South Korea to Swap Textbooks for Tablets

South Korea’s government has announced ambitious plans to revolutionize school classrooms and provide the world’s first “smart education” system. It intends to digitize all textbooks in all schools by 2015. This means bulky, paper-based books are out and handheld tablets and e-readers are in. First in line to go digital are elementary schools, which will switch to online devices by 2014. South Korea’s Ministry of Education says it will invest $2.4 billion to create and deliver the e-learning and mobile-learning materials. Education Minister Lee Ju Ho explained the need to ensure teachers are sufficiently trained in using the new tech in class. "It's very important to make sure that the two can work together,” he said.

The Ministry has not yet made a decision on which make of products it will bring into the classroom. Many industry experts predict it will opt for Korean-made devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab rather than gadgets from international rivals Apple or Sony. In addition to digital content in the classroom, the Ministry is also hoping to make online classes available for students who miss lessons. South Korea is well known for its embrace of technology and high-speed Internet. A Ministry official stated: “Korean students have ranked first in terms of digital literacy among developed nations…That’s why Korean students, who are already fully prepared for digital society, need a [major] shift in education.”

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.
a) South Korea is not the first country in the world to go totally digital.
b) South Korea’s “smart education” project will start with high schools.

c) All schools will be equipped with Korea-made Samsung products.

d) Korean students are the tops when it comes to digital literacy.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) What does South Korea’s government want to do?
b) How will students benefit from the new plans?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:
a) heavy and big (paragraph1)
b) competitor (paragraph 2)
c) enthusiastic acceptance (paragraph 2)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) South Korea’s government has announced ambitious plans to revolutionize school classrooms.
Ambitious plans ......................................................
b) "It's very important to make sure that the two can work together,”
Lee Ju Ho said that .................................................
c) Korean students are fully prepared for digital society. That’s why they need a major shift in education.
If Korean students .................................................

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:
What do you think of the idea of swapping textbooks for tablets?