Attitudes of Teachers in South Korea Toward Technology Use for Their Classrooms During the COVID-19 Pandemic Aaron Daniel Snowberger Hanbat National University Choong Ho Lee Hanbat National University

The COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread school closures throughout the world and necessitated the rapid adoption of a new paradigm in education. This study reviews some of the impacts of COVID-19 on education worldwide and focuses on the attitudes of teachers in South Korea toward technology use for their classrooms. While South Korea has been well-equipped to adapt to the necessary changes in distance learning and online education prompted by nationwide school closures due to its large-scale digital infrastructure and widespread adoption of high speed Internet and mobile technologies, a digital divide exists between teachers, their students, and technological expectations. At the start of the pandemic, many teachers unaccustomed to using digital tools for education found themselves overwhelmed with the need to learn and adapt so quickly. Constant and rapid advancements in technology in the future may further widen the digital divide between teachers, students, and educational expectations, and therefore demands a strategic approach to ongoing teacher technological education. Introduction

COVID-19’s Impact Rich nations Poor nations 1 School Closures 1.5 billion students 188 countries 90% all learners 2 Closure Length Average closures 149 countries ¼ school year 3 Distance Edu 90% online 87% Television 85% take-home packs 61% radio 4 “Very effective” 36% online 28% Television 23% take-home packs 20% radio

South Korea KERIS e-Learning site ×7 in 2 weeks 470,000 ➜ 3 million users EBS online classroom ×300 in 4 weeks 10,000 ➜ 3 million users But only the expansion of technological services only is not enough. Skill Gap “Digital natives” (young) vs. “Digital Immigrants” (old) Opportunity Gap Income level & Race Location Gap Urban vs. Rural

73 IETTP Trainees 74 Teachers What: Intensive English Teacher Training Programme What: Online survey Who: Korean elementary, middle, high school teachers Who: University teachers, public, private, hagwons, etc. Sponsor: Jeollabuk-do Office of Education Nation: Korean & Foreign Residence: Jeollabuk-do Residence: All over Korea Data Sets Analyzed

Comfort Level & Current Use of ICT Comfort Level with Tech in school Current Use of Tech in school Elementary Middle/ High Elementary What is interesting to note about these two graphs is that middle and high school teachers (lower portion) indicate lower levels of both comfort and use of ICT in class than elementary school teachers. The next surveys collected answers based on a self-reported 5-point Likert scale. It’s interesting to note that 81% of respondents indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to learn more about ICT for education. However, Figure 4 shows that the majority of digital tools used in classrooms in Korea continues to be primarily Word Processing (84%), the Internet (81%), videos (81%), PPTs (78%), & real-time chat programs (Zoom) (62%). Middle/ High

Digital Competence & Digital Tools Use Attitudes Toward Lifelong Learning Professional Attitude Professional Digital Competence Professional Application of Tools Top 5 84% 81% 81% 78% 62%

Although teachers in Korea have learned more about ICT tools for education, the tools utilized remain the de facto ICT tools such as PPTs, videos, Word Processing for reports, and the Internet. And although Korea greatly increased its capacity for online classes, the teachers surveyed have not dramatically adjusted their methods beyond their original classroom capabilities. Many Korean public school teachers still feel overwhelmed by the new educational paradigm presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity (or opportunity?) presented by distance learning and online classes. This is unfortunate because Korea has a highly developed ICT infrastructure, and there are plenty of options for more creative and collaborative uses for ICT in classrooms. But the teachers who are in a position to provide such opportunities to students are either unaware of them, or untrained in their use. Therefore, there is a great need for ongoing teacher technology education, particularly for public school teachers, particularly in non-STEM disciplines. Conclusion Top 5 84% 81% 81% 78% 62%

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