Move can save money according to our Governor.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is continuing to expose the potential of digital textbooks in the classroom. The drive is part of his plan for cutting costs in education without negatively impacting students.

In fact, Governor Schwarzenegger says digitizing text books will actually improve education by bringing students consistently updated material.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is continuing to expose the potential of digital textbooks in the classroom. The drive is part of his plan for cutting costs in education without negatively impacting students.

In fact, Governor Schwarzenegger says digitizing text books will actually improve education by bringing students consistently updated material.

In an article he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, Schwarzenegger said that many conventional text books still teach of television technology as involving cathode-ray tubes, without so much as a mention of newer LCD and Plasma technologies.

Furthermore, Governor Schwarzenegger predicts that the students are already acclimated to receiving information electronically through their cell phones, iPods and home computers.

Right now, Schwarzenegger says that digital texts can be made available for free, thanks to federal research grants, and the state has asked content developers to submit new texts for their review.

If the digital textbooks continue to be free to districts, the savings could be enormous, since the state currently allocates about $350 million each year for textbooks and other instructional materials.

Some new digital textbooks, likely starting in high school math and science curriculums, could be available for school districts to review by the end of summer.