E-Learning trend in Korea

Munculnya E-Learning menambah satu trend baru pendidikan di seluruh dunia. Di negara maju seperti Korea memadukan kerja apik semua stakeholder pendidikan, bahu membahu saling membantu, di balik saling membutuhkan. Sekolah, pemerintah, dunia usaha dan lainnya menggarap satu kebutuhan besar dunia pendidikan. Perhatikan artikel yang ditulis Inshik Jun

dari Korean Educational Development Institute berikut ini:

E-Learning trend in Korea

Inshik Jun

Korean Educational Development Institute

inshik@kedi.re.kr

1. Overview

Knowledge informationizing is a significant wave in the 21st century that has changed our customs and life style. Through e-government, e-mail, e-commerce, or internet banking, our life style is being reorganized around the internet. Adapting education to the information age will produce civilized citizens with increased international competitiveness.

Competition in the knowledge-based society is international, and the international collection and supply of information is necessary to maintain competitiveness. Although it is not possible to access all information, the ability to secure and provide up-dated information or most useful information is directly related to the competitiveness of a country. It is also necessary to manage domestic information properly and provide it to present and future users.

To attain effective ICT use, there are five basic factors that are necessary: information infrastructure; information resources disseminated through that infrastructure; laws and regulations to promote ICT use; and the development of Human Resources to manage information infrastructure and resources. These five factors do not function independently but cooperatively. To deploy these factors requires a great deal of labor and worthwhile.

Beginning in 1980 with the advent in computer education, ICT use in primary and secondary schools has continued to display its effectiveness through the reform of educational method. When the first stage of the ‘Comprehensive plan for ICT use in education’ was completed in December 2000, Korean educational environment had a great deal of change: every primary and secondary schools connected to the internet; eight students per one PC; one teacher per one PC in primary and secondary schools. With these changes, the realm of education has expanded from the classroom to cyber space, and the conditions for fostering creative and competent individuals have been established.

By 2004, the plan for ICT use is focusing on e-Learning.

2. Government’s Efforts

Korean government's policy to bring up e-Learning has been started since 1999 by the 'Internet Communication Training Program' of Ministry of Labor (MOL). Employment Insurance Refund Policy of MOL keeps workers trained to easily adjust themselves to information technologies.

In 2001, Ministry of Information and Communication (MOIC) established 'Law for developing On-Line Digital Contents Industry', which emphasizes digital contents for education and an urgent need of IT experts. Having provided nation-wide communication infrastructure for high-speed Internet, MOIC keeps on trying supply more comfortable Internet services. It has been promoting Internet technologies and contents development, including e-Learning fields, for Korea Information Infrastructure.  The ministry has pushed forward e-Korea project since 1996 and e-Campus project as well.

Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) has also put 'Operational Regulations of Cyber Training for Civil Servants' in force since 2001. As of December 2002, over 10,000 civil servants took training programs operated by e-Learning technology and these e-Learning programs form 20% of total training programs.

In June 2002, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) laid down a detail plan for e-Learning industry promotion. Some of practical projects are listed up in this plan, such as

- Establishing of e-Learning infrastructure

- Expansion of e-Learning in public sector

- Improvement of legal framework to facilitate e-Learning, and

- Construction of e-Learning network composed of representatives from industry, academic, and government.

Among these practical projects, MOCIE gives higher priority in action to the establishment of e-Learning infrastructures, and this project includes supporting e-Learning technical standards development, and bringing up e-Learning experts.

To bringing up e-Learning experts, the Ministry selected six universities equipped with professional skill and provides them with some fund in order to develop e-Learning contents and media of high quality and human resources as well. Furthermore, to help e-Learning take root in the overall society, the Ministry tries to improve the industrial environment, revising the laws concerned like copyright law, set up civilian organizations, which will take in charge of the market survey, and organize a consultative body among industrial, educational, and research groups.

Since 2001 'Cyber University Foundation Law' of Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MOEHRD) was put in operation, and seventeen cyber universities are running in 2004. MOEHRD also has carried out 'Policy of Education with ICT'. As a result of it, every school has its own intranet and it has a plan to provide students with e-Learning courses as many as 20% of total courses.

By 2004, MOEHRD issues two e-Learning policies. One was issued last April for alleviate money spent on private tutoring. And the other that will be issued in the middle of September is an all-out plan of e-Learning to improvement of formal education including cyber tutoring program.

3. Non governmental trend

Big companies such as Samsung, LG, Posco, and KT and so on, have intensified its training programs for employees and decided to choose e-Learning technology as methodology of the programs.

In Korea, the online education market has recently been expanding at a rapid speed. Especially, the college entrance market for an online Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) has grown to 100 billion won in 2003 from 1 billion won in 2001. And in 2004, analysts expect this market to double its current value to reach 200 billion won. In addition, the markets for online education or online test preparation for obtaining certificates will also increase in value. (1$ ≒ 1,200 won)

In particular, the 'EBS broadcasting and Internet service for the SAT' plans to have a 24 hour SAT preparation channel via satellite and rebroadcasts segments on the internet[EDUNET] so that students can access all the shows from any place at any time they want.

