Types of Electronic Resources in Electronic Textbook of First Grade Mathematics

Abstract

Since 2015, educational reform has been implemented in Bulgaria. It was initiated with the entry into force of the new Preschool and School Education Act36. On the basis of this law, new curricula were adopted in all subjects, including elementary classes in mathematics. Mathematics kits for elementary classes, along with textbooks, study notebooks, a teacher’s book already include electronic readable textbooks and e-textbooks. “Electronic Readable Textbook” is an electronic product whose content is exactly the same as the content of the approved textbook created as a print edition37. The e-textbook is an electronic product that contains additional electronic resources to the individual development of lesson topics, such as tasks, exercises, tests and more. This educational content enables modern students, aged 7-10, to work with electronic resources independently or under the guidance of a teacher, to reflect and consolidate mathematical knowledge and skills, to develop their digital skills, to increase their interest in mathematics. Modern academic preparation for elementary teachers should also include such theoretical and practical knowledge, skills and competences for working with electronic textbooks and with the electronic resources in them. The purpose of my research is to make an analysis of the content included in the electronic textbook for mathematics for the first grade of the Anubis publishing brand of the publishing house KLETT – Bulgaria.38 On the basis of this analysis, methodological guidelines will be developed for working with the different types of electronic resources, which will become part of the academic preparation of the pedagogical students in the university discipline “Didactics of mathematics in elementary classes”. A survey of 166 pedagogical students in bachelor’s and master’s degree on their opinion on e-textbooks conducted this year has yielded interesting and revealing results that confirm the need for updating their academic training in the field of e-textbooks. The majority of respondents believe that primary teachers should use e-books in their work – 83%. When asked which subject is most appropriate to use e-textbooks, mathematics ranks immediately after the natural and social sciences, with 58.4% of the respondents citing it as the most appropriate subject for applying e-textbooks. At the same time, one third of respondents (33.1%) said they did not feel prepared to work with e-books. Of all those surveyed, 81.4% believe that it is necessary to include preparation for work with e-textbooks in university courses in private didactics. This gave me reason to head to the topic of this article and to make a content analysis of an electronic first grade mathematics textbook by classifying the types of additional electronic resources in it.