Kindles Will Replace Textbooks At Brooks-DeBartolo This Fall

Editor's Note: This is the second part of a three-part series on Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School.

Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School (BDCHS) students will find their backpacks much lighter this fall. When school starts, each student will receive an Amazon Kindle instead of textbooks.

“Kids buy into this style of learning,” said Derrick Brooks, one of the founders of the school and president of the board. “It is fun without losing the lesson. The farther we can stay ahead in technology, the better educated students will be and have a better opportunity going forward.”

When teachers order their own copies of textbooks, portable document format (PDF) copies are included. Instead of ordering textbooks for their classes, teachers now will load the PDFs onto the school’s computer system. Students will then load these PDFs onto their Kindles into one neat package.

Teachers will be able to load homework assignments and handouts into a virtually paperless classroom.

Students will sign an agreement and pay a tech fee every year that they use their Kindles. Once they finish school, they get to keep their e-Books provided they have taken care of them and followed the other stipulations in the agreement.

The savings for the school will be substantial, commented Clayton Nylund, who heads the math and science departments. Each year, textbooks are damaged, lost and become obsolete, he said.

Kindles aren’t the only new technology being used at Brooks-DeBartolo. Two new ActivBoards will be introduced to classrooms this fall.

In his chemistry, mathematics, science, physics and AP calculus classes, Nylund already uses an ActivBoard to present course material. An ActivBoard is an interactive whiteboard that connects to a computer and projector. It allows Nylund to display lesson material from his computer and control the computer from the board. Nylund’s physics lab students will each have an iPad to use this fall. It will allow them to interact with the demonstrations on the ActivBoard.

Additionally, students in the physics lab will use Vernier Probes, which can measure temperature, sound waves and wind, for example. The devices will allow each student individual experimentation and results.

Art students also have access to new technology in Caryn Goldstein’s classes. Students in grades nine through 12 are exposed to graphic design and real-life advertising and marketing projects. Three Apple computers loaded with Photoshop and Illustrator became part of this learning process in March.

Next June, graphic design students will be tested and certified on these software programs.

“Students will list this certification on their college applications and summer job internships, which will allow them to stand out among applicants,” Goldstein said.

And that’s exactly why the school is incorporating all of these new tools, according to Brooks.

“We’re exploring different opportunities to stay ahead of the curve,” he said. “This (new technology) will give us another edge in setting us apart and giving kids a reason to look to BDCHS for their education. Using the ActivBoards and new Kindles provides a more interactive experience.”