California State Adds New Content Provider to 'Rent Digital' Campaign

The California State University (CSU) system has announced the addition of new digital primary source materials to its Affordable Learning Solutions "Rent Digital" campaign.

The Affordable Learning Solutions campaign is intended to help faculty select quality educational materials that are more affordable for students, and the "Rent Digital" component enables students to rent digital textbooks. In the fall of 2013, the university will add Milestone Documents digital classroom resources to the campaign. Faculty and students will be able to access Milestone Documents' primary documents, analyses, textbook layers, and pedagogical support for introductory and advanced courses in history, American studies, and religious studies.

According to Neil Schlager, founder and president of Milestone Documents, the company "reimagines the textbook in a form that's more flexible for professors and less expensive for students, without sacrificing quality." Milestone Documents frequently expands its content, all of which is curated and guided by subject matter experts.

Milestone Documents are available in two editions. The Standard Edition includes more than 1,300 key primary sources and analyses written by a global network of scholars. The Premium Edition adds an optional textbook layer of peer-reviewed narrative articles for introductory and survey courses in United States history, world history, and Western civilization. For both editions, each content area is led by an Editor in Chief, who is a scholar and educator who curates the documents and oversees the development of supporting materials, such as model outlines, recommended documents, lecture notes, and assessments.

According to Milestone Documents, professors can customize the reading lists for their classes and change the lists at any time. Milestone Documents offer student analytics to help professors monitor student progress in the readings and determine which students are the most active on the site. The service also offers students the ability to highlight, take notes, and add readings to a list of favorites.

California State University serves nearly 437,000 students and employs approximately 44,000 faculty and staff at its 23 campuses.

Further information about Milestone Documents is available at milestonedocuments.com.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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