SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE GEAR UP TO TRANSFORM SOCIAL STUDIES WITH DISCOVERY EDUCATION DIGITAL TEXTBOOK
– New Course Offerings Encourage Learners to Think Critically, Develop Arguments and Investigate History –
August 27, 2014
Silver Spring, Md. (August 27, 2014) - This school year, students nationwide will be challenged to read, write and think like historians with Discovery Education's Social Studies TechbookTM series, a complete digital solution that replaces traditional textbooks and features dynamic, standards-based digital content and engaging resources. More than 100,000 middle school students are currently using Social Studies Techbook, with over 100 school districts across 33 states in the U.S. beginning to integrate the digital resource into classrooms this fall.
The award-winning digital textbook solution will now be used by some of the most innovative school systems in the 2014-15 school year, including Alabama's Baldwin County Public Schools; Arizona's Sunnyside Unified School District; Colorado's Garfield School District No. Re-2; Idaho's West Ada School District; Missouri's Poplar Bluff Public Schools; North Carolina's Rowan-Salisbury Schools; Tennessee's Oak Ridge School District; and New Jersey's Vernon Township School District, among others. Each district will have access to the full suite of Social Studies Techbook courses, including two United States History courses, World History and World Geography & Cultures.
The newest course, U.S. History II, covers the period from the Civil War to the Present and together with other U.S. History offerings, it provides districts with more options for meeting their Social Studies requirements. Later this fall, Discovery Education will add an additional course, US History, Prehistory-Present.
"Social Studies Techbook will provide our students challenging and meaningful learning experiences in social studies, encouraging them to think critically and helping to foster the global viewpoint necessary for college, careers and citizenship," said Chris Layton, a U.S. History teacher at Tennessee's Oak Ridge Schools. "I am looking forward to integrating this dynamic digital resource into my instruction to create a student-centered, inquiry-based classroom that improves our students' engagement and achievement."
Social Studies Techbook is a unique, web-based teaching and learning resource. Unlike other digital social studies programs that are converted from existing textbooks, Techbook takes full advantage of digital capabilities to offer multi-modal resources that transform teaching and learning. Each subject area in Social Studies Techbook includes a multimedia reference library that links key people, places and events to documents and videos; interactive maps, digital investigations and activities; primary source documents; and informational texts. Techbook is designed to support multiple reading levels and languages, promote personalized learning, inspire curiosity, encourage critical thinking and enable project-based learning. The resource supports English language learners through helpful features such as hundreds of Spanish language video segments, a multimodal interactive glossary, and a Spanish reading path with text-to-voice capability.
"Techbook ignites students' interest in social studies and activates higher order critical thinking skills in a way that no print textbook can," said Scott Kinney, senior vice president at Discovery Education. "Discovery Education is proud to support educators and learners with a dynamic digital resource that encourages students to think, do and investigate history, not just memorize it."
To support educators nationwide interested in using digital resources to enhance instruction, Discovery Education is partnering with the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) to offer a new webinar series. Throughout the month of September, the three part series will focus on a variety of topics, including unlocking the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) framework with digital resources, using digital tools to enhance Social Studies instruction, and how teachers across the country are using digital resources in their classrooms. For information and to register, visit www.socialstudies.org/workshops.
Included with each Techbook implementation, Discovery Education experts provide high-quality professional development to support educators as they implement the digital textbook in their classrooms. Discovery Education Professional Development is designed to teach educators how to maximize innovative learning tools and empower them to integrate technology effectively and confidently into instruction.
For more information about the Discovery Education Techbook series, visit http://www.discoveryeducation.com/what-we-offer/techbook-digital-textbooks/.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content and professional development for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content that supports the implementation of Common Core, professional development, assessment tools, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Available in over half of all U.S. schools and primary schools in England, community colleges and in 50 countries around the world, Discovery Education partners with districts, states and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that accelerate academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at www.discoveryeducation.com.