Just four U.S. school districts chosen to try out system

Image Courtesy: Google

Staff Reports

Baldwin Park – The first of two electronic textbook pilot efforts at Baldwin Park Unified has returned overwhelming praise for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt materials used on Google Chromebooks, according to District leaders.

Some 36 8^th Graders at Sierra Vista Middle School, and 30 10^th Graders at Sierra Vista High School, conducted a semester-long trial of electronic curriculum on the Chromebooks this past spring as part of an effort to determine engagement levels.

“This was a rare and valuable opportunity to see how our students responded to new technology interfaces with the latest electronic texts,” Baldwin Park Unified Superintendent, Dr. Paul Sevillano, said. “As expected, we received valuable insights that will help us sculpt our approach to technology even as we prepare for a second round of pilot testing.”

The first pilot was originally scheduled to run nine weeks, but middle school teacher, Gabriela Lopez, and high school teacher, Rafael Marquez, received an extension allowing them to continue the program through spring.

A second Baldwin Park Unified pilot effort will be conducted at four middle schools and two high schools during spring 2016. In the meantime, the District is launching an effort to expand wireless capacity to support use of additional computer devices by students.

Baldwin Park Unified is one of just two districts in California, and four across the U.S., authorized for the pilot by Google and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.