Digital Programs
On February 4, 2010, the Detroit Public Schools announced that it wants to digitize all its teaching and learning as part of the comprehensive plan to accelerate student achievement, within five years. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the district's chief academic and accountability auditor, said the district is investing in high-tech tools to equip all 6th- to 12th-graders with computers and digitize all curriculum, textbooks and lessons plans district-wide. The $15 million product is part of a $40 million contract with Boston's Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which marks the largest single deal for the book publisher.
The first step will be interactive Web-based portal called Learning Village that would be fully functioning by fall 2010. The Learning Village program will give DPS the ability to digitize its textbooks, curriculum and lesson plans. Teachers will have access to students' assessment results and prospective lesson plans to more quickly diagnosis struggling students. Parents can log in to the system to track their students' progress, print additional worksheets and view cumulative test results for a teacher's entire class. The purpose of the Learning Village tool is to serve as a unified portal to connect students, teachers, parents and principals, and deliver real-time learning. DPS will also use $14.2 million in federal stimulus and Title I dollars for netbooks for all 36,000 students and 4,000 teachers in grades 6-12 for access to technology to support hands-on learning. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is setting up a Detroit-based office with at least 13 employees for technical support, training and outreach. Detroit is the company's largest client.
Read more about this topic: Detroit Public Schools
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