Korea Launching Digital Texbooks Nation Wide

This looks pretty cool! Korea has been developing a digital textbook that will replace traditional paper textbooks. This new technology, which has already been piloted with several hundred elementary students, will allow students to have access to the most up-to-date content, in an electronic, interactive format.

Some of the really cool features:

• "Students will be able to interact with teachers regardless of time and space and study according to their ability through computers as the nation plans to adopt the digital textbook."
• "... this new form of medium that provides the multi-functionality of textbook, workbook, exercise book and dictionary"
• "It can go beyond conventional paper textbooks by using such features as video clips, animation and virtual reality."
• "The digital textbook contents will be updated whenever needed. The textbook will also allow network connection to databases of organizations in society, enabling students to use much more information than just textbooks."

I'm impressed! Recognizing that, "In this rapidly changing society and massive flood of information, the government needs to revise textbook contents as the occasion demands," the Korean government has proactively developed a plan to tap into the power of technology to solve several problems at once (providing the most up-to-date information to students, differentiating instruction, connecting students with teachers, the ability for sick students to learn the same content they would have missed in a traditional classroom, technology infusion in instruction, etc....). Most importantly, they have backed their plan with lots of money (66 billion won).