Converting textbooks to e-copies: A good idea?

John Joseph L. Puno

A PUBLIC official is now pushing for the swift passage of a measure which calls for the conversion of electronic copies and other digital formats of all textbooks amid the shift to blended learning during this pandemic.

House Bill No. 8020, proposed by Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, requires the digitization of all contents used by publishers participating in the Public School Textbook Program (PSTP) to address the recurring shortage of printed modules in public schools.

According to the lawmaker, it is no secret that textbooks in public elementary and high schools are limited in number that it why students are forced to share or borrow from one another.

This difficulty is even more evident, he said, in the time of Covid-19 when there is a shift to blended or distance learning.

The digital reproduction of textbooks will allow students to have a copy or access to the contents of these learning materials in electronic format without the need for them to borrow from, or share resource materials with, their classmates.

The implementation of the scanning or conversion must comply with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines to protect the intellectual property rights of both the authors and publishers of the textbook.

The e-books and digital format copies of the textbooks shall also be made available and accessible to all public school students in a manner deemed appropriate and reasonable by the Department of Education (DepEd).

What do you think? Is this a feasible idea?

--oOo-

The author is Teacher III at Porac Elementary School