14 DAY TRIAL // Bold decision or not, it has been found that South Korea decided it was time to move elementary-level education onto digitized platforms, relying on the newly formed tablet segment as the basis.
Given the rate at which physical books have been losing ground, marketing-wise, to e-books, one could say it was only a matter of time before other areas began to give up on paper in favor of the virtual equivalent.
That said, it also is not a great shock to hear that the educational segment is seriously considering tablets as a means to move the educational system forward by a generation.
Nevertheless, choosing to invest heavily in the digitization of the entire elementary education level is no small project.
Turns out that this is exactly what South Korea decided upon, although the education ministry has yet to say what tablet it has in mind and by what company.
What was, however, made clear was the price, and it seems to be a not very modest $2.4 billion.
The money will be spent not only on the hardware, but also on the task of digitizing the necessary material.
Knowing that, especially for children, all the school books can come to weigh quite a bit, this could be the answer to the issue of large, heavy backpacks.
It also means that the use of notebooks (paper ones) will decrease, since one will be able to simply take notes on their tablet or netbook, or whatever the ministry decides is best.
The main goal, at present, is to bring the country, by the time the year 2015 comes around, to the point where all the curriculum will be delivered on tablets, smartphones and actual computers.
Certain parties are already saying that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 might become the star of the show, so to speak, but nothing is a given just yet, even though the way it sold out in a few hours does show its popularity, at the very least.