Inevitable trend
The explosion of technology has accelerated the digital transformation process in Vietnamese education, bringing many new and positive teaching methods. This shows that digital transformation in education is no longer an option but has become an urgent requirement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many students were taught and did homework on online platforms, demonstrating the convenience and effectiveness of digital transformation. However, up to now, there are not many websites about learning materials, most of which are spontaneous content. And what parents expect is authentic content from reputable publishers.
Hang Trang So - the e-book and e-learning materials platform of Vietnam Education Publishing House - is one of the platforms that is promoting the development of e-textbooks and e-learning materials, becoming an effective learning channel with rich resources, students can both study and practice right on the website.
Although the Digital Learning Platform has made efforts to provide enough e-textbooks for all levels of education, along with diverse e-learning materials, there is still a lack of e-textbooks for the 5th, 9th and 12th grade curriculum, while these are the final grades, which need content to study and review for the entrance exams.
Sharing her perspective on the development of e-textbooks in Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Minh (lecturer of the Faculty of Literature - Hanoi National University of Education, author of Vietnamese Language and Literature textbooks, Education Publishing House) said: “The development of e-textbooks in Vietnam is an inevitable trend, but e-textbooks and educational materials need to be developed in the form of multimedia (multimedia) to meet all learning needs, all learning conditions, all different interests and preferences from users, not simply digitizing textbooks and putting them on the platform. And to develop, it is necessary to take into account the risks and limitations, be very careful, especially need to have careful research and surveys when implementing”.
According to Dr. Minh, if we want to develop electronic textbooks, we must base it on real data, not just from a subjective scenario. We need to carefully consider and survey factors such as the number of students nationwide who are able to use computers with internet connection, the conditions of the facilities, and especially consider developing a system to ensure information security for users, limiting access to links with content that is not good for students, who are the main users.
It is entirely possible to develop e-textbooks if the conditions of stable internet connection, network security system are met and teachers know how to maximize the effectiveness and benefits of e-textbooks and digital learning materials are provided. In addition, there needs to be a solution to limitations such as cost, because in reality, using paper books is cheaper than using e-textbooks. Users of e-textbooks must be equipped with devices such as iPads, phones or computers... which are not small in cost to be able to use. Or such as the limitation of the impact of blue light from electronic devices on users when using, the limitation of e-books having radiation that makes readers lose focus.
Promoting self-reliance in the production of digital learning materials and electronic textbooks
In fact, there are still many difficulties and obstacles in developing digital learning materials and electronic textbooks in Vietnam. The large number of digital learning materials in Vietnam currently uploaded by publishing units and distribution companies are in pdf format, without interaction.
The current situation of developing digital learning materials and electronic textbooks in Vietnam is facing many difficulties, partly due to the fragmentation between copyright owners and technology owners. Copyright owners often do not have the technology to develop e-books, while technology owners do not have the copyright.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Minh said that with the current digital transformation trend, many publishers are trying to digitize because if they go against the flow, they will be left behind, forced to adapt and develop, and develop their own ecosystem.
In addition, Dr. Minh believes that many e-learning materials are spontaneous and unreliable, not creating a sense of trust with parents and students. There needs to be more official websites like the Digital Luggage of the Education Publishing House. The Digital Luggage page itself also needs to integrate more features, instead of just the content available in textbooks, to meet the diverse needs of students and parents. If the content outside of textbooks can be expanded, with services to support students' daily study and homework needs, e-learning materials websites will have many opportunities to develop. Recently, after the Hanoi Book Fair 2024, the website's sudden increase in traffic is also a testament to the growing demand in the learning community.
