I went on the Ohio School Facilities website and linked to 21st
century. They have some examples of schools that have planned and designed
based on some of the principles discussed last night. This link is Hamilton
Schools- I like what the teacher has to say!
Video was great. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWonder if savings generated by eliminating textbooks would free enough cash in budget to fund purchase of iPads and cost of "itext books"?
I had the same thought. The interactivity of the digital textbook is so impressive… Made me want to go back and study some subjects again!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think we would want our children in this community missing out on this!!
;-)
Lisa
Well...we are currently adopting new curriculum and will soon be in the process of selecting new textbooks. Seems like an opportunity to pilot something like this (eTextbooks) in one or more of the divisions in the district. (Jamie Tubbs)
ReplyDeleteIn social studies I am currently investigating a digital textbook for 4th grade that is very interesting to me. Unlike a published textbook, information can be easily updated. Next year, an 8th grade digital text will be available too ... Aligned to Revised Ohio Standards! (P Clark)
ReplyDeleteStephanie O'hara and Linda Johnson are both piloting mathxl this year. I would not call it an online textbook so much as an online problem bank that includes various levels of help for the students as they are working on problems. Both have expressed positive results so far, with the biggest limitation being the texts that you are allowed to choose from to create the problem banks. Madeira High School runs all( or almost all) of their math classes through the mathxl program and has for a few years. Various high school math teachers have been given demonstrations on mathxl and discusses pros and cons of it with teachers from Madeira before we made our decision to pilot mathxl. (M Harms)
ReplyDeleteI have been enjoying all the information ... I can tell this will be a very rewarding learning experience!
ReplyDeleteI am currently exploring a digital textbook for 4th grade social studies. It includes student readings, interactive maps, primary source documents, embedded videos and photos of historical artifacts. The program includes student accounts, so they will have access to many of these resources at home or anywhere they have computer access. The text is aligned with the Ohio Academic Content Standards and will include assessments next year (Year 2 of the project). Also new next year will be an 8th grade eText. Still under development, it looks very interesting. This is Year 1, so as an early-adopter we have many opportunities for input as the project develops. Our curriculum is currently under revision, and it is very likely we will adopt this electronic resource in lieu of a bound textbook.
If you want to see more, visit www.ohioasamerica.org.