THE TRANSITION FROM CLASSIC TO DIGITAL TEXTBOOKS – THE CASE OF HISTORY TEACHING
THE TRANSITION FROM CLASSIC TO DIGITAL TEXTBOOKS – THE CASE OF HISTORY TEACHING

Summary/Abstract: The paper explores the rationale behind the transition from the classical, hard-copy textbooks to digital teaching materials. The transition from hard-copy to digital materials is one of the most significant changes in the last decades, both in terms of classroom practice and in terms of policy- making, since both new teaching skills and approaches are called for in order to use the new media in a sensitive and relevant way. The aim of the documentary research was to identify international experiences in the field, pinpoint the rationale, and compare it with approaches to this type of change that are present in Romania. The study-case is devoted to History as school subject. This subject is both well suited to adopt the new teaching media, is present in non-scholastic digital media, and is one of the foci of interest for the public opinion. The approach is twofold. The starting point is a documentary analysis of the agenda set forth by policy-makers (in terms of aims, objectives, and measures proposed or already implemented). The second step is the analysis of viewpoint expressed by practitioners. A number of History teachers have answered a questionnaire (based on Likert scale items) concerning their perspectives on the digital textbooks for their subject. A focus group selected from the initial group has analyzed the results of the questionnaire in order to fine-tune the analysis. Initial results seem to indicate that the appearance of digital textbooks is a change that asks for a process-based approach to educational change. To put it shortly, the issue of the digital textbooks will have to focus on the option between narrative-based and the task-based approaches to History teaching.

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