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Texas School Districts Shift to All-Digital Education Programs

More than a half-dozen school districts in Texas have approved an all-digital curricula for grades 5 through 12, which is delivered via the cloud and compatible with most devices, like tablets and PCs.

The new adoptees, which include districts in cities like Houston and Fort Worth, can begin using the educational programs, McGraw-Hill's CINCH Science and CINCH Math, in the 2011-2012 school year.

The curricula include interactive e-books with video illustrations and educational games. One feature inspired by social networking allows students to start conversations that resemble Facebook comment threads. The program is also customizable from the district level down.

The science program will help prepare Texas students for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), to be administered for the first time in the 2011-2012 school year.

"We're excited to introduce students in Texas to an all-digital science program that provides an engaging learning experience no matter where they are, or which device they're using," said Randy Reina, senior vice president of McGraw-Hill's Center for Digital Innovation in a statement. "With programs like CINCH Science, school districts get the best of both worlds--innovative digital solutions with authoritative content that's supported by years of research and field-testing--through a subscription that they can customize to their needs."

According to McGraw-Hill, there are more than 200,000 CINCH users nationwide, and more than 140 school districts in Texas alone that have adopted the science program.

About the Author

Stephen Noonoo is an education technology journalist based in Los Angeles. He is on Twitter @stephenoonoo.

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