Bangladesh PM launches online textbooks

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Bangladesh PM launches online textbooks

Bangladesh PM launches online textbooks - The Times of India

PTI | Apr 25, 2011, 07.48pm IST

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched e-book, a digitised compilation of primary and secondary textbooks.
DHAKA: Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched e-book, a digitised compilation of primary and secondary textbooks, opening a new horizon of easy access to textbooks through the Internet.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) and UNDP- funded Access to Information (A2I) Programme of the Prime Minister's Office jointly organised the inaugural ceremony.

From now on textbooks will be available on www.ebook.gov.bd for free. The e-book will eliminate all fear of hampered learning due to delay in getting textbooks.

The e-book is readable on digital devices like computer, e-book readers, mobile phones, PDAs, CDs and iPads.

It is expected to be very helpful especially for expatriate Bangladeshi students to take preparation for primary terminal, Junior Secondary Certificate and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations from abroad.

The students could use the e-book easily as presently 40 per cent of the country's schools have computer facilities and the government has taken initiative to establish multimedia classroom at 20,500 secondary schools.

Students with weak eyesight can read the e-book easily by make the font bigger on the computer screen.

In future the 'text to speech' version of textbook will be introduced for visually challenged students.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr Afsarul Amin, National Project Director of Access to Information Nazrul Islam Khan also spoke at the function held at the Prime Minister's Office.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

A novel idea.

Will help many.

 

[Zabaniyah]

The education ministry and the industries ministry are the only ones actually doing good. Rest of them are just.....meh.

This is a good start, but the electricity problems in the country does not help anyone.

 

[DesiGuy]

good idea....but how many people can afford computers, e-book readers, mobile phones, PDAs, CDs and iPads.?

it would have been better to build a library, so poor ppl could visit there and learn.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

But I am just wondering how many school going children in the village and rural area will be benefited from these as hardly they have internet connection... But heard about the project that BD government is undertaking to connect each and every school in bd with internet ... I think in the school it will be feasible... only if a projector can be managed for every class room but it will still be an expensive issue... But does any one has idea by which time all the school will be brought under internet connection!!!

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

good idea....but how many people can afford computers, e-book readers, mobile phones, PDAs, CDs and iPads.?

it would have been better to build a library, so poor ppl could visit there and learn.

This is not about library... every year in many areas text book do not reach due to not printing enough text book in time ... so the study of the students hamper due to this reason. This project has been launched as through this student can still access to text book and continue their study instead of keeping it stop.

I think in the next 5 year it will have a good affect as by that time every school will get internet connection and probably will have media room too and laptop, e reader, computer etc will be easily available...as bangladesh is planning to mass manufacture them in a cheap manner...

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Even if people cannot afford computers, they can always go to the Internet Cafes.

Apart from books not being printed in time, going into short supply, there are many who cannot buy the whole set or buy second hand books with pages missing or dirty and cannot be read.

For those who are handicapped because of the above problems, the ebook concept will be a great boon.

True, electricity maybe a problem, but the Internet cafes will surely have backup in the form of generators (portable or otherwise).

I am sure there will be more problems that will crop up as the scheme matures, but then it is a novel way to reach the children and educate them.

 

[Zabaniyah]

good idea....but how many people can afford computers, e-book readers, mobile phones, PDAs, CDs and iPads.?

it would have been better to build a library, so poor ppl could visit there and learn.

Bangladeshis have a strange habit of borrowing books and wind up never returning. Not all schools in Bangladesh have libraries.

The project is feasible for the most part.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Bangladeshis have a strange habit of borrowing books and wind up never returning. Not all schools in Bangladesh have libraries.

The project is feasible for the most part.

I don't think that the problem of borrowing and not returning books is not only a Bangladeshi problem.

I think it is universal.

 

[desioptimist]

Bangladesh on a roll, all good news. Cheers.

 

[Urbanized Greyhound]

Its a good Idea , Internet education is extremely effective especially in remote and underdeveloped areas , where unlike in main cities transportation is a big hassle . Even teachers can teach students through video conferencing and other means.

 

[integra]

Its better to have something rather then nothing. Remember the time when mobile phones with connection went as high as 80k, back then it was a luxury nowadays even beggers use mobile to tun up in their ghettos

Well even though the village dwellers still doesn't have the privilege of buying full fledged PC its not that scarce. Its quite common to see a PC in at least 1 house out of 100 in villages this days. In the course of time more parents in villages will try to opt for second hand and old Pcs as there are huge market for them in suburban areas. Most of the city dwellers are going for laptops selling off their desktops which may end up in villages.

 

[Zabaniyah]

Its a good Idea , Internet education is extremely effective especially in remote and underdeveloped areas , where unlike in main cities transportation is a big hassle . Even teachers can teach students through video conferencing and other means.

I heard in India they use Cisco teleconferencing for villages that are too far from cities. Seems like a very effective solution.

 

[Urbanized Greyhound]

I heard in India they use Cisco teleconferencing for villages that are too far from cities. Seems like a very effective solution.

Thats right . Also teleconferencing is used in the North -east for myriad reasons medicinal , educational etc. These days even Yoga classes are held by teleconference even in big cities like Kolkata etc.

 

[Avisheik]

Bangladesh PM launches online textbooks

Bangladesh PM launches online textbooks - The Times of India

PTI | Apr 25, 2011, 07.48pm IST

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched e-book, a digitised compilation of primary and secondary textbooks.
DHAKA: Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched e-book, a digitised compilation of primary and secondary textbooks, opening a new horizon of easy access to textbooks through the Internet.

The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) and UNDP- funded Access to Information (A2I) Programme of the Prime Minister's Office jointly organised the inaugural ceremony.

From now on textbooks will be available on www.ebook.gov.bd for free. The e-book will eliminate all fear of hampered learning due to delay in getting textbooks.

The e-book is readable on digital devices like computer, e-book readers, mobile phones, PDAs, CDs and iPads.

It is expected to be very helpful especially for expatriate Bangladeshi students to take preparation for primary terminal, Junior Secondary Certificate and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations from abroad.

The students could use the e-book easily as presently 40 per cent of the country's schools have computer facilities and the government has taken initiative to establish multimedia classroom at 20,500 secondary schools.

Students with weak eyesight can read the e-book easily by make the font bigger on the computer screen.

In future the 'text to speech' version of textbook will be introduced for visually challenged students.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr Afsarul Amin, National Project Director of Access to Information Nazrul Islam Khan also spoke at the function held at the Prime Minister's Office.

Good initiative, our government tend to forget to accomodate these handicapped people in our education system, even though they have huge
potential to succed in life.