An interesting article about education in South Korea appeared in one of my favorite news sources: The Economist. The article states that by 2015, South Korea will no longer be using printed textbooks that are manufactured from trees in order to teach students, but instead will teach using tablet computers and other electronic devices.
The endeavor will be a costly one: $2.1 billion. But the hope is that by cutting printing costs, the new media will be compensated somewhat.
Students will be able to use iPads, smartphones, netbooks and PCs to access a cloud network that will house digital copies of all existing textbooks.
Why the big change? South Korea is obsessed with the fear that its children will “fall behind” unless students study 24-7.
It makes for an interesting debate: Do studying and obsessing over education come at a social cost? Do these children end up ahead because they come from a strong educational background, or do they eventually fall behind in the world because they lack social aptitude and well-rounded traits from hitting the books so hard?
To read the article, please go to: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/07/education-south-korea?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/bl/booksoverboard