AI-powered textbooks: In 2025, South Korea plans to roll out artificial intelligence-powered digital textbooks in schools. While other countries have introduced similar concepts on a smaller scale, South Korea will be the first to implement such a system nationwide. The plan is to distribute tablets preloaded with AI-powered features. The system behind the textbooks is the Intelligent Tutoring System, designed to deliver human-like lessons while integrating elements of the metaverse and extended reality. The system will likely be able to assess a student’s learning pace, providing customised tasks tailored to their level.
According to the government’s roadmap, the textbooks will first be introduced for subjects such as Maths, English, and Informatics in 2025, with plans to expand to other subjects by 2028. Students in third, fourth, and seventh grades are set to be the first to test the textbooks next year. So, what might the benefits be of transitioning from paper to digital? In a press release, the Ministry of Education claimed the textbooks would have “numerous advantages,” such as offering more personalised learning experiences. They also stated that the tablets would include features like subtitles and translations to assist students from multicultural backgrounds or those in special education.
Although the plan sounds promising, the government has shared limited information about how exactly the textbooks will be used in classrooms. Despite growing interest, the final version of the digital textbook has yet to be available, even for teachers. In September, a prototype of the digital textbook was revealed and demonstrated at the Edu Fair 2024 in Seoul, but it received a lukewarm response from teachers, who felt it wasn’t much different from the educational software already used in schools.
AI-powered textbooks
Many teachers are concerned about the effectiveness of AI-powered tablets in the classroom. In a survey of teachers who had participated in digital textbook training more than once, 94% expressed opposition to the rollout of digital textbooks. A teacher from Gyeonggi Province told 4i MAG that he was worried students’ attention spans would deteriorate as classrooms transitioned from paperbacks to tablet-based digital copies. There were also concerns that children might lose the ability to handwrite due to excessive use of digital tools.
Worried about the potential side effects of the digital textbooks, over 50,000 parents have signed a petition calling for the nationwide rollout to be postponed. Some believe that tablets could distract students from their lessons, while developers argue that this is a misunderstanding, stressing that educational devices differ from general-purpose smart devices. Alongside growing concerns about the effectiveness of digital textbooks, some worry that the policy could exacerbate the educational gap between urban and rural schools, given the varying levels of technical infrastructure in different regions. Despite the concerns, the first edition of the digital textbook will be showcased to the public this month, with plans for distribution next year. South Chungcheong Province Superintendent Kim Ji-cheol stated, “South Korea might be rushing into this policy,” and added, “It is not too late to expand the system gradually across different subjects and grades after some pilot testing.”
