Connecticut District Tosses Algebra Textbooks and Goes Online

By WINNIE HU

Published: June 8, 2009

WESTPORT, Conn. — Math students in this high-performing school district used to rush through their Algebra I textbooks only to spend the first few months of Algebra II relearning everything they forgot or failed to grasp the first time.

So the district’s frustrated math teachers decided to rewrite the algebra curriculum, limiting it to about half of the 90 concepts typically covered in a high school course in hopes of developing a deeper understanding of key topics. Last year, they began replacing 1,000-plus-page math textbooks with their own custom-designed online curriculum.

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BUT....LOOK AT THIS:

Students who get stuck look for computer malfunctions

June 5th, 2009

When students working with educational software get stymied, they often try to find fault with the computer or the software, rather than look to their own mistakes, according to a new dissertation at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

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Is this really a good thing? Especially when there's a possibility that the computer really is wrong? But on the other hand, textbooks can be wrong too....