proactively recommend adjustments which can positively impact outcomes, and maximize the financial success of each publication
The copy editors review each publication for proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Deeper levels of assistance are available to help with grammar, terminology, jargon, and overall readability.
GRL provides a variety of technical support including email, live chat, and our 24-hour call center.
The project editors focus on facilitating development, building, and supporting a portfolio of publications. This includes: coordinating our internal resources (permission clearance, copyediting, interactive exercise development, book manufacturing, etc.), assembling the raw content, building the publication, and supporting our authors and adopters.
The web designers work to maximize usability, multimedia integration, and visual appeal of each publication
The permission editors facilitate clearance of any copyrighted material for each project and negotiate usage fees, when applicable.
GRL uses a proprietary content delivery system called WebCOM. WebCOM provides:
WebCOM is typically accessed independently of course management systems adopted by colleges and universities. Deeper levels of integration are discussed on a case-by-case basis.