Electronic textbooks: "Digital luggage" of the education sector

For previous generations, textbooks were considered printed books, but for today's young generation, they are simply electronic data. Children's learning is becoming more and more "digital", diverse and flexible. Textbooks, following this change, have also changed a lot, truly being digital tools for learning.

The Digital Luggage page of Vietnam Education Publishing House introduces a full range of electronic textbooks.

According to many teachers, future generations of students will no longer have to go to school with heavy backpacks on their shoulders. Tablets, e-readers, and smart computers are gradually replacing traditional tools. E-books, including textbooks, are gradually developing and becoming familiar.

From confusion to familiarity

Of course, for previous generations, including parents of the 9X generation of the 20th century, accessing a learning environment using electronic books is not easy. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago, although they were mentally prepared, many parents were still skeptical about the quality of their children's learning when they saw their children "going to online classes" and listening to online lectures.

"That was when their children were still using paper textbooks to study, but in the future, when electronic textbooks become more popular, what will parents' worries be like?" - a primary school teacher confided.

According to this teacher, access to e-textbooks in classrooms has recently seen positive changes. The Education Publishing House has also organized a “Digital Luggage” page to introduce and support the use of e-textbooks for students.

This information page has a full range of textbooks for parents and students to look up, follow, and use for learning. The lectures are clearly presented on each “online page”, and there are additional support tools such as audio files, group exercises through games, etc., which are very convenient for students to grasp and practice doing exercises.

Many classrooms now use computers for students' daily learning. Photo: Document.

Under the direction of the Ministry of Education and Training, the policy of online teaching and the use of electronic documents and textbooks at all levels is receiving attention. Many schools have begun to encourage students to familiarize themselves with e-books, build lesson frameworks, practice, and experience with digital data, increasingly diversifying the conditions for accessing and using e-textbooks in the classroom.

In particular, with this digitalization policy, different textbooks can be easily searched and used more conveniently, and many teachers do not have to be confused by the need to convert textbooks and subjects according to the program. Teachers can even proactively choose textbooks that suit their teaching requirements and presentation methods.

For students, e-books are even more convenient because they can quickly look up information from computers and e-readers, copy and store information neatly, and most importantly, their school bags become lighter.

There are many difficulties

It is worth mentioning that, despite efforts to promote and develop digital content, up to now, the e-book sector, especially textbooks, still has many limitations.

Besides textbooks, students also need more diverse and flexible experimental learning environments. Photo: Archive.

The “Digital Luggage” page of the education sector is still limited in many information items, especially exercises and lectures related to practice and practical experience. The system of support tools, in terms of images, videos, sounds, etc., is still not diverse and incomplete.

Recently, the education sector had to issue a warning when it discovered that some training addresses and private education centers were using lectures and digitized data from electronic textbooks for business purposes. This violates the principles of copyright and intellectual property.

But warnings are still warnings, the problem of copying and illegal use of information from electronic textbooks continues to occur. Accordingly, the story of whether "digital luggage" ensures copyright principles and humanistic educational values or not, is still an issue that needs to be addressed by the whole society.

According to the Education Publishing House, learning through e-books will only be a basic tool. The important thing is that the educational environment of the current young generations has changed a lot, learning is not only based on textbooks, but also must be expanded to many different fields and conditions. In addition to reading books, students need to be equipped with practical knowledge, life skills... to be able to develop in a balanced way.

The use of e-books in education also needs to be linked to the conditions of equipment and means of use. For example, tablets for learning will need to be installed, managed and monitored to avoid bad content on the internet. The interaction of students, from textbooks to application exercises and games, also needs to be strictly controlled, specifically in the current artificial intelligence (AI) environment to monitor and support students as required.

Many schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have recently had to issue warnings about students using AI tools to do homework, which not only deviates from learning criteria but also easily leads to students becoming dependent on tools, lazy to think, and lacking creativity.

These issues show that up to now, the online learning environment, using electronic textbooks, still has many problems and obstacles. From students' compliance awareness to parents' acceptance and trust, it has been a big barrier to the policy of universalizing "digital" learning.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/sach-giao-khoa-dien-tu-hanh-trang-so-cua-nganh-giao-duc-3264907.html