EPISD students using digital curriculum written by their teachers

High school students in the Sun City are now studying material written by their teachers.

A team of 100 curriculum writers spent months writing and editing digital-core content aligned with state standards for the “PowerUp Laptop Initiative.”

“We had a team of teachers who work on each subject area to look at, with their expertise, what is important in that subject matter and make sure we are in keeping with all the requirements for testing and for the curriculum,” said Melissa Martinez, a spokeswoman with the El Paso Independent School District.

Teachers download the digital book and make edits that fit the needs of their lessons. “All the content is created and curated by our teachers,” Martinez added.

The shift from traditional printed textbooks to digital “flexbooks” gives teachers the ability to customize the information students receive.

“It is a living document so the minute it is out there, you are constantly able to update it and keep it current” Martinez said.

“We use them in almost every class either to turn in assignments or to look information up,” one student said.

Students can take notes and copy and paste from their digital books, click on words and get definitions, watch videos and participate in interactive labs.

Martinez says with the approval on the bond, the school district is going to implement the PowerUp program in the middle schools.