Ulaanbaatar, August 26, 2023 /MONTSAME/. Following the adoption of the Education Package Law, an Education New Revival Forum was held yesterday on August 25, 2023. The Official Representative of the Hungarian MOZAIK Digital Education and Learning Platform in Mongolia O. Chingguun explained about digital textbooks.  

- Would you, please, tell us about your plans to introduce a platform for digitizing secondary school textbooks in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science?

- In our country, digital transition is proceeding rapidly. We have started cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science to introduce Hungary's internationally recognized MOZAIK Digital Education and Learning Platform to students of the 6th-12th grades of Mongolian secondary schools. This platform is designed in line with international standards for the development of teachers and students.

- What are the technical and personnel possibilities for introducing digital textbooks?

- We are providing a solution for accessible and effective implementation of a good program that meets international standards at the lowest cost. First, all school textbooks will be translated into Mongolian. Then, we will train 36,217 teachers nationwide how to use the platform. Some of us will go to Hungary and learn how to digitize textbooks; then we will train 15-20 trainers and spread further. It takes 60 hours to train one teacher to work with the platform. In cooperation with the General Department of Education, it is possible to implement it in stages, teach remotely and in classrooms, and conduct integrated training for further spread.

- When do you plan to start introducing digital textbooks?

- If we can reach an agreement with the Ministry of Education and Science, it is possible to wholly introduce within six months. We can complete the translation of all textbooks into Mongolian by the third quarter of this academic year, or from February 1 of the next year, make 100% of them into the platform and introduce throughout the country. We plan to use digital textbooks remotely, more interactively, with clear and up-to-date solutions.

- Is it possible to use the platform without Internet?

- Yes. We are making the textbook so that it can be used on all smart devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and computers. Based on consultation with the Education Information Center, the extension can be used from all types of smart devices without data loss. To this end, you can first download the textbook from the Internet and use it in offline mode. For example, the textbook for the 8^th grade of chemistry, which generally contains pictures and texts, will be analyzed and digitized to make it easier to comprehend. By developing our teachers in cooperation with the "Medlee" School, which provides distance education to the children of 321 soums of Mongolia, distance education can be conducted more efficiently on a high quality level.

- What are the advantages of digitizing textbooks?

- The Platform has a huge content pool with explanations, videos, various tools and audios. We can add Mongolian culture heritage, customs, songs, music, and paleontology to the platform, which meets international standards, and present to the children of the world. We live in a time when education is not unreachable. The aim is to deliver this to all Mongolian children around the world. For Mongolians living in foreign countries, there is a risk of falling behind in respect of native language. They will get an opportunity to learn Mongolian language and culture through distance learning. The results are visible after 3-4 years of use.

- Is there any experience of introducing it in other countries?

- This platform has been released in 40 languages in 46 countries. With the introduction of this platform in our country, Mongolian will become the 41st language.