Electronic textbooks are an inevitable trend of the future.
"Highly Interactive Electronic Textbooks - A Direction for the Future" was an online seminar organized by the Global Network of Young Vietnamese Intellectuals (under the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union), with the participation of many experts who offered recommendations on the development of electronic textbooks in Vietnam.
The Covid-19 pandemic created many opportunities for digital textbooks. During social distancing, soft copies of textbooks were shared by teachers so that families could print them themselves for their children. In fact, the biggest shift began with the Vietnam Education Publishing House being licensed to compile, publish, and distribute textbooks, and continued with the "socialization of textbooks" under the 2018 General Education Program, when many other entities also participated.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dai, Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of the Ministry of Education and Training, said that Vietnam Education Publishing House is striving to develop both print and electronic versions of textbooks simultaneously, aiming to best serve the book purchasing needs of students and teachers...; he also shared the difficulties the publishing house has faced in implementing electronic textbooks, including the large workload, limited time, resources, and finances.
Participants in the seminar affirmed that e-textbooks are an inevitable trend in the world and in Vietnam, with advantages such as the great potential for storing many types of books, multi-channel capabilities, rapid data updates, and unlimited sharing within the community. However, along with these advantages come challenges due to the uneven distribution of culture, mindset, infrastructure, and technological equipment across localities, between urban and rural areas, and mountainous regions.
Mr. Pham Thuc Truong Luong, General Director of Tinh Van Technology JSC, recalled the difficulties when the Classbook project in 2013 was not implemented due to many obstacles. He also drew lessons from Sweden's return to paper textbooks, and affirmed that no type of textbook can completely replace another. He suggested that publishers should provide soft copies for the implementation of electronic textbooks, which is the most reasonable approach. Mr. Nguyen Sy Nam from the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences also emphasized that each publisher has its own goals and direction, therefore guidance from the Government and cooperation between publishers and businesses are essential.
Scientists believe that to prevent e-textbooks from becoming obsolete shortly after their introduction, careful consideration and detailed planning are needed to find the best solution for the development of Vietnamese education. A clear and specific strategy for e-textbook development is required; investment in technological infrastructure is necessary; cooperation with publishers to provide digital copies and with technology companies to develop supporting applications is essential; and enhanced training, support, and professional development for teachers are crucial to ensure the successful implementation of e-textbooks. This will help teachers master technology and maximize the potential of e-textbooks in their teaching. Furthermore, research and experimentation with different e-textbook models are necessary, allowing for a testing ground for high-tech textbooks to find optimal solutions.
NGUYEN THE
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