Ten of the 16 free digital textbooks submitted for review as part of California's free digital textbook initiative meet at least 90 percent of the state's rigorous academic content standards, according to a report released today by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
With the release of this Phase 1 report, districts will be able to better indentify the right digital materials to meet students' needs as the days of printed textbooks fade away. Using existing software, these free, standards-aligned digital books are downloadable, may be projected on a screen or printed out. The reviewed digital textbooks are available for schools to use this fall.
“This represents an important step toward embracing a more interactive learning environment that leverages technology to meet the changing academic needs of California’s students,” Gov. Schwarzenegger said.
In May, California became the first state in the nation to launch a free digital textbook initiative, and publishers submitted content to see how it measured up against state standards.
The California Learning Resource Network (CLRN), a CDE Statewide Educational Technology Services project, facilitated the reviews. Reviewers had to determine to what degree materials met State Board of Education adopted standards for geometry, algebra II, trigonometry, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology/life science and earth science.
Pearson, the nation's largest textbook publisher, only had one text reviewed in this phase: Biology materials that only met 31 of 67 content standards. The big winner in this initial review was CK-12 Foundation, a nonprofit group that develops free "flexbooks," which can be customized to meet state standards and tailored to curriculums. Of the seven digital books by CK-12 Foundation reviewed in this phase, three of them met 100 percent of the standards.
Advanced Alegebra II, a digital textbook by a Raleigh, N.C. math teacher, met 26 out of 27 content standards.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's initiative, together with President Obama’s proposal to invest $500 million in open education over the next decade, are two of the most significant steps forward in open education to date," said Joel Thierstein, executive director of Connexions, an open-education initiative at Rice University in Houston that publishes the open-copyright book. "Open education is the biggest advance in education since Horace Mann’s push for mandatory free public education in the U.S."
To show educators, technology professionals and content providers the various ways digital textbooks can be used, the California Educational Technology Professionals Association (CETPA) hosted a digital textbook symposium today at the Orange County Department of Education. Teachers demonstrated the application of digital textbooks in four mock classrooms. CETPA also moderated a panel discussion about the future of ed tech.
While digital textbooks were reviewed for their alignment with the content standards, California's Social Content Review criteria were not applied during this phase. That means districts, schools and individuals who plan to take advantage of these books are advised to conduct their own reviews to find out whether these resources meet their needs.
The full text of the review report and links to each textbook download and their corresponding standards alignment documents are available on CLRN’s Web site at www.clrn.org/fdti.
