digital learning

Tenn. district partners with Discovery to transition to digital learning


Digital content, professional development to support district educators as they create modern digital learning environments that support the success of all students

Tennessee’s Wilson County Schools and Discovery Education announced a new six-year partnership supporting the creation of authentic digital learning environments in classrooms district-wide.

Through this new collaboration, Wilson County educators will, beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, integrate Discovery Education’s Science Techbook (Grades K-12), Social Studies Techbook (Grades 6-8) and Math Techbook (Grades 6-12) into classroom instruction. In addition, all K-12 classrooms across the district will have access to Discovery Education Streaming Plus, a comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas.

This new partnership directly supports Wilson County Schools’ Digital Transformation Plan 2016-19, which guides the implementation of technologies district-wide. Directing Wilson County Schools’ efforts to create challenging, equitable learning experiences that promote higher level learning and performance, this plan provides a blueprint for the creation of digital learning environments across the school system.

The Digital Transformation Plan also serves as a roadmap for the district’s efforts to prepare students to compete successfully in today’s information society, which will be accomplished, in part, by empowering teachers and students with dynamic, cross-curricular digital content and learning resources. Key components of this effort include providing all students and educators access to technology and digital resources; implementing collaborative professional development initiatives for faculty and staff; improving equity of access for teaching and learning; and developing equitable funding and implementation plans.

“Wilson County Schools is committed to ensuring that every student develops the high personal expectations, knowledge, and skills necessary to be successful today and in the future,” said Donna Wright, Ed.D, Director of Schools at Wilson County Schools. “Our partnership with Discovery Education provides the unique combination of digital content and professional development necessary to support both this mission, and the modern digital learning environments that support student success.”

Discovery Education’s Techbooks are breakthrough digital textbooks that are aligned to rigorous standards, support a comprehensive curriculum, and are updated regularly at no cost. The series encourages all learners through interactive features that change the reading level of text and enable text to be read aloud. The Techbook series saves teachers’ time with a comprehensive design that places model lessons, student activities and assessments at their fingertips.

Techbooks are platform neutral and can be used in 1:1 or 1-to-many configurations and in any instructional environment.

The Social Studies Techbook series uses an inquiry-based instructional approach that emphasizes informational text literacy and the analytical writing and problem solving skills that students will apply in the classroom and beyond.

Each subject area includes primary source documents and activities, digital investigations, a multimedia reference library, interactive maps and informational texts. Utilizing an inquiry-based format built on the 5E model, the Science Techbook, through hands-on labs, digital explorations, an interactive glossary, and data analysis activities, helps teach students to read, write, and think like scientists.

Math Techbook, the latest addition to Discovery Education’s award-winning line of digital textbooks, transforms the way students and teachers experience math through engaging instructional strategies and real-world problems that motivate and excite students with diverse learning styles.

In addition, the Discovery Education Community will continue supporting Wilson County Schools’ educators’ efforts to transform students’ learning experiences with digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing and inspiration.

“Discovery Education is proud to be a part of Wilson County Schools’ efforts to transform their classrooms into dynamic digital learning environments,” said Rob Warren, vice president of partnerships at Discovery Education. “We look forward to continuing to support their talented team as they engage in a digital conversion that supports student learning and achievement.”

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Laura Ascione

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