Teacher Union: "Training Before Digital Textbooks Are Released Is Putting the Cart Before the Horse"... Ministry of Education: "The Core of This Training Is Using 'Prototypes'"
A large-scale teacher training related to AI digital textbooks, which will be introduced in some grades and subjects starting from the 2025 academic year, is set to begin. The Ministry of Education plans to invest a budget of over 300 billion KRW to strengthen teachers' capabilities; however, concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of conducting training before the development of digital textbooks is completed.
According to the education sector on the 22nd, the Ministry of Education's 'Classroom Revolution Leading Teachers' training, covering the use of digital textbooks and curriculum innovation, will start on the 23rd. Teachers participating in the training can coach their peers or serve as training instructors for education offices. To help digital-based educational innovation become part of school culture, a 'visiting training' program will be operated for 3,000 schools this year, where training institutions directly visit schools to provide programs, and applications for training institutions are currently being accepted. Previously, the government decided to prioritize the introduction of digital textbooks in mathematics, English, and information subjects for 3rd and 4th graders in elementary school and 1st graders in middle and high school starting from the first semester of 2025. These digital textbooks utilize AI to support personalized learning tailored to each student's level and are planned to be expanded to all subjects for grades 3 and above by 2028.
The Ministry of Education allocated a substantial budget of 381.8 billion KRW this year for such digital-based training projects. A Ministry of Education official explained, "Teachers are ultimately the agents who bring about classroom revolution, so it is most important that teachers have expertise and lead the innovation of lessons proactively," adding, "For this reason, at the end of last year, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Local Education Finance Subsidy Act securing special grants for three years to strengthen teachers' lesson innovation capabilities."
However, some critics question whether this training process will effectively increase teachers' digital competencies. They argue that training is ineffective when the digital textbooks to be actually used have not yet been developed. The teachers' union issued a statement saying, "The AI digital textbooks according to the 2022 revised curriculum are currently under development, and it is still unclear what form they will take," criticizing, "Conducting training on how to use digital textbooks under these circumstances is putting the cart before the horse."
Teacher Son (28), who will participate in the leading teacher training, expressed concerns about the varying digital environments across schools. He said, "Even if teachers learn the same things in training and return to their regions, the environmental conditions differ so much by region that it can cause confusion or discourage motivation," adding, "The education offices need to provide bold support."
The Ministry of Education emphasized that although the development of digital textbooks is not yet complete, a 'prototype' with core functions will be provided in this training. A Ministry of Education official stated, "When operating digital leading schools last year, the prototype was not yet available, so we used private AI courseware," and added, "Now that the prototype is available, providing hands-on training using it is the core of this training."
Regarding the differing digital infrastructure by region and school, the Ministry explained that they will improve the environment through a survey conducted this year. The Ministry has also established the 'Elementary and Secondary Digital Infrastructure Improvement Plan.' From next month until December, a full survey of devices such as laptops and tablets distributed to elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide will be conducted to manage and support them. A responsible official said, "In terms of quantity, the distribution of smart devices is sufficient for the grades targeted for digital textbooks next year," adding, "Since the digital devices currently distributed in the field were not provided with AI digital textbooks in mind, we plan to examine their qualitative level and management status and provide support tailored to each school."
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