From Smartphones to "Smart" Classrooms

Photo Courtesy: The Korea Herald

QR code report cards? Electronic whiteboards?

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The classic excuse of "My dog ate my homework" may need an update. Soon, students might start saying something along the lines of "My homework got lost in the cloud".

Classrooms in Korea are getting even smarter, but not just in the traditional sense. Schools are undergoing digital transformations under the Education Ministry's "smart education" initiative. We mentioned in October that all schools in Korea will adopt digital textbooks by 2015.

According to the Korea Herald, this move is attracting more students. Take, for example, Sosu Elementary School in rural Goesan, which recently received eight transfer students as a result of being selected as a pilot school for digital textbooks.

The school envisions a future where students can use digital textbooks with a variety of digital devices, tied together with cloud computing. Attendance could be checked on student ID cards, which could also have the students' information encoded. Sosu Elementary School plans to even use QR codes to send information to parents.

However, there are a few challenges ahead before all this digital glory unfolds. Mainly, experts are still debating which grade levels and subjects are most compatible with digital textbooks. There's also some concern that young students will become addicted to these digital devices. Not hard to imagine (try being away from your smartphone for more than an hour).

On the other hand, these type of educational tools are expected to make big differences in areas like self-directed learning. Students are likely to become more independent and seek answers on their own rather than being told the answer or what to do.

If you could digitalize your classroom (or your child's classroom), what changes would you make?

About the author by Donna Choi

Born and raised in the States, I came to Seoul in 2009 and have loved living and working in such a high-tech and connected city ever since. I enjoy collecting unique, cute gadgets/items (I have a bread-scented smartphone case!) and traveling around Korea. My personal mission while living in Korea: Try every type of Korean food known to exist.

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