Governor Schwarzenegger
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced plans to save the state money by phasing out school textbooks and replacing them, little by little, with internet-based learning material.
Last year, California spent $350 million on textbooks alone. The state presently faces a budget deficit of $24.3 billion.
The Governor believes such a plan will help cut hundreds of millions of dollars in state-subsidized spending per year. He also said embracing online in an aggressive manner will keep students more up-to-date in a global society where Facebook, Twitter and mobile downloading (to iPods and iPhones, for example) are becoming the norm.
Funding for contracts signed after March 1 have already been scrapped, and per an executive order signed by Schwarzenegger, state agencies are forbidden to enter new ones. When the next school year starts in August, math and science students across California high schools will be provided access to online texts that have passed academic standards of rigor, reports the BBC.
"Every state agency and department will scrutinize how every penny is spent on contracts to make sure the state is getting the best deal for every taxpayer dollar," stated the Governor, who has been adamant in his refusal to impose higher taxes to close the deficit gap.
Digital books and content have already been submitted for review, according to the Governor's office. Other aspiring content developers may submit materials California Learning Resources Network. Entries must be received by June 15th if devs want their curriculae included in time for the next school year.
Ideologically, the move falls in line with President Obama's recent decision to launch a cyber security arm of the government, whose goal will be to protect the country's computer networks against cyber attacks. The announcement, which was praised by tech community leaders, is a strategic response to what Obama believes was a failure by the last administration to invest in digital infrastructure.
The president called the US' digital networks a "national security priority" that should both be invested-in and protected, particularly as corporations, the government and educational institutions, increase their dependence upon them.
Late last year, the Jacob Burns Film Center started the Media Arts Lab in Westchester County, whose objective is to educate children, prison inmates and ordinary citizens in digital skills, including video production, social networking and Twitter use. 85% of Westchester County school districts enrolled at the time of launch.
"Regardless of profession, these are skills you need to learn" in today's environment, stated founder Stephen Apkon.
