Plain whiteY. —
Out of curiosity, Nicholas Daddario weighed his backpack last year when it was filled with textbooks for his high school freshman honors class.
It weighs 35 pounds.
This backpack is much lighter this year.
Stepinac in White Plains has become one of the first high schools in the country to put down all textbooks like dead weight and replace them with "digital libraries.
"When students start class on Monday, they are browsing an app or website on a tablet or laptop and have instant access to all 40 texts in the Stepinac course, not to mention all kinds of notes.
Highlight and interact with features.
"It's not only lighter, but you can also move," said 15-year-old Daddario . ".
"You can bring your computer to your friend's house and you are ready wherever you are.
"This is a given K-
Education is going digital.
But Stepinac, a Roman Catholic boy School, walked in front of it when giving up expensive, heavy things, books that were unfriendly and immediately out of date in the environment, a video review class conducive to calculus and Latin stories, read aloud.
Stepinac officials have worked with Pearson, an education company that has long ruled the textbook world, for a year to design and create a unique digital library that other private and public schools must study.
"No one else in this country has this," Lisa alphasey, Pearson account manager, who led the project, told teachers last week when they sat down for training.
In fact, Dennis Lauro, executive director of the lower Hudson Regional Information Center, provided technical support to public schools in Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam County, New York, he said, neither he nor his colleagues across the state know that public schools have similar digital jobs.
"This is the wave of the future," said Luo . ".
"I'm not surprised that private schools will beat public schools.
They have the ability to do this.
In this case, there is too much political participation in public schools, which requires the approval of the board of directors and the Commission.
There will be a lot of interest in what Stepinac is doing. "For the Rev.
Tom Collins, president of Stepinac, said commitment to digital resource materials was not a difficult decision.
First, given the economics of private schools, it may actually be cheaper for students to enter the library.
In the past, students spent $700 a year on textbooks. This year —after the one-
Time to buy a tablet or laptop
Families must pay $150 to access the digital library.
In addition, Collins said, we have reached the time when high school graduates need to master bilingual and technical skills.
"I know it's going to sweep the country," he said . "
"If we can be at the starting point of Genesis, I can say that we are preparing for the university life of every student.
"Using a digital library is almost as easy as opening a new book (
As long as your internet connection is open).
Students can enter the global research digital book almost immediately, open an interactive map of Egypt or a speech by President John F.
Kennedy about the Cuban missile crisis, or the PBS documentary about Iran's controversial presidential election in 2009.
"Students can search for what they want like Google, so now we can teach them to explain and analyze information," said Matthew Hogan, president of social studies . ".
Teachers can display pages in digital books on an interactive whiteboard in front of the class, or send students links to specific math questions and add Teacher's Notes.
Pearson also provides Stepinac with many digital resources besides the library.
For example, a website will not only rate students' compositions for grammar and sentence structure, but also for repeating ideas too frequently.
Then it suggests re-writes.
"There are a lot of things here that you can go through all day," said British president Nancy Bregno . ".
There may be some challenges in the previous weeks.
Stepinac officials expect parents to feel some discomfort as the spine drops.
They realized there could be a technical glitch in the first place.
They will have to encourage students to leave the space
Eat photos and music on your tablet
And charge their devices.
"These things will be solved," Collins said . "
There is a problem in developing a digital library for Stepinac.
Pearson does not produce religious materials.
As a result, Stepinac had to sign a contract with a Catholic publishing company to get PDF downloads for religious courses that students could find on tablets and laptops.
Teachers and students are generally excited to try something that is not seen in high school.
Daniel Negron, 14, a sophomore at Hartsdale, said the digital library provided for many Stepinac students who were exhausted from physical exercise or other activities to return home
"It reads to you," he said . "
"Listening to a book may not be the worst thing in the world.