Building a Cyber Training Center for Teachers in Korea.

A system for the delivery of teacher training on the Internet is being developed in Korea The Cyber Teacher Training System (CTTS) was planned and has been implemented cooperatively by the Ministry of Education, the Korea Multimedia Education Center (KMEC), and the Korea National University of Education (KNUE). The main goals of this system are to minimize teachers' retraining cost and to extend opportunities for retraining programs to all teachers. The system was planned to enter service in August 1998, and was expected to become the backbone of teacher inservice over the next few years. It was anticipated that the cost of the existing retraining system would be reduced by more than 20%.

Every year more than 100,000 teachers complete their retraining programs by attending classes in one of 45 teacher-training centers. This system is costly and creates difficulties for the teachers who must travel to attend the training centers. The number of institutes is not sufficient to accommodate the many teachers who want and need retraining. But more significant is that teachers are not able to get the specific courses required for their major fields and levels, due to the limited resources and uniform training programs (Choi, 1995; Jung, 1995; Jin, 1997; Eckert, Geyer, & Effelsberg, 1997).

Using the current communication infra-structure, the Ministry of Education and KMEC are developing the Cyber Teacher Training System (CTTS), which is intended to overcome the time and space limitations and make remote retraining feasible. The system utilizes EDUNET, a Korea-wide service system for information and communication on education in Korea. EDUNET began service in September 1996, has been running successfully ever since (Lee, 1997) and is accessible to everyone. It was expected that the CTTS would remove many problems associated with the existing retraining system and make it feasible for teachers to access the retraining programs from anywhere at any time. The CTTS aimed at enhancing the professionalism of teachers preparing for the intellectual and informational society of the 21st century, extending retraining opportunities by resolving time and space limitations, and reducing retraining cost.

The Ministry of education established a plan to develop the CTTS with a million-dollar grant in 1997 and a commitment to run the system with a limited number of programs beginning in April 1998. This article describes the procedures used to develop the Distance retraining system, followed by the implementation plan, and finally a section addressing the expected effects and future plans.

PROCEDURES

Development of GUS began with a model of the system, which was used to build a comprehensive management program. The development of courseware began early and is proceeding in parallel with installation of the infrastructure.

The basic structure of GUS was developed in the modeling stage. It included a system for accreditation for distance retraining courses, a grading system, and plans for improving the current system. In establishing procedures, running retraining programs and supporting the prototype system were both considered. For these activities, the materials for distance retraining were developed and the strategy for delivering and using the materials was set up. Three teacher-training institutes were selected for pilot tests to verify the performance of the system.

The comprehensive management system is web-based, and has the following sub-systems:

1. An authoring sub-system for authoring courseware. This is used by instructors.

2. A teacher support sub-system for teaching activities such as sending and receiving e-mail, monitoring discussions, and communicating through desktop video.

3. A learning support sub-system includes an engine for searching materials, a dictionary, and an application for participation in group discussions.

4. A management and evaluation sub-system for managing credits, monitoring security, counseling, and evaluating student work.

IMPLEMENTATION

Distance training using computers and communication can be synchronous or asynchronous. Talking, even on the telephone, is a synchronous activity because everyone who participates must do it at the same time (and be in-sync). E-mail, Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and Video on Demand (VOD) are examples of asynchronous activities because the person receiving the information does not have to receive the instruction at the same instant that the teacher provides the information.

Teachers' days are normally filled with teaching their regular classes. It is difficult for them to have time in their workday for training programs, so CTTS provides mainly asynchronous instruction. The communication environment does not have sufficient bandwidth to support a full VOD system, so the Web-based instructional system is like a multimedia-BBS system. In anticipation of improved bandwidth, plans included a move toward a VOD system in the near future.

