The Challenge: Staying Up-to-Date Without Starting Over
For Ariel Taylor, teaching writing means helping students engage with a world that is constantly changing. Digital spaces evolve quickly, communication shifts, and the examples that resonate with students one semester may already feel outdated by the next. Keeping course materials current has always mattered to her, but doing it well took time she didn’t always have.
“One of the biggest hurdles I faced was time,” she says. “Searching for strong, reliable, and classroom-appropriate examples required extensive vetting to ensure credibility, accessibility, validity, and alignment with course outcomes. I also had to adapt outside materials to match my instructional tone, terminology, and assignment structure.”
That changed with McGraw Hill's Connect platform and its Evergreen delivery model.
Before using Evergreen, updating course materials could mean several days, or even weeks, spent reviewing content, rebuilding assignments, relinking homework, and realigning quizzes. For an instructor balancing course design, research, grading and student support, that work created a constant strain.
The Solution: Updates Without Starting Over
With the Evergreen delivery model in Connect, Ariel no longer has to choose between keeping her course current and preserving the structure she has carefully built. Evergreen uses a release-centered approach that seamlessly delivers updated content, new tools, and accessibility improvements directly into existing Connect courses without requiring a new ISBN or a full course rebuild. Staying current, and even ahead, doesn't need to mean starting over.
The shift has changed the way she manages her courses.
“Evergreen allows me to maintain my carefully structured alignment between SmartBook, Adaptive Learning Assignments, Critical Thinking Assignments, and major essays while still benefiting from refreshed material,” she says.
Instead of spending hours searching for credible, relevant readings and then adapting them for classroom use, Ariel can draw from updated, curated materials already designed to work within her course. That means new readings, tools, and activities arrive without forcing her to start over—and often before the need to make a change becomes another task on her list.
Less Time Searching, More Time Teaching
For Ariel, one of the biggest advantages of Evergreen is not simply that content is updated. It’s that the burden of finding, vetting, and integrating those updates no longer rests entirely on her.
The same is true for how she sources readings. When teaching rhetorical analysis or research integration, she can select newer texts aligned with current social, digital, or professional discourse without having to rebuild modules or relink materials each time content is refreshed. Those readings fit seamlessly into the assignments she already uses, allowing her course to stay current while preserving the instructional framework she has developed intentionally over time.
“Instead of spending hours searching for credible, relevant, and classroom-appropriate texts, I can draw from a curated collection—one that supports both representation and rigor while saving preparation time,” she says.
That reclaimed time creates room for innovation. When the multimodal eBook became available through an Evergreen release, it was inside Connect and ready to use. Ariel was able to expand beyond traditional essay-based work and bring in multimodal assignments that better reflect how communication happens in digital and professional spaces. When Gen AI adaptive learning assignment modules were added, she had a clear entry point for bringing it into her curriculum as a teaching tool rather than a classroom challenge. “Now instead of fighting it, we're incorporating it,” she says.
Making Learning More Relevant for Students
Ariel sees relevance as essential to student engagement. She believes students are more motivated when they can recognize themselves, their experiences, and their futures in the material they are being asked to work with.
“Students need to see themselves reflected in examples, scenarios, and writing situations in order to feel that their voices matter,” she says.
When prompts and examples reflect contemporary issues, diverse perspectives, and real-world communication contexts, students are more likely to see assignments as meaningful rather than abstract. Ariel notes that when students understand how classroom skills transfer to professional environments, and public conversations, their motivation and investment increase.
That impact became especially visible when students were able to demonstrate understanding through infographics, visual arguments, and structured digital assignments made possible through the multimodal eBook. Students asked stronger questions, participated more actively, and showed deeper analytical thinking.
Accessibility That Supports Students—and Reassures Instructors
Relevance and engagement are only part of the equation. Instructors also need materials that support all learners and meet evolving accessibility guidelines. For Ariel, accessibility is not a secondary concern. It is central to effective teaching. She works with a diverse student population, and believes that instructional materials should never create unnecessary barriers.
“I never want instructional materials to unintentionally exclude anyone or increase existing inequities,” she says. “Accessibility standards and compliance requirements are everchanging, and it is difficult for individual instructors to independently keep up with every legal and institutional update.”
Evergreen helps address this by ensuring accessibility standards are reviewed and integrated into the platform. The Evergreen delivery model has given Ariel confidence that she doesn’t need to navigate compliance alone.
“It allows me to focus on teaching rather than compliance. Instead of worrying about whether embedded tools, readings, or multimedia features meet updated accessibility requirements, I can trust that improvements are being implemented in the background.” That assurance creates space Ariel uses to focus on what her students need.
For instructors, that creates peace of mind. For students, especially multilingual learners, adult students, and first-generation college students, it helps ensure they are not left behind by materials that no longer meet current standards.
Built for Learning, Designed for Teaching
For Ariel, Evergreen is valuable not just because it saves time, but because it helps her sustain a course that feels current, inclusive, and responsive without requiring constant reconstruction. The hours she once spent chasing updates can now go towards teaching, supporting students, and developing new ideas.
“It is like having your own well-trained assistant that knows what you need without you even having to ask,” she says.
With Evergreen, Ariel can focus less on searching, rebuilding, and compliance—and more on creating the kind of learning experience she wants her students to have.
