math-tech

Illinois district launches digital math tools


All middle school students will use Discovery Education’s Math Techbook

math-techIllinois’ Mundelein School District 75 and Discovery Education are launching a new partnership bringing Discovery Education’s new digital math textbook to all middle school students district-wide.

The Math Techbook intends to transform the way students and teachers experience math through engaging instructional strategies and real-world problems that motivate and excite students with diverse learning styles, according to the company.

Seeking to improve access to educational technologies and more deeply integrate technology into classroom instruction, District 75 recently released a new technology plan that, when implemented, will create additional differentiated instructional opportunities for students, add depth to their learning and conceptual understanding, and help close achievement gaps district-wide. Discovery Education is supporting District 75’s efforts to achieve these goals by providing all educators and students in grades 6-8 access to the Discovery Education Math Techbook.

Next page: How the Math Techbook will help support the district’s new technology plan


District 75’s selection of Discovery Education’s Math Techbook to support its new technology plan follows a rigorous, year-long review of the service. Conducted by members of the district’s Middle School Math Department and Administration, this review highlighted Math Techbook’s potential to transform math instruction and ability to leverage real-world problems to engage students with diverse learning styles.

Additional components of District 75’s technology plan include a rigorous professional development effort supported by Discovery Education, and the launch of a 1:1 initiative at the beginning of next school year, when Chromebooks will be distributed to all middle school students.

“The District 75 Technology Plan envisions the creation of exciting modern digital learning environments that mirror students’ interaction with the world beyond the classroom,” said Dan Swartz, Mundelein School District 75 Director of Teaching and Learning. “We are excited to partner with Discovery Education to achieve this vision. Through their digital content and professional development, we are creating the classrooms that prepare students for future success.”

Developed by Discovery Education’s team of expert math educators with the input of teachers and administrators from across the country, Math Techbook uses a Discover, Practice, Apply inquiry-based cycle that is built on the three pillars of rigor: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. Technology enhanced items and formative assessments are woven throughout the entire instructional cycle and teachers have a data dashboard to monitor student progress instantaneously. Courses include Grades 6, 7, and 8 Math; Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II; and Integrated Math: Math I, Math II, and Math III. Math Techbook engages students with real world problems worth solving while supporting any device, anywhere, anytime in any secondary instructional setting.

In addition to Common Core and state standards-aligned content, interactives, videos, digital tools, and game-like activities that increase students’ motivation to learn math, Math Techbook includes useful student tools such as a graphing calculator, a geometry tool, a whiteboard tool, and a matrix solver. A Student Dashboard embedded within the Math Techbook helps students track their individual progress and take responsibility for their learning. To promote the effective integration of digital textbooks into classroom instruction, Discovery Education is providing District 75 educators transitioning to the new Math Techbook customized, job-embedded professional development. This professional development not only helps educators explore the engaging resources embedded in Discovery Education Math Techbook, but also provides the strategies needed to engage students in inquiry-based instruction, math investigations, and collaborative, real-world problem-solving.

The Discovery Educator Network (DEN) will provide District 75 educators additional support in their efforts to transform students’ learning experience with digital media. A global community of education professionals, the DEN connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration.

“Discovery Education is proud to be a part of District 75’s efforts to provide a meaningful and rigorous curriculum for all students, and to prepare each and every child for lifelong learning,” said Discovery Education Partnerships Manager Emily Keith. “We look forward to collaborating with Superintendent Henrikson and the entire District 75 team on our joint mission to create modern digital learning environments that promote student success and foster deep, lasting understanding of math concepts.”

Material from a press release was used in this report.

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Laura Ascione
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