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Nadine Wimmer Reporting As Utah's teachers and students head back to school we want to show you a new effort to improve their education.
According to some of your childrens' textbooks George Bush, Sr, is president, East and West Germany are separate countries, and Mars exploration is a thing of the future.
Here at KSL, we've joined a partnership to help teach current events, while they're still current.
High school teacher Eric Heiselt has the newest science book on the market. But he still can't use it to teach the newest concepts in science, like the Mars space rover or hybrid cars.
Eric Heiselt, Teacher: “They don’t exist yet because the publisher is two years behind. But these are what the kids are seeing every day.”
Now he has a new, free tool in his teaching arsenal -- Newsbyte. It offers weekly topics with KSL video and Deseret Morning News articles and class activities. Utah Education Network ties it to state curriculum and delivers it to his class.
Eric Heiselt: “Newsbyte lets me get that immediately and get it out to the kids. It’s a great resource for me because someone else is helping me find some important pieces that affect society and helps my curriculum.”
Newsbyte helps teachers and students bring reading and writing into reality.
Laura Hunter, Utah Education Network: “It’s current. The only way to get current curriculum information is through the news and the internet. So the three partners in Utah who provide that came together to help teachers and students.”
Besides helping teachers, Newsbyte can also help students see examples of the lessons learned in class play out in their own communities.
Carolyn Dickson, Deseret Morning News: “The amount of information that is doubling so fast in the world means they need something go beyond the textbook to have the kids be part of the real world.”
Laura Hunter: “They’re able to make the world come alive and that’s what good teaching’s all about.”
Newsbyte is now the most visited page on Utah Education Network's site.
