Over the next four years, students in North Carolina public schools will trade in their traditional textbooks for digital devices as the state shifts how it funds educational materials.
Last week, Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law a bill that calls for public schools to allocate more money for devices such as digital textbooks and iPads. The legislation is one of four bills designed to address the changing landscape of public education because of the growing use of technology in schools.
“This is where we have been going the past couple of years,” said Cumberland County schools Superintendent Frank Till Jr. “Textbooks are becoming an antiquated way to learn. This puts a stake in the ground that says textbooks are passe.”
School systems have until 2017 to align curriculum with digital devices and make the transition to digital instruction, the law states. A similar mandate to move toward digital instruction by the 2015-16 school year exists in Florida, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan has called for all U.S. schools to move toward digital learning within five years.
The use of digital textbooks and devices can “raise the level of academic performance of the state’s students” and provides students with “high-quality, up-to-date information that can be customized for individual students throughout their educational experience,” according to North Carolina’s new law.
“The thinking is that there are many school districts moving to digital learning,” said Neill Kimrey, director of digital teaching and learning with the state Department of Public Instruction. “There are a few districts that are resistant to change. This bill draws the line in the sand.”
School systems will have flexibility to use state money designated for textbooks or local money for technology. The legislation suggests using additional funding sources, such as private grants and parental contributions. Schools can adopt a “bring-your-own-device” policy that allows students and teachers to use their own technology in the classrooms.
The bill does not allocate state funds for digital devices. However, legislation is pending that would allow lottery funds to be used for technology.
Cumberland County officials are not optimistic that the state will allocate additional funds for digital devices, and there is little local money to divert from textbooks.
The legislature drastically cut funding for textbooks to help balance the state’s budget. During the 2009-10 academic year, more than $59.6 million was allocated by the state for textbooks, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. Only $2.5 million was allocated the following year. This year’s allocation is about $21.2 million.
Cumberland County schools have received about $700,000 in state funding for textbooks for the past two years.
The school system is looking at federal grants, including Race to the Top, to help pay for some of the technology.
Even if legislation is passed to free up lottery revenue for textbooks, Till said officials won’t be able to use that pot of money. Cumberland County is using that money to pay for the system’s debt on recently constructed buildings.
Till said students and faculty likely will need to provide their own devices in the classroom, but that, too, offers complications.
“Some students don’t have their own cell phone,” he said.
Tech in the classroom
While leaders consider how to buy the devices, technology is being integrated into the curriculum at several Cumberland schools. At Pine Forest High School, a grant helped pay for iPads, laptops, and other digital devices.
Instructors in the school’s Academy of Emergency Medical Sciences use the tablets to illustrate medical procedures. During a recent class, students used an iPad application to simulate CPR.
“It brings it to life more than I ever could just by my words,” said Michelle Quinn, the director of the academy that trains students interested in pursuing careers in medicine and health care.
Several of Quinn’s students praised the legislation. Kayla Holliday, a junior, said it makes sense to shift to digital learning because today’s youth grew up using technology.
“It almost gives you a new perspective on the material when you can use the technology that you already use for the things that you enjoy,” she said.
Trevor Hendricks, also a junior, said the digital devices are more convenient than textbooks.
“It definitely helps us because you get more current information than what you can from textbooks,” he said.
Pine Forest Principal Jane Fields said she is glad school systems will have time to train teachers how to use the devices and software and properly integrate them in the classroom.
“It’s going to ask people to step outside their comfort zones and do things differently, and you need time to adjust,” Fields said. “The professional development that we provide is imperative so that teachers can use it as a tool to engage their students and expand their learning process, not cripple their thinking skills.”
Fields expressed concerns about the sustainability of the technology. Most digital devices are outdated within a year. School systems may not have the funding to keep up.
The change also would mean that textbook companies would have to find ways to provide more digital content. Cumberland County schools are not under a contract with a textbook company to provide digital content. Teachers are using online sources in the classroom.
Officials have met with several textbook companies and have reviewed their digital content, said Kevin Coleman, executive director of technology for Cumberland County schools.
“Converting textbooks to digital content is a move in the right direction,” Coleman said. “I am excited about the governor’s push toward digital learning.”
Moore County is in the first phase of a four-phase plan to move to digital learning and sustainability. One elementary school and an alternative school are using digital devices. Three middle schools will be equipped with digital devices in the next month, Moore Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence said.
Although the intentions of the legislators are good, Spence said, the lack of funding for the digital learning initiative may hinder the bill’s goal.
“If the state really intends to be a statewide digital learning system,” he said, “it will take a commitment of money and not shifting money that currently exists from already-stretched school budgets.”
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