digitized textbooks.

Textbooks go digital. (Click here to watch the video) That is the title of a video posted on CNN. It caught my attention, so I decided to watch it. Apparently, there is a move in a local district school board in Toronto to make the textbooks being used by students to be digitized. According to the district supervisor, it will help the local school board save $ 50, 000, 000 in ten years. Imagine, $50 million dollars. Sounds like a pretty good idea, right? No more heavy backpacks to carry for the students, big savings for the government and there will be a freer flow of information, which helps in reaching and educating more people. Anybody will be able to access it as long as you have Internet connection.

After watching the video, I started thinking how will it be like if public school textbooks are digitized. Maybe it will be easier for the students and teachers alike. Furthermore, it will be cheaper for the government. All students will have equal access as long as computer units issued to a school are sufficient for the number of students it has. Or maybe during class hours, the teacher can make use of an LCD projector so everyone may be able to read. Either way, it will help in educating a greater number of Filipino children.

But then, something struck me. This is not yet a feasible project or if it is, it is not among the priorities of our government. As we have heard last year, and as it is every school year, the budget allotted to state universities and colleges (SUCs) was decreased immensely. Furthermore, there is still the problem of insufficient classrooms in our public schools and the stagnant rate of salaries for teachers. No tangible solutions have been given. No clear intention of prioritizing education in the budget. In a state where poverty is a continuing problem, it is near impossibility that the government will prioritize education and initiate advancement in our educational system, specifically providing more classrooms and improving our library systems either by completing the books needed or digitizing them. But I am not losing hope. Maybe we will also reach that point, only at a much later time. :)

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Entry # 7

Pia Augustha G. Agatep