There are seventeen cyber universities. Workers those who want to learn more have a preference for cyber universities, studying whenever and wherever they want. Even in conventional universities, e-Learning courses have come into fashion. Some professors use e-Learning contents as a supplementary material with their courses; some as courses themselves. Korean University Alliance for Cyber Education announced that about 40% of university courses in Korea are operated with e-Learning.

In job training, 346 organizations offered 7,769 IT-related courses. Also in teacher training, e-Learning is widely in use; there are 52 distance teacher training facilities in Korea. Besides, Air and correspondence High School which is a distance school mainly for adults is preparing to transform to e-Learning-based school (www.cyber.hs.kr) from mid-September this year. In a few years, secondary school students may be able to complete the regular courses through e-Learning cyber school.

Several Ministries of government entered into competition to put e-Learning policy under their control, large investment has been made in e-Learning application and e-Learning content, and the e-Learning business is regarded as one of the most profitable industry in Korea.

In other words, the e-Learning has prevailed in Korea.

4. Plan of establishing an e-Learning system

4.1 Creating an environment for e-Learning

- By introducing real time classes linking various schools online, the quality of public education will be improved.

- Online learning at home will enable the sharing of digital learning materials between schools and homes through the various methods of PCs and digital TVs.

- All schools in Korea will be built a world-class information infrastructure. The average number of the students to one PC will fall below 5(5.8 at 2003), and the average transmission speed of Internet access will be upgraded to a minimum of 2Mbps (69.2% at 2004.4).

- Schools will utilize ICT in the classroom, increasing more than 20% of its usability, improving the quality of teaching-learning methods.

- By developing software for educational purposes and digitalizing textbooks, the multimedia environment will facilitate learning.

- Various educational materials such as digital movies and photos from broadcasting companies, museums, universities, and lifelong education centers will be shared.

- To provide tailored education by individual's capability and characteristics, Quality Assurance System for systematic management of student’s information will be developed.

4.2 Expanding opportunities for lifelong e-Learning

- Cyber universities which are able to authorize credits through various methods such as the internet and digital TV without any constraints limited by time or space will become widespread.

- By conferring official credits to distance learning and job training programs, the system of credit will be more effective.

- The government officials will use "everyday learning system" through e-Learning programs.

- "Social learning net" will be constructed to extend learning opportunities for the information have-nots.

- A nationwide lifelong learning network including primary and secondary schools, private institutions, local lifelong education centers, and the employment information center will be built.

Developing new technologies such as metadata, semantic web (Internet technology which can understand the meaning of the text and search them), expanding standardization, and constructing national information portal are pushed on so that anyone can access information through wire and wireless communication devices ubiquitously.

5. e-Learning in primary & secondary schools

There are so many advantages of e-Learning. It could be summarized as follows;

- There is no time spent commuting to class

- There are no travel costs

- You can have a job while you take classes

- You can learn when you need it (Just-in-time)

- Your learning options are not constrained by your geographical location

- You can learn at your pace

- Learning can be fit into your busy schedule

- It can be more effective for certain types of learners (shy, reflective, language challenged, those who need more time)

- There are more student-to-student interactions

- It can be more focused on the learner and less on the instructor

- Instruction can be more customized and flexible

- It can take lower costs for both learning providers and organizations that need training

- It can take fewer costs for students than traditional programs

- There are side benefits of learning new technologies and technical skills

With these advantages, it seems that e-Learning is a kind of distance educational system. Most of people define e-Learning as a distance learning or training via electronic media. This definition has no problem when it applies to the higher learning, the lifelong learning, and the job training. But in primary and secondary education, schooling is more important.

Korea is not so large country, with densely populated. There are about 7,000,000 students, 10,000 primary and secondary schools, and about 400,000 teachers in total. The average level of education completed by a Korean adult is very high. Korean students have received excellent ratings on an international level. But still Korean education is still full of weaknesses. We need more classes, schools, and teachers to reduce the number of students per a class and per a teacher. Besides, it is almost impossible to provide optional subject. To some extent, e-Learning can be a good solution to these problems.

MOEHRD pay attention to e-Learning in many considerations. But MOEHRD suggested a slightly changed definition of e-Learning of primary and secondary education; e-Learning is an educational system to promote learning community by improving teaching-learning quality of teacher’s (at school), extending self-directed learning of student’s (at home), networking school-home-local community (at local community) via ICT. In other words, MOEHRD defines e-Learning as a blended learning rather than distance learning, and very prudent in dealing with e-Learning. Anyway, e-Learning is considered a strategy for education innovation for development. The vision of e-Learning is strengthening national competitiveness through developing Human Resources of 21st century and realizing education welfare.