Faced with the need to innovate teaching and learning methods to adapt to the rapid development of technology, e-textbooks have emerged as an inevitable trend, bringing many advantages and conveniences to learners. Along with that, many countries in the world have also quickly entered the race to develop this field.
Korea
According to an announcement from the Korean Ministry of Education, starting from 2025, digital textbooks based on artificial intelligence (AI) will be introduced and applied in elementary and middle schools.
First of all, the e-textbooks will be applied to three subjects: Mathematics, English and Information Technology, and will focus on third and fourth graders in elementary school, and first-year students in middle and high school. The way these digital textbooks work, as well as other AI educational tools, are being developed by many Korean technology corporations, including LG and Samsung.
The Korea Herald reported in mid-May 2024 that the Korean government said it would invest 70 million USD (about 1,730 billion VND) to improve digital infrastructure and develop digital textbooks in public schools, to launch AI teaching and learning.
In 2024, the Ministry of Education will provide 60 billion won to 6,000 elementary, middle and high schools nationwide to improve network conditions, with a special focus on improving Internet speed. In 2025, it plans to continue reviewing and upgrading the network conditions of another 6,000 schools, bringing the total number of schools with upgraded technical infrastructure to about 12,000 at all three levels.
In terms of human resources, Korea will add 1,200 technicians to support the skills of repairing or installing devices to reduce the workload for teachers. Technical support and inspection teams will be established in 17 provincial and municipal education offices to fully investigate the management and use of digital devices distributed to elementary, middle and high schools nationwide.
Although the Korean government has emphasized the view that new digital educational materials and devices are the “key” to reforming the education system, according to the Financial Times, the Korean government's plan to introduce AI-developed electronic textbooks into schools is facing backlash from parents and scholars, who are expressing concerns about students' health when exposed to digital devices.
Japan
In Japan, according to the roadmap of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the plan to use digital textbooks will start from 2024. First, Japan will introduce electronic textbooks for English for 5th, 6th graders and junior high school students, then it will introduce electronic textbooks for Math from 2025 at the earliest.
The Japan Times reported that MEXT said that, similar to traditional textbooks, e-textbooks will be deployed with state funding and distributed free of charge to students. Each elementary and junior high school student will be given a computer for learning.
To speed up the process, time limits on how much time students can spend on electronic devices in Japanese schools have been removed. Previously, e-textbooks could only be used for a limited time, due to concerns about negative health effects. Japanese authorities believe that removing the time limit will encourage teachers to become familiar with digital materials, making teaching methods more diverse and intuitive.
Cambodia
Along with many countries, Cambodia is also quickly catching up with the trend of educational technology. In July 2024, the Ministry of Education of this country said that it would deploy digital textbooks for some schools across the country from 2025, in order to promote the application of information technology in the education sector.
Since the beginning of this year (2024), the Cambodian Ministry of Education has launched a digital school program, Sala Digital, an online learning platform that supports the formal education program. The platform currently attracts about 90,000 users at all levels of education, with a resource of nearly 2,000 online e-textbooks.
Keeping pace with other countries in the world, the development of e-textbooks in Vietnam is also increasingly focused on. However, to keep pace with the world, there will need to be specific roadmaps, research and testing for e-textbook projects to be implemented effectively.
America, England
As a country with leading educational development in the world, the US is not out of the race to use digital technology in the education sector. Since the 2009-2010 school year, the government has replaced traditional textbooks with digital devices in public schools in the state of California as a cost-saving measure.
Students in the US can choose to study with paper books or electronic textbooks. To save money, many students prefer to borrow books from the school library throughout the school year, buy used books or buy electronic textbooks.
In the UK, the digital A-levels textbook series (UK Higher General Certificate of Education, equivalent to the 11th-12th grade program in Vietnam) by Pearson Publishing, one of the publishers leading the digital revolution in publishing and printing in the UK, launched in 2017, has been very well received by learners both in and outside the UK.
According to Pearson Publishing, the digital textbook version is highly appreciated by many users because of its convenience (can be used on any electronic device, does not require internet), personalization (reader can be changed at will, books can be marked, noted, ...) and flexibility in using books (books can be purchased or rented, book rental can be renewed or canceled when necessary).
Vietnam
Education is one of the fields that is greatly affected and also plays an important role in the digital transformation journey in Vietnam, and has been trying to keep up with the world's development.
In Decision No. 749/QD-TTg dated June 3, 2020 of the Prime Minister approving the "National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a vision to 2030", the content is: "Developing a platform to support distance teaching and learning, thoroughly applying digital technology in management, teaching and learning; digitizing documents and textbooks; building a platform to share teaching and learning resources in both direct and online forms. Developing technology to serve education, towards personalized training."
The application of digital technology in education not only helps improve the quality of teaching but also creates a more flexible and effective learning environment. The development of platforms supporting distance teaching and learning in Vietnam flourished during the COVID-19 period, when schools were required to teach online to prevent the epidemic. During that period, Hanh Trang So - the e-textbook platform of the Vietnam Education Publishing House was one of the pioneering digital education platforms, providing e-textbooks and rich digital learning materials.
However, the rate of using e-textbooks platforms has decreased significantly when the pandemic ends and life returns to normal, because the habit of using paper textbooks of teachers and students is still preferred. In addition, part of the reason is that digital textbooks can only be used online, users cannot download them to their devices, and are dependent on Internet connection.
With the trend of more and more countries in the world developing e-textbooks, Vietnam will need to keep up with the development pace to avoid falling behind in the educational technology revolution. This is not only an inevitable trend but also a sustainable solution to improve the quality of education, meeting the increasing learning needs of students.
