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In encouraging a move toward electronic textbooks, West Virginia joins other states such as Florida, Texas, and Indiana.

The West Virginia Board of Education has suggested that all schools in the state start taking steps toward electronic textbooks and dependable ed-tech infrastructure for the future, state education department spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro said.

The state board of education recently implemented a two-year hiatus on the purchase of social studies textbooks, Cordeiro said. The money allocated for the books, roughly $36 million, instead will be spent on ed-tech infrastructure upgrades.

In encouraging a move toward electronic textbooks, West Virginia joins other states such as Florida, Texas, and Indiana.

Florida schools are preparing for a state-mandated shift ^[2] from print to digital textbooks by 2015. Florida, Indiana, and Louisiana are among states that have added Discovery Education’s TechBook, a digital textbook for teaching K-8 science, to their list of approved core curriculum resources for this fall. And Texas recently passed a law ^[3] that lets districts use state textbook money to buy digital materials.

More news about digital textbooks:

All Korean textbooks to go digital by 2015 ^[4]

‘TV textbooks’ bring access to low-income Florida students ^[5]

Who needs a bulky textbook? ^[2]

Virginia using iPads to teach social studies ^[6]

Complying with West Virginia’s suggestion, though Cordeiro said it is not a mandate, Monongalia County Schools will not purchase any new social studies textbooks this year, Superintendent Frank Devono said.

Last year, the district’s Suncrest Middle School received a two-year, roughly $500,000 grant from the state to implement a more personalized and interactive learning ^[7] experience for its students by using educational technology, said Monongalia County Schools Technology Director Nancy Napolillo.

Last year, the school’s students traded their pens and paper for digital workstations that were made available, Napolillo said.

“The students are ready for this,” she said.

Napolillo anticipates a “large number” of laptops to be purchased before the end of 2012 for student use in Monongalia County, but she couldn’t provide more details.

There is no state law that forces schools to buy digital textbooks; however, several years ago, the state Legislature updated the definition of textbooks to include “digital instructional materials,” Cordeiro said.

Monongalia County, however, is not ready to make the transition at full speed. Napolillo said that none of the county’s schools have the ability to support an entire student body on one wireless network.

Suncrest Middle School students will continue using laptops and other educational technology during the upcoming school year. Students might even take laptops with them from class to class.

However, the ed-tech initiative faces some opposition.

More news about digital textbooks:

All Korean textbooks to go digital by 2015 ^[8]

‘TV textbooks’ bring access to low-income Florida students ^[9]

Who needs a bulky textbook? ^[10]

Virginia using iPads to teach social studies ^[11]

Monongalia County Board of Education President Barbara Parsons said she has concerns not with the idea itself, but its implementation.

“There are a lot of people worried about what you do for the people who may not have a laptop or computer or even internet access,” she said. “Who is going to buy the children laptops?”

Devono echoed Parson’s concerns, saying, “We definitely don’t want to assign students work on a computer if they don’t have one at home.” He said the biggest challenge would be making sure everyone has equal access to the technology.

“This is the challenge that not only this county faces, but other school districts all over the country, too,” he said.

Parsons said because the program is in the “infancy” stage, there is no policy to deal with issues such as a student losing a laptop.

Some Monongalia County parents said they support the idea of electronic textbooks, but they do not want to see traditional textbooks done away with.

Danny Protzman, parent of South Middle School student Paige Protzman, 12, said making a push toward educational technology is a good idea, but keeping traditional textbooks is important.

“Computers and the internet aren’t always reliable,” he said. “[Students] need to have the books too, because you never know.”

Paige, who would be affected more directly by electronic textbooks, said simply, “I like books better.”

Kathy Grimes, of Morgantown, W.Va., who home schools her three children, said there is a place for both new technology and traditional teaching materials.

More news about digital textbooks:

All Korean textbooks to go digital by 2015 ^[8]

‘TV textbooks’ bring access to low-income Florida students ^[9]

Who needs a bulky textbook? ^[10]

Virginia using iPads to teach social studies ^[11]

“The power can go out, the internet can go down, and in that case, you could just open a book up,” she said. “But what happens if you don’t have textbooks anymore?”

Removing traditional textbooks all together is not the state’s plan at this point.

“In no way have we said ‘stop using traditional textbooks.’ They will still be there,” Cordeiro said.

With careful planning and effective execution, the program could bring great opportunities to Monongalia County students, Devono said.

Copyright (c) 2011, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va., and eSchool Media. eSchool News editors contributed to this report. To see more of The Dominion Post or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dominionpost.com/ ^[12]. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.