Students in math and science classes at the Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning will be shelving their textbooks and turning to Net Texts as part of a pilot program to reduce expenses and incorporate open educational resources (OER). The pilot program is the first of its kind in Amarillo Independent School District (AISD), which recently began a 1:1 iPad implementation at the specialty high school.
The Net Texts system is a free, web-based solution that provides teachers access to a library of curated collections, which they can then manage and combine with their own resources to create, publish and deliver lessons directly to students’ iPads, Android tablets, or computers.
“This pilot program will give our teachers and administrators invaluable information on how to effectively assess, incorporate and leverage the best materials from the growing pool of quality OER as we begin our 1:1 iPad implementation,” said Chuck Higley, director, digital learning at AISD. “Pinpointing the best possible course materials that engage students, improve academic achievement, and help save the district money is what this evaluation will focus on.”
Teachers can find, build and customize multimedia courses from Net Texts’ mix-and-match library of more than 21,000 free OER materials from sources such as Curriki, Khan Academy, and some of the world’s top colleges and universities. In addition to mathematics and science curriculum, complete lessons, units and courses are available in subjects ranging from British and American Literature to Calculus, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, and U.S. and World History, for grades 6-12.
Teachers can add their own content and resources, change or update lessons at any time, and deliver them directly to students’ devices via the free Net Texts app. Because the content is stored locally on the devices, there is no need for students to have Wi-Fi access in order to view and complete their assignments. With the Net Texts app students can also type notes, record audio notes, look up definitions, and take quizzes. Students can also create calendar events such as assignment due dates and in some cases, send emails directly to their teachers or use the myriad education apps available for the iPad and Android tablets.
“The use of iPads has been transformative for education,” said Higley. “Net Texts is delivering a paradigm-shifting education app that raises the standards for interactive, tablet and computer-facilitated learning. It’s changing the face of teaching and learning like never before.”
For more information about Net Texts visit www.net-texts.com.