Teachers who participated in this retraining program attended cyber-classes after class hours and received credits through EDUNET. The courses, in web-based instruction format, were developed with the multimedia authoring tool attached to CTTS. In the first stage of running the CTTS, only a limited number of courses were offered. At the early stage, the 11 courses available constituted 40 class hours in all, and were mostly liberal arts courses. However the number of cyber classes steadily increased and it was anticipated that eventually all retraining programs will be done through the CTTS.

The Korea Multimedia Education Center (KMEC) serves as the hub, housing the Web server, the database server, and the mail server. There were two other participant institutes: the Training Center of the Korea National University of Education and the Kyoungnam Teachers Training Institute. The courseware resided at KMEC and was accessed through EDUNET. The two cooperating institutes managed the teacher retraining programs and monitored the courseware offered using the database server. A dedicated 256 Kbps network was initially used for communication. It was replaced with 465Mbps fiber network in December 1998. Figure 1 shows the current configuration of the CTTS.

Teachers wishing to take CTTS courses used a computer to register through one of the many public data connections or used a dial-up modem. Student questions during the classes were answered asynchronously by tutors online. A Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQ) utility was provided to support the tutors.

The Ministry of Education, KMEC, and 16 municipal and provincial education offices were connected in a teleconferencing system to monitor the efficiency of CTTS, provide comments, and make suggestions for future improvements.

INSTRUCTIONAL MODES FOR TRAINEES

Four instructional modes were implemented in CTITS:

1. seminar mode,

2. problem solving/exploration mode,

3. lecture & practice mode, and

4. courseware mode.

The four were selected considering the basic nature of courseware in web-based instruction.

SEMINAR MODE

Instructional Strategy

In this mode, training was made up of discussions, training sessions, and seminars. Students choose discussion topics appropriate to achievement of the objectives of the subject. Basic material containing background information was provided, and students expressed their opinions, and listened to the opinions of others. Through these activities, students developed an overall perspective of the issues and established a clear perception of their own point of view. These seminars were open only to students who had the demonstrated prerequisites (determined through evaluation). Students presented their conclusions on their selected specific topic in a final report, and this was used for summative evaluation.

This mode was a constructive training strategy that could be used on the Internet and used effective techniques for solving problems. This strategy was effective provided that the adult-trainees had reasonable thinking abilities and a clear understanding of their own training strategies. The opportunity to adjust personal opinions and build common understanding through debates and justification was provided in this mode.

Web functions

* Web pages. Basic information was provided on web pages with hypertext links. The links helped make connections and explained technical terms in ordinary language.

* Lounge. A synchronous chat facility encouraged the sharing of information among the trainees and encouraged debate on the topics.

* Discussion. An asynchronous discussion group implemented the seminar and provided a forum for students to exchange information and opinions about the topics. Students exchanged their different perspectives about the topic and reached their own conclusions. Tutors participated in these discussions.

* E-mail. Students communicated with the tutors and with each other through e-mail. E-mail was also used to submit the final report.

PROBLEM SOLVING/EXPLORATION MODE

Instructional Strategy

To solve a problem in a certain domain, students must process three kinds of knowledge: declarative, procedural, and cognitive. It was assumed that the students, being adults, possessed the required cognitive strategies and declarative knowledge.

A carefully prepared problem-situation was provided. Each problem situation was prepared in steps, usually from fundamental to more complicated. At least two situations for each problem were stored. For each situation, a guide for solving the problems was attached for student reference. This guide contained suggested procedures for solving the problems. The problem-solving situations were of a constructive nature. That is to say, because adult-trainees can think for themselves and have a clear understanding of their own ways of thinking, it was assumed that they could solve problems better if they were given an appropriate guide for solving problems. This was frequently enhanced by giving the students opportunities to debate and justify their procedures for solving problems.

Web functions

* Web pages. Basic information including a statement of the problem and answers to frequently asked questions were provided. This information included embedded hypertext links for connections and clarification. A searchable database of multimedia materials was available.

* E-mail. Students communicated with the tutors and with each other through e-mail. E-mail was used to submit the final report.

