07-28-2011, 01:22 AM | #1 | |
Addict
Posts: 221
Karma: 801624
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: US Pacific Northwest
Device: LePan II, Kobo Aura
|
Korea plans to eliminate textbooks in schools by 2015
I thought this was interesting. This subject has been discussed before on MobileRead but never in the context of actually eliminating paper textbooks completly, nor, I think, in such an all encomposing way .... setting a date (only 4 years away), setting up a cloud computing network for schools, storing students homework so it can be accessed from any internet enabled device, virtual classrooms, etc..
http://www.gizmag.com/south-korea-di...ks-2015/19109/ Quote:
Last edited by gastan; 07-28-2011 at 01:38 AM. Reason: corrected typo |
|
07-28-2011, 01:32 AM | #2 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 30
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle
|
very interesting... that's in a very short period of time.
|
Advert | |
|
07-28-2011, 05:01 PM | #3 |
Loves Ellipsis...
Posts: 1,554
Karma: 7899232
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Device: Kobo Wifi (broken), nook STR (returned), Kobo Touch, Sony T1
|
You know, I would be concerned about that. Korea seems to take school very personally and it could back fire. I recently read this article about a guy who's life was basically destroyed because they didn't believe he was telling the truth over his education.
The Persecution of Daniel Lee |
07-28-2011, 05:29 PM | #4 |
Wizard
Posts: 3,117
Karma: 9269999
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: UK
Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5
|
Point to note - that's South Korea, another bastion of democracy, freedom, and the right to buy the means of dessimation of knowledge...........
[I don't know if it's spelt correct or not, it's too late to care....] |
07-29-2011, 12:40 AM | #5 | |
Zealot
Posts: 124
Karma: 9252
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: (prospective) kobo touch
|
Quote:
South Korea like most if not generally all of east asia, is hyper focussed on school but not on "education". All the long hours in class, the high pressure on grades and the after school tutoring for hours, is just a monstrous rat race where the public never questions whether they're getting an education or getting triaged/streamed into high and low achiever careers. Basing education on grades alone means you in fact get fewer creative people succeeding and only the dull little memorizer students get ahead. The east asian system has a lot of racist/admiring stereotypes plastered onto it as an amazing, totally superior system to the mess in America...but it isn't hard to find stories by intelligent east asians who find it a really crappy system. This is just another example of the students getting served last while government tries to find another way to "govern" (here helping the IT sector with govt investment) while the kids are fodder. I love these ereaders and the web. But for learning, still nothing beats having paper in your hands, along with those computerized tools. This is just going to lead to national carpal tunnel, kids who all need glasses by 15, reading so much LCD text and a general hyper anxiety about always needing to "get to internet connected terminal" so you can look at your texts, notes and papers. It's bad enough for the eyes to be twittering and chatting so much on a video screen. Moving and still images are far less strenuous. Imagine reading and reviewing under stress, your entire math text, your boring history text. They are not to be imitated. But I'm sure opportunistic pols over here will soon be telling a gullible public that we need to "be like south korea" and digitize all education. Last edited by readingglasses; 07-29-2011 at 12:45 AM. |
|
Advert | |
|
07-29-2011, 12:59 AM | #6 |
Zealot
Posts: 124
Karma: 9252
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: (prospective) kobo touch
|
And if you've ever checkout out their curricula (any east asian country), they are ahead of what is taught in N.America and Europe...for some things and only a little bit at that.
They basically learn the same thing as western students but they torture their kids a lot more doing it. And what an absolute crock about students being digitally able and computer literate! That doesn't mean any of them are good at programming, just that they're like any society's kids who have regular access to a computer. You don't need to eliminate paper books for kids to learn to use a word processor and the net. Great article and shocking news. |
07-29-2011, 02:24 AM | #7 | ||
Groupie
Posts: 150
Karma: 1087916
Join Date: Mar 2010
Device: PRS-500 and PRS-650
|
Quote:
Quote:
I hope there's some way for Lee to sue him for emotional distress. |
||
07-29-2011, 07:57 AM | #8 | |
Wizard
Posts: 4,896
Karma: 33602910
Join Date: Oct 2010
Device: PocketBook 903 & 360+
|
Quote:
A 19th century School Slate and Slate pencil (with holder) |
|
07-29-2011, 08:02 AM | #9 |
Wizard
Posts: 3,025
Karma: 11196738
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Piper College
Device: Samsung A21
|
Korea has always been on the cutting edge of technology, however they have always pointed out that there is a pitfall that needs to be avoided. I heard once somewhere about a south korean couple who were so involved with a virtual baby that their own real one died becuase they forgot to fead the infant. The Koreans have always pointed out that in this era of technology we need to keep a strict division between technology and the real world. I am glad to say that my son is alive and well unlike the south korean child.
|
07-30-2011, 12:16 PM | #10 |
I read what I want.
Posts: 224
Karma: 372315
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Singapore
Device: iPhone XS, iPhone 6, Kobo Clara
|
Over here, some schools are starting to use touchscreen tablets (students still purchase physical textbooks though, not sure when/if this would change); and teachers are panicking over controlling Facebook and Twitter usage during lessons. Personally, it's just bullshit. Sometimes it seems like "innovation" through IT usage has been abused to simply be a way of showing off to the rest of the small population who care.
From experience (as educator), some students are still somewhat kinesthetic learners (if the usage is accurate here) in that they learn simply by putting pen to paper all the notes the teacher provides. It's also going to create a new form of discrimination against students whose financial and family background prevents them from being as technologically savvy as the rest. I know a 15-year old boy who struggles with the computer while his classmates leap ahead. |
07-31-2011, 06:35 PM | #11 |
Guru
Posts: 612
Karma: 7511929
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: New York, NY
Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2
|
Really? Converting totally to ebooks? South Koreans must be really smart. They are way ahead of everyone else.
|
07-31-2011, 08:02 PM | #12 |
Spork Connoisseur
Posts: 2,355
Karma: 16780603
Join Date: Mar 2011
Device: Nook Color
|
I wonder how well that will actually work. It's an interesting concept that is supposed to be done within a really short period of time.
|
07-31-2011, 10:43 PM | #13 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,262
Karma: 2979086
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina
|
They make celebrities out of people who play Starcraft.
|
07-31-2011, 10:48 PM | #14 |
PHD in Horribleness
Posts: 2,320
Karma: 23599604
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: In the ironbound section, near avenue L
Device: Just a whole bunch. I guess I am a collector now.
|
|
07-31-2011, 11:17 PM | #15 |
Groupie
Posts: 185
Karma: 409000
Join Date: Mar 2011
Device: none
|
I'd take that over making celebrities out of people who are famous for being trashy like Paris Hilton, The Situation, Jerry Springer, and the guys from Jackass (including the prick who recently killed another innocent driver including himself in a DUI - Roger Ebert didn't have to apologize for calling him a jackass, BTW, it was real talk).
As for converting all the textbooks to digital - why have it need to be exclusively one or the other? Why can't they have both? What if there's a national power surge or something and all their data goes kaput? Last edited by Joonbug1; 07-31-2011 at 11:22 PM. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Classic Eliminate margins | primetime34 | Barnes & Noble NOOK | 6 | 12-26-2010 10:07 PM |
Indianapolis Public Schools Replace Textbooks with Digital Content (THE Journal) | Nate the great | News | 1 | 01-15-2010 08:18 PM |
South Korea plans to adopt digital textbooks next year | Nate the great | News | 1 | 01-15-2010 05:54 PM |
The Guardian: A Newspaper in 2015 (concept) | TadW | News | 11 | 08-10-2008 09:51 AM |