Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Textbook Evolution: Top educational publisher launches e-textbooks

Saturday, 18 June 2011 16:38

E-TEXTBOOKS will soon hit Philippine classrooms, and it is sooner than expected.

The leader in information and communications technology integration in education, Diwa Learning Systems, is laying the groundwork for the rollout of the country’s first e-textbooks. A number of schools get the first crack at this digital transformation of textbooks, which is expected to be available in school year 2012-13.

Two formats are being tested for all subjects: E-pub, short for electronic publication, is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IPDF), which works on most readers, and the PDF or portable document format.

The e-textbooks come with hyperlinks.  It also has zoom and enlarge capabilities for easier use. The company also added that the e-textbooks would eventually be far more than just a digital format of the printed textbooks.  Interactive features at the flip of every page and at the touch of a fingertip will also be added, like exercises, games, videos and tutorials.

“The company has been in the forefront of many innovations in educational materials, including textbooks.   Last school year the company introduced the Third Generation (3G) textbooks.

“This year we are laying the groundwork for another first from the company, the e-textbooks,” said Diwa Learning Systems executive director Jose Maria T. Policarpio.

The 3G textbooks are printed textbooks, which are supplemented by online activities and games available through the company’s resource portal, www.diwalearningtown.com

Indeed, the future is in our books.

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