New law will lighten students' load

A recent law authorizing a pilot program for 12 school districts to purchase electronic textbooks will lighten some students' backpacks and transform homework into an interactive experience.

The legislation by former Assemblymember Fran Pavley was signed into law last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The 12 school districts to pilot the program have yet to be named, although Las Virgenes Unified School District is sure to be a contender since LVUSD employees inspired the new law.

Pavley wrote the legislation because school districts rerportedly were having problems obtaining electronic format textbooks from publishers

"The current law says 95 percent of (government) funds can only be spent on textbooks," said Donald Zimring, LVUSD deputy superintendent. "The idea was to force textbook publishers to provide alternate media. . . . Delivery of instruction can no longer rely solely on a textbook."

Zimring said another factor driving the use of new technology is the high printing cost for textbooks. "Taxpayer dollars could be saved by having these materials provided in electronic format," he said.

"Equally important is the ability of the textbooks to be more graphic, interactive and effective by a combination of the printed, audio and visual resources available to support the information provided," Zimring said.

Board of Education President Terilyn Finders said that when Zimring approached Pavley with the concept, two themes were discussed- lighter backpacks so students could walk or ride their bikes to school, and textbooks that "integrate and maximize the power of technology."

The bill includes segments of a study by the Children's Partnership, a national child advocacy organization. The study, "Measuring Digital Opportunity for America's Children," found that of the 46 million 7 to 17year-olds in the U.S., 77 percent live in homes with a personal computer, and 90 percent use a computer at school. The study produced evidence of technology having a positive- and measurable- effect in "education, health, workforce skills development and civic participation."

Technology is changing the way teachers teach and students learn.

A 2002 pilot program in nine Maine middle schools provided every junior high student with a laptop computer. The program reaped positive results, including higher attendance rates, which translated into more money for a district, and also resulted in fewer disciplinary problems.

"So as far as I am concerned, this bill, which is supposed to give district tech/text options, is far less vital today than it was yesterday, since the publishers are finally giving us what we need," Finders said.

"It is legislation like this that lights a fire under industry, and I would argue that this bill helped to realize the great changes we are seeing in the publishing industry," Finders said.