Another "move" to the future is the provision of the State of California an opportunity for digital textbooks. We are currently proceeding on this particular direction in partnership with the state. Currently, we only have these state-adopted texts in our higher level math and science classes at the high school level. We would hope to have available to our students these digital resources by the middle of October. Digital texts (beyond reducing the weight limit of backpacks) would offer teachers and students the choice of MANY resources and options for their learning rather than the customary one that we have had in the past. As an example, a teacher could choose one chapter from one book and another chapter from another text based on which was BEST for their classroom. Additionally, students that might have difficulty understanding a given concept in one text could easily review another version in a different text -- all with a few clicks of the "mouse."
More information about the specifics of the digital texts and how they are aligned to state curriculum standards, etc. can be found at the CLRN website. At that same website, there are links to the actual textbooks for the high school math/science classes. No matter how good and how many -- we should be clear that teachers are still the key to the facilitation of student learning.
Has the concept of the digitial divide been addressed in this situation? Many of our students do not have access to computers outside of the classroom, especialy in thier homes. I know that many libraries and computer labs are present in the city, but not all of our students have the means by which to access even these resources. What can we as a school district do in order to prevent a greater rift from occuring in regard to the digitial divide in our city? Will the adoption of digital textbooks perpetuate the problem or assist in solving it? What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that for the cost of three textbooks (not the five children typically carry in their crazy heavy backpacks), the district could buy the student a mini-notebook computer and load it with the free digital textbook materials and other digital resources at the beginning of the year. Students could then use those devices to access online resources via the wireless network available across the city of Riverside or from their classrooms at school.
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