Bookbyte, online bookstore today announced the launch of a digital learning pilot with Portland Public Schools, the largest school district in Oregon. The pilot is being conducted at Lewis Elementary School in Portland, Oregon by Bookbyte Digital, a division of Bookbyte that focuses on digital content and e-book learning to enrich students’ learning experiences, increase teacher productivity and provide learning analytics for teachers and administrators. 

As part of the digital learning pilot at Lewis Elementary School, Bookbyte Digital provided 70 Apple iPads for in-school use by all fourth and fifth grade students across five classes. The teachers at Lewis are using the iPads in conjunction with both custom and commercially available apps to enhance learning in the classroom. The custom built, curriculum-based apps were developed by Bookbyte Digital to fulfill state-based requirements and designed by teachers around how students learn. The specific custom apps being used at Lewis, which focus on math and literacy vocabulary, are also being used by teachers in the Salem-Keizer school district.

“At Lewis, we pride ourselves on being a technology rich environment often incorporating digital media such as video, music and digital photography into our curriculum,” said Tim Lauer, principal at Lewis Elementary. “Bookbyte Digital’s pilot project will enable our teachers to not only spend more time with our students during the learning process, but also quickly adapt and improve our instruction to better enable our students to succeed.”

Lewis Elementary School is recognized among its parent community for openly embracing and promoting the use of technology among students in a classroom environment. Its curriculum enables students to express themselves through traditional and digital media, and to experience technology as a tool to conduct research, enhance communication and foster creativity. The addition of Bookbyte Digital’s pilot project further strengthens Lewis Elementary’s commitment to provide a strong literacy and mathematics program while fostering student achievement and individual growth.

To further its advances in digital learning, Bookbyte Digital has invited S. Craig Watkins, an associate professor of radio, television and film at the University of Texas at Austin, to assess the value and impact of its learning pilot projects in the classroom. Watkins, an expert in evaluating students in the new age of technology, will begin his research with the pilot project at Lewis Elementary.