discovery-techbook

Texas approves Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook for statewide use


Adoption of interactive social studies material demonstrates nationwide shift to digital learning

discovery-techbookFollowing a rigorous evaluation, the Texas State Board of Education has approved the Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook for statewide use as a core instructional resource through its state adoption process.

More than 1,000,000 students across the U.S. and Canada currently have access to the Discovery Education Techbook series, and over 7,000 schools in Texas have already integrated Discovery Education services into classroom instruction.

The Texas State Board of Education adopted all middle and high school Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook courses, including World Geography & Cultures for Grade 6, as well as U.S. History for Grade 8 and high school. School districts across Texas now have the option to implement the Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook, a fully interactive digital solution that replaces traditional textbooks and features standards-based digital content that strengthens literacy, critical thinking and citizenship skills. Discovery Education’s Social Studies Techbook is a complete digital solution that has been built from the ground-up to be fully aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and English Language Proficiency standards.

The Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook is the second Techbook to be adopted by the Texas State Board of Education as a core instructional resource. In 2014, the Texas State Board of Education approved the Discovery Education Science Techbook as a core instructional resource for elementary, middle, and high school science courses through the state adoption process.

Next page: Features of Discovery Education’s Social Studies Techbook

“The Social Studies Techbook’s rich multimedia resources and wide variety of activities make Social Studies lessons more interesting and exciting to students,” said Yolanda M. Rey, Ph.D., Executive Director, Texas ASCD. “In addition, having model lessons, primary and secondary source documents, interactive tools and more all in one place saves educators a tremendous amount of time, allowing them to concentrate on their primary job: teaching.”

The Social Studies Techbook series uses an inquiry-based instructional approach that emphasizes informational text literacy, analytical writing and problem solving skills that students can apply in academics and as citizens. Each subject area includes primary source documents and activities, digital investigations, multimedia reference library, interactive maps and informational texts. Social Studies Techbook supports English language learners through helpful features such as hundreds of Spanish language video segments, a multimodal interactive glossary with definitions in Spanish, and a Spanish reading path with text-to-voice capability.

Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook is built upon the 5E model of instruction, a non-linear curriculum pathway that promotes inquiry-based learning, enhances literacy and thinking skills, and improves student achievement through interactive digital lessons that bring history to life. The Techbook series is transforming instruction with interactive content that specifically appeals to digital learners and real-time updates that allow teachers to incorporate current events and cutting-edge thinking into their curricula. In addition, Techbooks offer built-in assessments that measure students’ progress and support individualized classroom instruction. Aligned to state standards, the Techbook series creates learning environments that promote collaboration, creativity and participatory learning.

Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook is cloud-based and works on any platform-iPads, tablets, mobile devices, laptops, or desktops. In addition, the model lessons embedded throughout the Techbook provide teaching strategies for different classroom configurations– whether whole group, small group, or 1:1. Techbooks are also a substantially less expensive option per student than a traditional textbook, with additional savings derived from a lack of textbook replacement and inventory costs. Also available for download at the App Store in the U.S. and Canada at no cost is the Discovery Education Techbook app™. Through the app, users may download the interactive Techbook content they need — from an individual video to an entire concept — to their iPad when they have an internet connection. Once downloaded, that content is available to students, anywhere, anytime even without any internet connection.

Discovery Education understands that teacher engagement is critical to implementing successful learning initiatives. Therefore, all Techbooks include research-based professional development that supports educators as they integrate new digital content and resources into classroom instruction. The Discovery Educator Network (DEN), a global community of education professionals, further connects teachers and administrators around the world with social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events that inspire innovation and facilitates idea sharing.

“Discovery Education applauds the Texas State Board of Education’s adoption of the Social Studies Techbook for statewide use,” said Brett Felten, director at Discovery Education. “Across the state, educators are working hard to meet the educational needs of all students. We look forward to continuing to support Texas educators’ efforts with engaging digital resources like the Social Studies Techbook, and effective, research based professional development.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s Techbook series or other services and resources from Discovery Education, visit www.discoveryeducation.com.

Material from a press release was used in this report.

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