* Discussion. An asynchronous discussion group provided a forum for students to share information about the problem.

* Search engines. Students used search facilities to identify relevant materials available on the Web and in the multimedia database. They also searched and examined the content of past debates in the discussion.

* Lounge. A synchronous chat facility encouraged discussion and sharing of information.

LECTURE AND PRACTICE MODE

Instructional Strategy

Lectures are activities that present content to the student. The learning materials consisted of video, text, voice, graphics, and animation. Some lecture material was given on demand, and some in real-time. Each student had a map that showed the course requirements and indicated their progress. This map makes it relatively easy for the student to decide on the next topic to be studied. Selection could be made by clicking items on the map. Each lecture ended with the presentation of specific cases showing the relationship between the classroom and the real world. Some lectures included recommended follow-up practice activities.

Web functions

* Discussion. Students could submit questions about the training program as well as the content of lecture material to the course tutors. Answers to these questions were posted by the course tutors and the subject matter experts.

* Dictionary. An online hypertext dictionary enabled students to clarify their understanding of technical terms and concepts presented in the lecture.

* Lounge. The synchronous chat facility encouraged communication among students and the sharing of information and opinions about the topic at hand.

COURSEWARE MODE

Instructional Strategy

Courseware consisted of a variety of instructional software that could be realized on the Internet, including tutorials, games, and simulations. In the absence of effective tools to support this mode, not a great deal of in structional material in this form was available at that time. However it was expected that this mode would become popular because it supported all of the instructional strategies and would be motivating for students.

Web functions

Courseware was written in Java and delivered through standard web browsers.

EVALUATION

Evaluation was based upon a formative test and the final report. The formative test consisted of three questions on each topic, and was presented at about the mid-point of the course. Students who obtained less than 80% on this test were not permitted to join the seminar and must re-study the background materials. Students who continued must summarize their learning and prepare a report from the background material, chatting, and the seminar. This report is sent to the subject specialist for evaluation.

EXPECTED EFFECTS AND FUTURE PLANS

First, it was hoped that retraining cost would be reduced as a result of using CTTS. By using online instruction, there was an immediate saving in the cost of traveling to the training centers, and in the cost for board and lodging during training. There was also an immediate saving of the replacement cost caused by the absence of teachers who were engaged in training. These costs were borne by the state in South Korea. Second, CTTS made it possible to have immediate and accurate information on the status of teacher training at each teacher training center. A considerable portion of the administrative tasks associated with teacher training can be done automatically on the computer. Third, by giving every teacher the opportunity to participate in retraining, CTTS contributed to installing a lifelong retraining structure in the education system in South Korea.

Thirty teacher-training centers used CTTS and more than 100 courses were provided in web-based instructional format by the year 2000. Teachers were encouraged to use CTTS with a merit system. In addition, other media such as TV, CATV, and satellites were being considered for the future implementation. The CTTS, on EDUNET, will be connected to the existing Korea educational network and Information superhighway, which is to be installed by 2005, allowing everyone to access the system from anywhere at any time.

References

Choi, S.K. (1995). Development of teacher in-service training system at a distance. Seoul: Korea Education Development Institute

Eckert, A., Geyer, W., & Effelsberg, W. (1997). A distance learning system education based on telecommunications and multimedia: A compound organizational pedagogical and technical approach. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA '97 & ED-TELECOM '97 (444-452), Calgary, Alberta: Canada.

Jin, D. (1997). Distance teacher education in Korea: Recent development and prospects. Teacher training at a distance: The Fifth International Workshop for Distance Education, Seoul, Korea, (pp. 51-88).

Jung, I. (1995). Analyzing cognitive and social factors in the design of computer network for distance education. Educational Technology Research, 11(2), 219-234.

Lee, I.S. (1997). EDUNET global learning resources: What we learned from creating our homepage with others' web resources. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA '97 & ED-TELECOM '97 (1659-1660), Calgary, Alberta, Canada.