There has been no any favourable mean, better than a textbook, created in the whole mankind to deliver knowledge to the young generation. Despite computers, audiovisual and other modern teaching means, the textbooks are still considered to have their significance.
That is why, publishing national and quality textbooks is an urgent issue at the governmental level as they provide the fulfillment of the National Educational Program and help to develop young generation. A quality textbook will serve not only the learners but will assist those teachers who don't have enough training for teaching. In other words, the teacher who uses a quality textbook in teaching, will turn into a more experienced teacher. That is, progress in studies and a textbook are interrelated.
In a classical concept, a textbook is a book for learners which systematically recounts educational material of the knowledge in the definite sphere on the level of modern achievements of science and culture.
Educational institutions of our country have been equipped with modern computers, and consequently, there is an aspiration for modernizing these establishments. This process will make electronic textbooks possible. To this purpose, «The conception of creation a new generation of textbooks for continuous educational system» has been developed according to the requirements of the National Program and on the basis of the new state standards. The main aims of this conception are working out scientific, ideological, methodological, didactic, psychological, pedagogical, sanitary and hygienic requirements for creating textbooks, formulating the existing types and forms of electronic textbooks and identifying the scope of strategic issues on the creation of modern electronic textbooks on the governmental level.
We are living in a society where science has been developing rapidly and information communicative means are widely introduced. And this fact obliges to update the knowledge in different spheres of science and imposes the learners to get to know this knowledge, and furthermore, to study autonomously and continuously. It is worth to note that the role of the electronic textbooks is great in this sense.
Electronic educational literature is a source with a capability to gather, describe, update, keep and present the information in an interactive mode and to control it on the basis of modern information technology. Electronic educational literature includes different electronic educational means.
Electronic textbook is a book, adapted to the computer and using Web-technologies. One can upload texts, pictures, animation and sounds that have a capability to deliver the theme quick and clear. Using hypertext, the information is presented in a quick, easy, comfortable and esthetic form. To use this textbook, the learner works in a communication mode. Furthermore, they can have the test to check their knowledge on the studied topic.
Electronic textbook can be read via internet, that is why, it is considered to be the main literature in distance learning. These books serve to the application of the educational method based on computer technology, autonomous learning and effective mastering of scientific information and educational materials. They make automation of processing the types of learning or the types of information possible.
Electronic textbook adapted for distance learning is created using Web-technologies, that is, it is formalized in HTML language. In the development of these textbooks we use all the types of information.
The significance of Web-technology, for both programmers and users, is determined by the fact that it is an integration technology. The user should search the information from different sources — files, database, electronic tables, e-mail, etc. But the found information differ in texts, tables, pictures, drawings, schemes, video and audio materials and others. We need special inserts — text and graph editors, electronic tables, database control systems and others to use this kind of diverse information.
The variety of types obliges the user to work with many applications that are needed for daily works. Applications bring about many problems as they are complicated with their special interfaces and the complexity of working with those interfaces.
There are two conditions to solve this problem. Firstly, the diverse information coming from different sources should be appropriate for the demand of the user; besides, it should come in a convenient form and be interrelated. Then the information should go to the user. Secondly, a person must use a sole program with universal interface, which enables to work equally with the prepared information [1]. Web-technology fully fits these conditions. Web-server works as information concentrator, which takes the information from different sources and then delivers it to the user equally.
The browser equipped with universal and natural interface permits the user to read the information easily regardless of its character.
In many cases, there is no possibility to present the process or event to the learners for different reasons as its size, danger, the absence of necessary device and others.
In this situation, the problem can be solved by forming the imitation of the process or event, or sometimes by implementing in virtual mode the work of computer programs that enable carrying experiments on computer, practice or made-up conditions [2].
For instance, in the educational establishments, the virtual mode can be realized while working with «dangerous» class of programs, in the «Computer graphics», part of the «Computer science and information technologies» Module. By «dangerous» programs we understand special programs that serve computers. While using these programs, there can be serious problems like breakage of the whole information supply of the computer. Consequently, it might complicate the formation of practical skills of working with these programs.
Developed virtual exhibitions imitate the process on a computer screen, that is, artificially form it. In fact, virtual exhibitions are considered to be invaluable in the explanation of the processes that are difficult to observe in real situation.
