Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Chet Wautlands]

Sorry if this has been posted before, but I thought it was pretty interesting.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/0706/In-South-Korea-all-textbooks-will-be-e-books-by-2015

[Juregen]

Ha yes lets post a link without offering an opinion.

How intelligent you are.

[Zach with a Z]

[SMOE NSET]

I have a feeling they will give all of the students Samsung (you know it will be Samsung) tablets/e-readers and a week later drop the idea as nearly half of them are stolen or broken. They destroy stuff here without remorse! Well in Elementary school at least.

I always thought eBooks would be better especially for university. Some of my books were over $150 each. That is an eBook reader right there on just one book. However, I am sure the textbook publishers hired lobbyist and have a part in why the schools in the US haven't implemented them yet. Their profit margin would drop significantly unless they keep the book prices high.

Imagine having an up to date textbook? My high school was brand new when I entered it so all of the textbooks were new and up-to-date but I have heard stories of schools using 5-10 year old textbooks. Obviously, not all of the subjects need that perk but imagine if a theory in science is debunked and the book could be changed with a simple "update".

Of course the saving of trees doesn't hurt either!

[Chet Wautlands]

I think it's obviously the future... but 2015 surprised me. Four years from now there won't be paper textbooks in South Korea? That's pretty crazy.

[Juregen]

[RobertGR]

[danwom]

I was required to buy a few e-textbooks by certain professors at my university. The professor told us it would save us money anyways... A used copy cost $60 and the e-book was $37.

I don't really see how elementary school students could ever be responsible enough to carry around tablets... maybe high school students at the very least.

Buy a kid an iPhone4 and it will get stolen in a week.

[RobertGR]

[Speedling]

[danwom]

[Gorf]

Not gonna happen. The breakability factor aside, they're expensive and impractical, and as stated earlier, kids aren't smart enough to use them effectively. You'll be left with a bunch of little kids who forgot to charge their e-book readers so they can't participate.

[PastorYoon]

[Skippy]

I will believe when I see it. This sounds like on the classic pie in the sky political promises.

Saying it will not mean it comes true.

Also the government will stamp out smoking in public places including PC bangs and bars by 2015. The American military will finally move out of Yongsan by 2015. The four rivers project will be complete. Let us not forget that by 2015 the last PC with Microsoft XP will finally shut down. In 2015, they will finally decide to join the rest of the world in using https and ssl technology. Of course by then the rest of the world has likely moved in to something more secure. In some ways Korea is so modern but in others they are so backward. Or they drag their feet and whine till people either forget about it or they do get something done..

YaYa the technology is there and yes the price is nice but this is government we are talking about. Put in the word Korea in front of the word government it becomes more of a joke. Add in that it will likely be done ALL by Korean companies who only got the contract by making sure that right government official got a blow job and drunk on expensive whiskey at a hostess bar and a cut of the future action. Good Korean companies will not be doing the work. If you are thing Kindles/Nooks in every backpack. No - it will be badly designed made on the cheap Korean (made in China) crap. The software will likely either be so badly designed I would not be surprised it a rise in epileptic seizures in the future. It will likely not be PDf format too it will likely be some weird ass proprietary format (that is a bad rip of something else). When something does finally get rolled out only select schools will get it first. Congratulations Gangnam Elementary school you get some new ones. Sorry small little village you are not important enough but here is a old PC that can sort of run XP.

Come on people only recently I saw some news about money and scandal on good old normal school books. Also time and time and time and every year there is some article or stink about something wrong with text books either too hard, too political, stupid mistakes, bad information, out of date information, racism, and so and so on.

I do not see the change by 2015.

[mellow-d]

How about toilet paper in the school bathrooms first?!
Seriously, about 25% of my grade one students (middle school) have already lost their textbooks and they're only half way through the year. I'm a lucky lady if half of them even remember their pencils/pens when they come to class.
Tablets=waste of $$$$