After a recent article about the move toward digital "techbooks," I heard from a couple of teachers who talked about challenges they're facing.
Sherri Garside, a history teacher at Alexander Graham Middle, said the social studies digital programs created by Discovery Education remain incomplete. Sixth-graders have a full curriculum, but whole centuries are still being developed for seventh- and eighth-graders, she said.
"To say teachers are frustrated is an understatement!" she said. "What they have is great, but useless unless it is updated."
I also heard from a teacher at a high-poverty middle school, who asked not to be named for fear his principal would take offense. I visited Community House Middle, a low-poverty school in the southern suburbs, for the article. This teacher said his students are far less likely to be able to do the techbook work from home. They may have smartphones, he said, but they're not likely to have laptops or home computers that are conducive to moving among multiple items and doing online work.
Both teachers said a shortage of classroom devices poses challenges. Unlike Mooresville Graded Schools, which provides each student with a MacBook they can use in class and take home, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools relies on classroom laptops or carts of devices that can be rolled between classrooms. The teacher at the high-poverty school said that doesn't provide enough consistent access for students to get comfortable with the digital programs.
"The more you use Discovery Education, the better you get with it," he said. "Discovery Education itself is great."
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