Books

Wisconsin Districts Loading 1-to-1 iPads with Discovery Ed Techbooks

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 08/10/15

A Wisconsin school district that's kicking off an extensive 1-to-1 program will be using digital textbooks and professional development services from a private partner. D.C. Everest Area School District, which already uses Discovery's streaming video service, will be expanding its business footprint with the education technology company by adopting math, science and social studies "techbooks" for some of its grades.

A techbook uses interactives, game-based activities, videos and embedded tools to engage the student. Although, according to the company, techbooks are platform-neutral, Everest will be using them on iPads. Starting this fall, the district will be distributing the devices to students in K-12; those in K-2 will be able to use them in school; older students will have them for school and home use.

Teachers will participate in Discovery's Digital Leader Corps, a program of professional development. The announcement was made at the same time the company launched a STEM learning and leadership program, intended to help teachers understand how to teach science, math and related topics and create STEM lessons.

The district "is committed to working with the community to develop knowledgeable, productive and creative individuals prepared to meet the challenges of an ever-changing global society," said Superintendent Kristine Gilmore in a prepared statement. "We are pleased to expand our partnership with Discovery Education to support this goal. The combination of dynamic digital content and professional development empowers teachers to meet the diverse needs of our district's students and creates new leadership pathways for our educators."