First Public Demonstration of AI Digital Textbook Prototype... Teachers and Publishers Say "Good Intentions but Limitations Exist"

'2024 Education Innovation Expo' On Site
Different Fingerprints for Print and Digital Publishers
'AI Search' Only Searches Words Within Curriculum Scope
Ministry of Education "Sufficiently Linkable, Will Review"
Teachers "Convenient to Reorganize and Utilize Classes"

The Ministry of Education held the first public demonstration of the 'AI (Artificial Intelligence) Digital Textbook' to be introduced in schools starting next year, targeting teachers and parents. Teachers and textbook publishers attending the demonstration event expressed expectations that the developing textbooks could be used for students with learning difficulties or in regions with limited educational opportunities, while also showing regret over the rapid policy implementation that may lead to trial and error.

At the '2024 Korea Education Innovation Expo' held on the 13th at KINTEX in Ilsan, officials from the Ministry of Education, representatives from the companies selected for digital textbooks, teachers, and parents gathered. During the three-day event from the 13th to the 15th, the Ministry introduced the AI digital textbook policy, provided hands-on experiences with physical textbooks, and demonstrated textbook lessons by each developer. Additionally, promotional booths for each metropolitan and provincial office of education were set up to promote the policy.

On the 13th, teachers and students are demonstrating a class at the '2024 Korea Education Innovation Expo' held at KINTEX in Ilsan. Photo by Park Joon-yi.

This event marked the first public unveiling of the physical textbooks since the announcement of the AI digital textbook certification review results for elementary, middle, and high schools to be used from next year, which was released on November 29. Teachers attending the event carefully tested the digital textbooks from each publisher displayed on-site, asking detailed questions about the functions, methods, and issues of the textbooks.

The teachers responded positively to the policy's intent itself. Teacher A, an elementary school teacher working in Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do, said, "Children in rural fishing villages like ours cannot attend academies, and the learning gap is widening, but with the introduction of digital textbooks, children will be able to receive individualized, tailored lessons, which seems to have positive aspects."

On the 13th, an AI digital textbook demonstration was held at the '2024 Korea Education Innovation Expo' at KINTEX in Ilsan. Photo by Park Joon-yi.

Teachers who conducted the demonstrations also highly evaluated the usability of the digital textbooks. Kim Hyun-ah, an elementary English teacher at Gyeongil Elementary School in Seoul, who demonstrated an English class, said, "Interaction between teachers and students, and among students themselves, is possible, and teachers can use dashboards to monitor the number of students, which is different from traditional printed textbooks. The most convenient part was being able to reorganize lessons according to the students' difficulty levels and lesson content." Jeon Byung-je, a middle school math teacher at Seongmun High School in Gyeonggi, who demonstrated a math class, also expressed positivity, saying, "Teachers can closely check students' conditions and lesson details during class."

However, the teachers expressed regret about the speed of implementation. Teacher A added, "There are many opinions that the policy is being pushed too hastily as teacher training is being conducted without the actual digital textbooks being available." Teacher Jeon also said, "For digital textbooks to be better utilized, the content and additional features need to be significantly expanded. Policies regarding data usage, such as copyright law, also need to be more open."

However, the education sector points out that the one-year period for policy implementation was insufficient to address shortcomings. In particular, there remains an issue where the publishers of the existing printed textbooks used in schools and those of the digital textbooks do not exactly match, meaning that different publishers may be selected for the two types of textbooks in each school. At the event, each publisher explained their usage methods based on their own manuals, such as 'AIDT-centered type' and 'AIDT + printed textbook parallel type.'

A representative from Publisher A stated, "It is possible for printed and digital textbooks to be selected from different publishers. However, in the case of English, due to copyright issues, passages from printed textbooks by other publishers cannot be used in digital textbooks." A representative from Publisher B explained, "Teachers can display and edit materials they have, such as PPTs and PDFs, on the screen for use."

A physical version of an AI digital textbook by a publisher exhibited at the '2024 Korea Education Innovation Expo' held at KINTEX in Ilsan on the 13th. Photo by Park Joon-yi.

Additionally, the digital textbooks introduced by each publisher include an 'AI search function' that allows students to look up unfamiliar words during class. However, students cannot search for all words. Publishers explained that, according to the 'Special Act on the Promotion of Normalization of Public Education and Regulation of Pre-education,' which restricts students' advanced learning, searches are limited to information included within the relevant curriculum.

A representative from Publisher B said, "Due to the pre-education law, only words within the textbook can be searched. If a student searches for a word outside the curriculum scope, a message appears indicating that the word is not part of the unit."

Publishers also expressed regret about the rapid pace of policy implementation. A representative from Publisher C said, "Only some textbooks were selected, and others were rejected. Since the practical implementation stage is happening within this year, preparation time was insufficient, and the company still needs to discuss whether to reapply next year."

The Ministry of Education stated that some concerns can be addressed in the future. During a Q&A session, Ko Young-hoon, Director of the Education Content Policy Division at the Ministry of Education, responded regarding the 'linkage issue between printed and digital textbooks,' saying, "From our perspective, even if the publishers of printed and digital textbooks are different, they can be sufficiently linked. Units can be readjusted and selected to be used together with digital textbooks." However, he added, "The difficulty due to different texts (passages) is something that needs to be examined."

Regarding the subscription fees for digital textbooks that schools must pay, he stated, "We will complete the pricing by December and are working with publishers for consultation."