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ERIC Number: EJ980592
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Apr
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0192-592X
EISSN: N/A
Maintaining Standards in a Textbook-Free World
Schaffhauser, Dian
T.H.E. Journal, v39 n3 p26-30 Apr 2012
Even though non-print-based learning objects have been in the classroom for years, the shift to digital content has gotten more attention lately. One development that has made the difference is the Apple initiative to introduce its iBooks textbooks for iPads, generating a notable amount of buzz. That and President Obama's announcement that he believes every student in every state should have an all-digital curriculum by 2017. Florida already has committed to going all digital by 2015, while San Diego has distributed 78,000 digital textbooks to its students. That is why it should not surprise anyone who is looking for signs of the arrival of a digital revolution that the Vail School District (Arizona)--a tiny rural district southeast of Tucson with 10,000 residents, two grocery stores, and not a single bookstore--is part of an advance charge to stop buying textbooks for its students. Vail's grand vision, called Beyond Textbooks (BT), began nearly five years ago with a goal of shifting to the use of open educational resources--digital content--in all of its classrooms. But it has grown into far more than that. Today, nearly 50 other districts in the state have teamed up with BT as paid partners to gain professional development and access its wiki-based repository, which includes lesson plans, quizzes, interactive web links, ideas, presentations, and other digital matter. (Contains 7 online resources.)
1105 Media, Inc. Available from: T.H.E. Journal Magazine. P.O. Box 2170, Skokie, IL 60076. Tel: 866-293-3194; Tel: 866-886-3036; Fax: 847-763-9564; e-mail: THEJournal@1105service.com; Web site: http://www.thejournal.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona; Georgia; Texas; Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A