Targeting 3rd-4th Grade Elementary, 1st Year Middle, and 1st Year High School Students in Early 2025
From 2025, digital textbooks equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) will be utilized in mathematics, English, information technology, special education, and Korean language subjects. AI digital textbooks are expected to be used in all subjects except ethics and arts and physical education by 2028.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho is announcing the plan to promote AI (Artificial Intelligence) digital textbooks on the afternoon of the 8th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the education sector on the 9th, Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, announced the 'AI Digital Textbook Promotion Plan' containing these details at the Government Seoul Office the day before.
The AI digital textbook is being promoted as part of the 'digital education innovation,' one of the three major education reform tasks, and is a textbook that provides various learning contents using AI technologies such as extended virtual worlds (metaverse) and conversational AI.
The AI digital textbooks will be applied in stages starting in 2025 for elementary school grades 3?4, middle school grade 1, and high school grade 1, in line with the 2022 revised curriculum. In 2026, they will be applied to elementary school grades 5?6 and middle school grade 2, and in 2027 to middle school grade 3, among others.
By subject, in 2025, AI digital textbooks will be introduced in mathematics, English, and information technology; in 2026, in Korean language, social studies, science, and technology & home economics; in 2027, in history; and in 2028, in common high school Korean language, integrated social studies, Korean history, and integrated science.
By grade level, only elementary school grades 1?2 will not use AI digital textbooks, reflecting opinions from educational sites and experts that it is too early for digital devices at this stage.
In special education, AI digital textbooks will be applied to elementary school Korean language in 2025, elementary school mathematics in 2026, middle and high school practical English in 2027, and middle and high school information and communication in 2028.
The AI digital textbooks will also include screen narration and subtitle functions for students with special education needs and disabled teachers, as well as multilingual services for multicultural students.
However, the introduction of AI digital textbooks does not mean that printed textbooks will immediately disappear. Except for the elementary school information subject, which will be developed solely as an AI digital textbook without a printed version, other subjects will have printed textbooks developed and used alongside the AI digital textbooks.
The development of AI digital textbooks will be handled by consortia formed by existing textbook publishers and edutech companies. Once the Ministry of Education releases the AI digital textbook development guidelines in August, each consortium is expected to begin full-scale development of AI digital textbooks starting in September this year.
The Ministry of Education will also provide a comprehensive analysis service of student learning information accumulated by publisher, subject, and grade level through a dashboard within the integrated learning record repository.
Through the dashboard, students can view their individual learning status and recommended learning content, while teachers can grasp class-level and student-level academic participation, academic achievement, and necessary support for each student at a glance.
To ensure the successful adoption of AI digital textbooks, the Ministry of Education plans to conduct training for 165,000 teachers in the priority subjects of English, mathematics, and information technology from the second half of this year through the second half of next year. The 'Regulations on Textbooks for School Curriculum' will also be revised.
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