I participated in the 13th round of the APEC e-Learning Trainign Program with the economies of Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Phillipines, Russia and Thailand.

VISION

Narrowing the Digital Divide in the APEC Region

OBJECTIVE

The main goal of the APEC e-Learning Training Program is narrowing the digital divide and enhancing the quality of education in the APEC region. The efforts of participating memeber economies, supporting economies, faculty memebers and most importantly, trainees enthusiastic participation to the program will be a major contribution to realize the following objectives.

Firstly, the program is devoted to provide the customized e-Learnign training program based on the needs-analysis, reflecting current trends and recent technological developments in the e-Learnign field.

Secondly, the program includes disseminating academic achievements on e-Learning parctices, policies and research finidngs through online and offline publications.

Thirdly, the program strives to promote internatioanl cooperation by sharing cultural experience with the APEC memeber economies to build up a human network.

TRAINING PROCEDURE

□ Proposal and Pre-Training(Online)

Prior to staying in the APEC e-Learning Training Center, the candidates are requested to submit the documents, including the statement of purpose which defines current status of education using ICT in their own economy and analyse the most urgent or challenging problem that they bring with or face with. Quilified candidates will take online training course to understand Korea, e-Learning and APEC.

□ Orientation and Team Building(Offline)

At the Training Center, trainees are able to acquire basic information on training course and guidelines of research paper and experience Korean education and culture.

□ On-Site Training(Offline)

The trainees would attend the classes composed of technologies of cyber education, Learning Management Syste(LMS), and relevant web application, team-based collaborative research, and seminars. The methodology applied to the whole training process is PBL, independent research system.

Utilizing the theories and contents learned from the lectures, trainees are advised to collect, analyse, and examining the necessary documents, books and papers to reach the answer to their problem. Trainees should complete the reflection note daily basis so that they can keep record on their theoretical and practical progress through the participation in the program.

□ Field Training(Offline)

Based on the application of the trainees, we enable them to learn actual experience on e-Learning in U-school, education offices, and private companies providing internship program. In particular, we are to customize the substance of this field training to meet the needs of the trainees after completing the preliminary deliberation with the organizations to provide the field training program.

Completing this course, trainees will emerge with a strong understanding of the Korean’s endeavor to share the educational development in software as well as hardware with other economy to maintain solid relations.

□ Feedback

Through team meeting, interaction with coordinator and workshop, the trainees are expected to integrate possible answers and draw conclusion. The final paper will be presented at the team presentation session.

□ Evaluation

After the completion of each round in 2006, the evaluation was performed by program participants and authorized organizations. The evaluation measures how much the course is informative, meet participants’ expectation, appropriately organized and recommendable. The evaluation result is reflected on the next round, to be matched more closely to the learners’needs. Evaluation result indicates that 4 rounds of APEC e-Learning Training Program in 2006 has proven to be a significant impact on participants and next round will bring richer outcomes.

□ Post Training & Follow-up Activities

This course provides the opportunities to conduct self-directed study. Trainees need to submit the post report on their outcomes when they apply the new teaching skill, methods, using e-Learning technology. At the same time, trainees are requested to disseminate research findings and information learned from the training program to their own economy. International education cooperation activities such as participation in ALCoB(APEC Learning Community Builders) are also advised to build up strong human network.

VENUE

APEC e-Learning Training Center and related organizations (Busan-Seoul, Korea) ?

• Busan - APEC e-Learning Training Center (located in Pusan National University)
          - In-service training institutes affiliated with educational organizations
          - K-12 schools (leading e-learning or ubiquitous model school)
• Seoul  - Government-level educational organizations
          - e-Learning research institutes and exemplary e-Learning companies

 

 

On-site Training

Korean Educational System

9 years of study are compulsory in Korea National Wide, elementary (6) and middle school (3).

Mathematic and English are priority in their current policy, as well as ICT that is a cross curricular topic. The use of technologies in the classroom from k to 12 is supported by the Ministry of Education. They consider ICT as a tool for life, they don’t look the implementation of technologies in the curriculum to improve students learning, but to motivate them and prepare them for the real life.

e-Learning Policy of Korea

 

Ubiquitous City – Busan

There’s been an investment of USD45.000.000.000 so far to implement this project and it is estimated to invest USD150.000.000.000 more  to 2010.

U City is a concept of a modern city based on improving citizens´ life by the use and acccess to tecnology in all the facilities of the City.

                                                                                                

How could we take advantage of this experience?

Now that I look behind and try to apply what I have learnt, I realise that I have to adapt everything to our realia and to our culture. 

It is very funny when I remember some lecturers reaction when we asked some questions. It wasn’t easy for them to understand our questions, because they didn’t questioned themselves things like “how to motivate teachers to take part of a training program”. It wasn’t a problem for them. Teachers are concious that they have to be updated, that they have to improve permanently.

I visited a school where all classes were filmed. Once it was finished, the teacher edited the class and uploaded it to the school web page to let the students review the class or in the case the students missed the class for any reason they could check the class from anywhere.

Do you think teachers complaint for having a camera in their classrooms? Of course not! It was a very helpful tool for them to level their students and to review their classes and improve their pedagogical practices. 

It is another culture, I know that. They are very disciplined, responsible and respectful. But the gap is too big anyway. How could we narrow that gap? How long will take that change?