Kochi: Open the text book on your computer. Click on a topic on which you feel you need extra reading. And voila! you have it, with explanations, animations and even videos!

For the first time in the country, Kerala will introduce ‘collaborative digital textbooks’ for students in Standard X next year, thanks to the efforts of IT@School.

“We hope to complete the process of making e-textbooks and the links available on the Net by January end and students will be able to use it fully from next academic year,” said an official associated with the project.

The e-textbooks allow a student to click on an important word in the text which will lead to animations, videos, games, interviews and other connected materials on the related links on the website and outside sites.

Initially the textbooks will be part of state syllabus Class X. It will be introduced for all classes from Class V to Class XII in the next phase.

At present, the SCERT makes available textbooks in the PDF format, but with no additional features. What IT@School in association with C-DIT makes available is a website in an animated PDF format.

IT@School is readying a platform which is now the property of Encyclopedia Britannic and Microsoft which charge thousands of rupees for the same.

Both students and teachers can contribute to the site pool but the SCERT will decide on its entry to the site. Initially biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics will be on offer.