CuraCourseCuraCourse vs McGraw Hill Connect
McGraw Hill Connect pairs McGraw Hill textbooks with SmartBook adaptive reading and large question banks. CuraCourse is for instructors who write their own lessons, with practice built into the reading, and it’s free to build.
We wrote this from each company’s public docs. Last checked .
When McGraw Hill Connect fits
Go with Connect if you teach from a McGraw Hill textbook and want a finished eBook, SmartBook adaptive reading, and big ready-made question banks. It also fits if your school already uses Inclusive Access for McGraw Hill titles.
When CuraCourse fits
Pick CuraCourse if you want to write the course yourself, with runnable code, math, graphs, your own activities, and an AI tutor you control.
The main differences
Whose material it is
Connect is built around a McGraw Hill eBook and SmartBook. You can add your own questions and assignments, but the reading is the publisher’s. In CuraCourse, you write the lessons, and the practice sits inside your own text.
Adaptive reading
SmartBook asks questions as students read and adapts to what they’ve mastered, and it has years of tuning behind it. CuraCourse puts the questions you write into your lessons, but it doesn’t change the reading path for each student.
AI help for students
AI Reader explains highlighted eBook passages, and instructors can turn it on or off for the class. CuraCourse’s tutor works from the lesson you wrote, and you choose how much it helps in each lesson.
Build activities that are graded.
This pendulum is a Custom Activity built inside a lesson. In a course, each student’s progress and score are saved, so it counts toward the grade.
How to set it upEach cell links to its guide or source.
| What you need to do | CuraCourse | McGraw Hill |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive lessons | ||
| Author your own material Write content and organize it for your class. | Available Write lessons with explanations, video, equations, and activities in one editor. Guide | Questions only Write your own questions and assignments. The main text is a McGraw Hill eBook with SmartBook. Source |
| Questions alongside teaching material Ask questions while students learn a concept. | Available Multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, open response, sorting, and ordering, right after your explanation. Guide | Available SmartBook asks questions as students read and adapts to what they’ve mastered. It’s built on the publisher’s text. Source |
| Math & graphs | ||
| Math answers checked for equivalence Students type a math expression, and equivalent forms count as correct. | Available Students answer on a math keyboard. Accept the exact form, any equivalent expression, or a value within a tolerance. Guide | Not in their docs ALEKS supports formula answers and instructor-written questions. We couldn’t find how equivalent forms are graded. Docs checked |
| Students draw graphs Students plot points, lines, and curves, and the graph is checked automatically. | Available Students plot points, lines, curves, and constructions on a board you set up, checked against your answers. Guide | Economics titles Connect for Economics has a graphing tool for homework. We found no general graphing tool for every course. Source |
| Custom activities | ||
| Build your own interactive activity Put a simulation or tool you made in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript inside a lesson, with saved progress and scores. | Available Build it yourself or with CuraAI. It saves each student’s progress and score. Guide | Not in their docs Web activities link to outside pages, but McGraw Hill says they aren’t graded. We found no way to embed a scored tool. Docs checked |
| Exams | ||
| Timed exams Give students a set amount of time. | Beta Set a time limit, how students move through questions, and when grades are released. Guide | Available Assignments and tests can have time limits, with optional Proctorio and per-student extensions. Source |
| IDE | ||
| Write and run code in the browser Students code without installing anything. | Available Code exercises run inside the lesson on every plan. Cloud-based labs need Pro, or Core with the labs add-on. Guide | Not in their docs Connect’s computer science materials list SmartBook and writing assignments. We couldn’t find coding labs or a code editor. Docs checked |
| Automatic code checks Grade code against tests you set. | Available Check student programs against the output you expect, on every plan. Guide | Not in their docs We couldn’t find a Connect feature that runs student code against tests. Docs checked |
| Grading | ||
| Manual scoring and feedback Grade work yourself and leave comments. | Available Grade with your rubric, and move through submissions quickly with Lightning Grader. Guide | Available Hand-graded questions go to a grading queue where you enter a score and comments. Source |
| AI rubric grading AI scores work against your rubric and gives feedback. | Available Write the rubric, then review the AI’s scores and feedback. On every plan, and free Starter courses include a few AI credits. Guide | Not in their docs Writing Assignment has rubrics and some auto-scored prompts. McGraw Hill’s AI disclosures list no AI scoring of student work. Docs checked |
| AI | ||
| AI help you control Decide how much AI helps students. | Available Turn on the AI tutor per lesson and choose how much it helps. Off by default. Guide | Available AI Reader explains and quizzes on highlighted eBook passages. Instructors can turn it on or off for the class. Source |
| Adoption & cost | ||
| LMS launch and grade sync Students open work from your LMS, and grades go back automatically. | Available LTI 1.3 with grade passback. Works with Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard Ultra, Brightspace, Schoology, and more. Guide | Available LTI Advantage with Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, and Moodle sends scores back to the LMS. Source |
| How access is priced What a course costs, including paid features and usage. | Free to start Free for instructors. Students pay $0, $20, or $45 per course, or the school pays. Guide | Per title Students buy access for a specific title, or the school uses Inclusive Access. No single published price. Source |
“Available” means it’s documented, though it may need a certain plan. “Not in their docs” means we couldn’t find it in the linked pages. It may still exist.
“I’ve taught CS for over three decades. CuraCourse is the first platform that actually matches how I want to teach: interactive exercises and multimedia that keep students engaged, plus real-time visibility into their work so I know who needs help before they fall behind. I can’t get this from textbooks or traditional publisher platforms.”
Dr. Vic Fay-Wolfe
Professor of Computer Science, University of Rhode Island
Switching from McGraw Hill Connect
- Pick the unit you change most and rebuild it as CuraCourse lessons, with your questions inline.
- Keep past grades in Connect and your LMS gradebook. Connect courses don’t transfer.
- Connect CuraCourse to your LMS with LTI 1.3, and check with your bookstore before ending an Inclusive Access deal.
Common questions
Is CuraCourse a good McGraw Hill Connect alternative?
Yes, if you want to write your own course. If you rely on a McGraw Hill textbook, SmartBook, and its question banks, Connect gives you more ready-made content.
Can I import my Connect course?
No. Publisher text and question banks stay with McGraw Hill. You rebuild your lessons and questions in CuraCourse, and past grades stay in Connect and your LMS.
Does CuraCourse work with my LMS like Connect does?
Yes. Both use LTI 1.3, so students launch from the LMS and grades sync back.
Sources
We checked these pages in October 2026. Some features depend on the plan or book, so ask McGraw Hill Connect about your setup. If something is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
- McGraw Hill: Connect custom questions
- McGraw Hill: SmartBook
- McGraw Hill: ALEKS authoring for math and chemistry
- McGraw Hill: Connect for Economics
- McGraw Hill: Create web activities
- McGraw Hill: Connect time limits and extensions
- McGraw Hill: Computer Science in Connect
- McGraw Hill: Connect manual grading
- McGraw Hill: AI disclosures
- McGraw Hill: Connect LTI Advantage
- McGraw Hill: Connect access and purchase FAQ
CuraCourse entries in the table link to our own guides.