After an extensive review for this all-digital adoption, the Texas State Board of Education officially selected the Discovery Education Science Techbook as an approved resource for use in Texas middle schools. Built from the ground-up to be specifically aligned to TEKS, Texas’ science education standards, and CSCOPE, Texas’ curriculum management system, the Discovery Education Science Techbook serves as a key digital instructional resource, creating learning environments that promote collaboration, creativity and participatory learning.
“The Discovery Education Science Techbook provides students unique and interactive features and up-to-the-minute resources that a traditional textbook can’t deliver. Along with having the ability to address individual student’s learning modalities, it will assess each student and prescribe resources targeted to their performance,” said Kelli Campbell, senior vice president, Discovery Education. “The Techbook is also an economical choice, with deep professional development included in the price to empower educators in this transition to digital.”
Supporting the 5E model of instructional design, the Science Techbook’s inquiry-based approach offers features such as an interactive glossary, animations, videos and photos, more than 700 key science terms in both English and Spanish, clips from series such as PLANET EARTH, LIFE and MYTHBUSTERS, and a real-time assessment component that measures students’ progress and recommends individualized resources that reinforce classroom instruction. The Techbook is dynamic and updated in real time, providing teachers the opportunity to incorporate up-to-date scientific issues into their curriculum, such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
“This unique, all digital science adoption choice by Texas signals a systemic shift toward the acceptance of digital content as a textbook alternative,” said Dr. Yolanda Rey, executive director, Texas ASCD. “The Discovery Education Science Techbook highlights how digital can bring the world of science alive for every type of learner through dynamic videos, reading passages, hands-on activities, interactive virtual labs, and more.”
Aiding the implementation of this new service is a variety of teacher resources. These resources include “5 minute preps,” which provide educators refreshers on science content and full days of custom, in-person professional development.
