THE POTENTIAL USE OF THE ELECTRONIC TEXTBOOK WHEN TEACHING THE SUBJECT OF MAN AND NATURE IN 5TH GRADE

The paper textbook or its set is one of the main tools for teaching and learning. As an alternative to paper textbooks, electronic textbooks for the subjects of Man and Nature, and Math for 5th grade came out in 2018. During the survey carried out by the TAMO group, the teachers of the Man and Nature subject have indicated that the main issue limiting the use of the electronic textbook is the school’s technological base. The textbook is expected to have the functionality, which would make the job of the teacher easier, complementing it with tools for teaching and the possibility for easier differentiation and customization. The electronic textbook of the Man and Nature subject was developed on the basis of general education program, recommendations of the international assessment of student achievement research and other documentation. The textbook is focused on active self-study, is adapted to students of different achievement levels, and promotes critical thinking, creativeness, data analysis and interpretation, research activity skills. The content of the textbook subject is divided into separate fragments, which the teacher can construct while creating his/her own subject according to the situation of a specific class. The teacher can take the advantage of the set of differentiated tasks, by appointing the set of tasks to satisfactory, general or higher level students or by adapting the set to a specific student. The teacher receives the information about the achievements of the students by using the result analysis tools and by analysing the student’s profile, where the learning progress can be seen. The most effective use of the textbook set can be reached if each student would have a personal computer or a laptop available or could learn using a mobile phone. However, the content of the textbook can be demonstrated with the help of a projector or an interactive board or a textbook and assign the tasks to be done at home using the “Flipped Classroom” method. This is done when the students analyse the content of the subject and carry out the tasks independently on their own devices, and then it is discussed and explained during the lesson. Keywords: textbook, electronic textbook, technological base, differentiation, customization.