Milwaukee Evaluates Online Textbooks & Free Wireless Internet for Students

Erin Richards:

Milwaukee Public Schools may go digital with some learning resources as the district selects about $7.7 million worth of new language arts, foreign language, technology education and social studies textbooks.

With a new wireless network expected to bring free broadband Internet access into the homes of MPS students by next semester, Superintendent William Andrekopoulos said the district could start to "expand its textbook options" and look at more paperless models. But questions remain about if and how the district would make the most necessary resource - computers - available to a largely low-income population of students.

"This is the first time we've started looking at online options, especially with language arts material," Andrekopoulos said last month, after a School Board committee voted to move forward with the textbook adoption process. The committee's recommendation was approved by the full board on Nov. 30.

Aquine Jackson, chief academic officer for MPS, said electronic options could improve some of the literacy curricula that need supplemental resources. At a district-estimated $6.7 million worth of materials, language arts texts for grades K-8 and spelling for grades K-5 constitute the bulk of material that's up for adoption.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 13, 2006 7:14 AM
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