Changwon, South Korea – The Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education announced on the 10th that it will pilot artificial intelligence (AI) digital textbooks in 97 public and private schools within the province. This initiative aligns with the government's push for digital education transformation.

The pilot program will involve approximately 10% of the province's total 971 schools, with 97 schools participating. Students in grades 3-4 of elementary school, grade 1 of middle school, and grade 1 of high school will utilize AI digital textbooks for mathematics, English, and information technology.

The participating schools are categorized into 90 leading schools and 7 research schools. Leading schools will select two subjects for AI digital textbook implementation, while research schools will use all three subjects. The research schools will play a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of the AI digital textbooks and developing innovative educational models.

The decision to implement the pilot program was reached through thorough discussions among teachers and deliberations by each school's operating committee. The AI digital textbooks, which will be used in conjunction with traditional paper textbooks, are scheduled to be introduced in April following school-specific inspections.

Park Jong-hoon, the Superintendent of the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education, has previously expressed concerns about the rapid adoption of AI digital textbooks. He emphasized the importance of a phased approach, advocating for a 1-3 year pilot period to ensure careful and effective implementation.