Moon Seung-wook, Deputy Director, "Edutech Development Should Enhance Remote Education Quality and Bridge Learning Gaps"

14th Thursday Dialogue on "Evaluation of Remote Classes Due to COVID-19 and Future Tasks"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] On the 6th, Deputy Prime Minister Moon Seung-wook stated, "It is necessary to actively utilize Edutech as a mechanism to address learning gaps caused by remote education."

Deputy Prime Minister Moon held the 14th Thursday Dialogue on the topic of "Evaluation of Remote Classes Due to the Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19) and Future Tasks" at the Prime Minister's residence Samcheongdang in Seoul that afternoon, and said, "We must invest generously in the 'Korean New Deal in the Education Sector' to ensure smooth convergence of online and offline classes."

This Thursday Dialogue was organized to hear vivid voices from the field regarding remote education by inviting students, parents, and teachers who experienced the first-ever online school opening and the concurrent attendance and remote classes.

In particular, considering that today's topic was remote education, some participants residing in regional areas joined via video conference.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who was originally scheduled to preside over the Thursday Dialogue, apologized to the participants through a video connection, saying, "I had to go to the site of the Chuncheon Uiam Dam, where a tragic accident occurred due to continuous heavy rain for six days, and I am unable to attend the Thursday Dialogue."

Deputy Prime Minister Moon then expressed gratitude, saying, "Thanks to the efforts of schools, families, and quarantine authorities, we were able to safely complete the first semester."

He also emphasized, "While there are positive evaluations that remote education has accelerated future education, concerns about learning loss and educational gaps remain, so efforts must be made to improve the quality of remote education and to resolve educational disparities."

Teacher Shin Min-chul from Jinwol Elementary School in Daegu stressed the importance of blended learning, which mixes face-to-face and non-face-to-face learning, through various remote class cases under the theme of "The Tumultuous Remote Class Teaching Diary." He also proposed the normalization of Edutech, resolution of educational gaps, and psychological support for COVID-19 blues.

During the open discussion, students, parents, and teachers shared their impressions and difficulties experienced through remote classes. Experts presented opinions on key considerations for the second semester, such as quarantine and student management, and ways to utilize Edutech within public education.

Deputy Prime Minister Moon urged, "Based on the experience of the first semester, I ask schools, families, and local communities to do their utmost to provide higher quality classes in a safe environment in the second semester as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.