Description: This is
a VOA Special English Education Report.
See text below
Text:
California has a new program called the Digital
Textbook Initiative.
In June, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
said: "Starting this fall with high school math and
science, we will be the first state in the nation to
provide schools with a state-approved list of
digital textbooks." He talked about his effort to
get schools to use materials available free online.
He listed reasons why he thinks digital textbooks
make sense.
California approves traditional textbooks in
six-year cycles. Digital ones can offer the latest
information. They lighten the load of school bags.
They save paper and trees, and make learning more
fun and interactive. And lastly he said they help
schools with their finances.
The state has had to make severe cuts in school
spending because of deep financial problems. More
than six million students attend California public
schools.
Earlier this year, California invited content
developers to offer digital math and science
materials for high schools. These had to meet at
least ninety percent of the states learning
requirements. Specially trained teachers examined
sixteen textbooks and approved ten of them.
Six of the ten were published by the CK12
Foundation. Co-founder Neeru Khosla says the
nonprofit group had been developing digital science
and math books for about two years. The foundation
paid teachers and other education professionals to
write and edit them. The money came from a group
financed by the Khosla family. The AMAR Foundation
also supports projects in India.
California cannot require schools to use the digital
textbooks. Individual school districts will have to
decide for themselves.
Susan Martimo, a California Department of Education
official, says she does not expect widespread use
right away. Her best guess is that some schools with
a lot of technology will be the first to use them,
but only in addition to their traditional books.
School administrators point out that the texts may
be free online, but students need a way to access
them. Not everyone has a computer or electronic
reader. Schools could print out copies, but that
would not help the environment. Also, there is the
cost to train teachers to use digital textbooks
effectively.
Next week: a look at digital textbooks in college.
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