Produced virtual exhibition has great functions that are carried out via computers and can replace illustrative-explanatory method in education. Because exhibitory quality of virtual exhibition makes it possible to learn the information easily. Virtual exhibition works with a sound and the fact that instructional texts can be given in Uzbek and Russian languages widens the scope of its usage. The conception of using virtual mode helps to create a program-trainer. While working with these type of programs, the user can go into the computer as much as they want and this will not affect the work of computer. The learner can stop their work any time and go back to their «native» Windows without any trouble. Also, the implementation of the virtual mode gives a chance of «carrying» the learner through definite chain of the actions (the most optimal from the point of view of the teacher) concentrating the learner on the important actions. When necessary methods are formed, it will help to observe the answers and solutions of the learners and to evaluate the level of their learning the material.
The application of computer technologies will give an opportunity to implement the second conception — making educational information visual. Undoubtedly, high quality indicators of modern monitors makes it possible to show educational material better and to «enliven» the pictures. Naturally, these pictures are not compared to the ones prepared for usual textbooks by printing.
The storage of the information of a very big scope gives a possibility to create electronic textbooks during the application of computer technologies.
Joining electronic textbook with a teaching program in a sole system is becoming a necessary condition for creating high quality teaching systems. Besides theoretical material (electronic textbooks), virtual video lectures and practical classes (teaching program), the teaching system must be supplied with organizational-didactic materials and hard copies.
In distance learning, teaching systems are considered to be the main educational literature.
In teaching, the application of modern computers and information technologies increases the efficiency of the classes and that will urge both the teacher and the learner to improve themselves. The teacher will have more opportunity to use existing electronic textbooks, multimedia and other information technologies; the learner will have access to get more information on the topic and use the service of internet and electronic library.
It became necessity today to have a knowledge of information technologies and communication and to be able to apply this knowledge in practice. Leading scientists of this sphere say: «Information technology must serve and assist in mechanical engineering, agriculture, medicine, building, commerce and all social-economical spheres of our country». We must deeply understand the dialectic connection between the issue of strengthening our independence and informatization in order to choose a right way of solving social-economic and scientific-technical problems of our society.
In recent years there has been several decrees and resolutions from the head of our government and the Ministry to enhance information technologies, and these decrees aim to introduce modern computers and information technologies to all spheres of economy, science and education and to raise the level of preparing highly qualified programmer-specialists. According to these documents, every specialist must know how to work with information technologies and modern means of communication. Besides, they must have a skill to apply this knowledge.
The time dictates to use information technologies and the methods of distance learning while studying every subject and its categories. People of the 21st century must have a skill of choosing right direction and making quick decisions. That requires getting the right information, changing profession and developing professionally. All of these are necessary terms of achieving well-to-do life in a modern society. The next century of information technologies will give an opportunity to solve the problems of continuous education in a productive way and have a lifelong distance learning.
Distance education is to study distantly, that is, a teacher and a learner will be separated by a distance. Distance education is based on using modern information and communication technologies and has many aims. It favours carrying out educational and professional programs that different social groups and strata of the population might use. The growth of opportunities of communicational and technical means is becoming a reason of using computer telecommunication as a technological basis of distance education. The following factors show the advantages of distance learning:
‒ ability to deliver any type of information (visual, sound, static, text, graphic) of any size to any distance immediately;
‒ ability to keep, edit, rework, print this information;
‒ interactivity with means of operational reverse communication and multimedia information that are being designed for the purpose of active communication;
‒ possibility to use the information from different sources, including far, scattered database and from the conferences all over the world via internet system;
‒ possibility to organize electronic conferences, including computer audio conferences and video conferences in real-time mode;
‒ possibility to communicate with anyone;
‒ to get information on any question through electronic conferences;
‒ ability to record the received information on diskette, to print it and to use it whenever needed.
We can see the advantages of telecommunication bases for distance education while using internet potentials. The development of global networks created new condition of working with information for scientists and teachers: there is now possibility to use the sources which were restricted before. The notion of URL (Universal Resource Locator) has appeared. The most modern means of computer communication as WWW considers this notion and simplifies the learning process.
Computer networks democratized the usage of educational resources. It will be possible now to employ supercomputer training programs to make a use of world library catalogues, the works and researches of scientists, economists, engineers, databases, huge file archives, educational program documents and the most powerful world computers.
References:
- The conception of creating a new generation of educational literature for continuous educational system. Т.: Fan, 2002. P.34–64.
- Methodology of evaluating the technology of creating electronic textbooks and its quality. Т.: Fan, 2005. P. 6–21
