It reads like something out of a
science-fiction book. Kids no longer use dated textbooks. Instead, they walk
into a classroom, sit down, and use high-tech devices that are fully
interactive, paperless, and let students learn subject matter in an entirely new
way. Here's the thing: it's not science fiction. It's science fact. The
Albuquerque public school system has adopted a new form of textbook - called
the tech book.
What
Are Tech Books?
Instead of using textbooks, some
Albuquerque schools will use "tech books," but what are they? These
books are actually computers. The "books" are virtual, provided by a
3rd party that specializes in providing educational materials via the web.
Essentially, students will be using the Internet as a gateway to course materials.
The
Benefits
Tech books have multiple advantages over
traditional textbooks:
- They don't need replacing. Tech books are completely digital.
They'll never wear out. They'll never need replacing due to physical
damage. Over the long-term, this saves on waste and replacement costs.
- They're always up to date. Textbooks have a problem. As soon as
they are published, they start becoming dated. Teachers are often left to
suffer with textbooks that contain old or inaccurate data. For example,
classes oriented around global studies, history, or world studies will be
out of date every few years. Most schools can't afford to repurchase texts
to keep up. With tech books, this is a non-issue.
- They are interactive. Tech books can make extensive use of quizzes
to test student knowledge. They can also tailor the educational experience
to the unique needs of the child. This is simply not possible with
textbooks.
- They offer a true multi-media experience. With textbooks, you have printed words. With tech books, you have video, audio, and print. There are more ways to learn, and each child can learn in a manner most appropriate to him or her.
The
Role of Discovery Education
Albuquerque has partnered with a leader
in education to bring tech books to schools: Discovery Education. Discovery
Education is the organization behind the Discovery Channel - which is known for
its educational programming. For its trial, the tech book program will be
utilized by thirty four students and teachers across both regular and
alternative high schools.
This more modern
way of learning can allow students to follow along with live interactions like
the NASA mars rover experiment and study history in real-time,
"as-it-happens" (i.e. presidential elections). Said Meressa Mullins,
"It's going to be a lot faster and I think things are going to be like
when something happens, you're going to know about it and everything's going to
be to date instead of having a text book from like five years ago and using it
now when it's a completely different president or something."
The Cost
The cost to the
school system is reported to be about $11 million. This money will come from
the APS general budget which has traditionally been used to pay for paper text
books. The district also plans to use some of its new bond money to purchase
more equipment that will compliment the new tech books.
Rob Gallagher is
a retired New Mexico classroom aide who loves to blog about technology and the
Internet. In his spare time, he likes to share his findings with others on web.
To find out more about New Mexico Internet Providers, visit the link.
