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 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the results of the second phase of his first-in-the-nation free Digital Textbook Initiative to provide California’s students and teachers with free, high-quality open educational resources. Seventeen free digital textbooks for high school history, science and higher-level math were reviewed against California’s rigorous academic content standards and are now available for use in California’s classrooms.“I launched the nation’s first digital textbook initiative to provide California’s students and teachers with free, high-quality open educational resources,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “We now have more than 30 free digital texts available for use in the classroom that can provide a more interactive experience for students and cost districts less – a win-win that can allow educators to engage a new generation of tech-savvy students.” Under the Governor’s first-in-the-nation free Digital Textbook Initiative, digital resources – submitted by textbook publishers, classroom teachers and other experts – are reviewed against California’s rigorous academic content standards by the California Learning Resources Network(CLRN) to give teachers confidence that these materials are appropriate to be used in California’s classrooms. More than 30 free digital textbooks have now been reviewed, including textbooks for the following high school courses: geometry, algebra II, trigonometry, probability and statistics, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology and life science, earth science and U.S. history. Students and teachers have the flexibility to use these resources in a number of ways. They are downloadable and can be projected on a screen or viewed on a computer or hand-held device. They can also be printed chapter by chapter and bound for use in the classroom and be taken home by students. “Californians are once again proving that they are the most innovative people in the world, and our thanks go out to the experts, publishers and standards specialists that helped to provide such high-quality digital content to our students,” said California Secretary of Education Bonnie Reiss. Governor Schwarzenegger launched the first phase of this groundbreaking initiative in May 2009 to help ensure California’s students have access to high-quality, cost-effective instructional materials. In August 2009, the Governor released CLRN’s review report of 16 digital math and science textbooks. Several textbook publishers that had submitted content in the first phase improved their textbooks based on the reviews and resubmitted their textbooks for the second phase. In fall 2009, the Governor signed a package of bills to help increase the quantity, availability and practicality of using digital textbooks in the classroom. To download or view the available free digital textbooks and for more information on the CLRN content standards review process, please visit www.clrn.org/fdti. |