Gyeonggi Province's Knowledge (GSEEK) Online Educational Content Supported for Middle and High Schools Nationwide

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Following the first half of the year, Gyeonggi Province is actively supporting remote classes at middle and high schools nationwide in the second half as well.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 24th, the province is providing free online educational content held by Gyeonggi Province Online Lifelong Learning Service Knowledge (GSEEK) as remote class materials to middle and high schools nationwide as the second semester begins.

The online educational content provided by the province comprises a total of 310 courses including youth career and vocational fields, IT, foreign languages, leisure hobbies, humanities and liberal arts, and self-development.

In the first half, 893 teachers from 484 schools across 17 cities and provinces nationwide submitted applications to use Knowledge (GSEEK) content, and approximately 170,000 students utilized it.

When the province conducted a survey in July targeting 422 teachers who used Knowledge (GSEEK) content in their classes, 94.5% (399 people) of respondents answered that they were 'satisfied' with the content. Among them, 59% (234 people) said they were 'very satisfied' and answered that they would use Knowledge (GSEEK) in the second semester as well.

The most popular content among teachers in the first half was the 'Career Exploration Course,' which achieved 520,000 views (from January-July 2020). In addition, courses in arts, physical education, and music fields where in-person classes are difficult due to COVID-19 are also recording high performance, and content related to youth labor rights, basic skills, and the fourth industrial revolution were also popular.

The province analyzes that these contents are well-suited to middle school free semester classes centered on career exploration and experiential learning as well as students' core competencies, resulting in high utilization. In fact, looking at the usage performance in the first half, among 484 schools that utilized educational content in classes, middle schools accounted for 344 schools (71%), which is higher than high schools' 126 schools (26%).

Using Gyeonggi Province Knowledge (GSEEK) content is available to any teacher regardless of region through a simple application process. Teachers can directly submit an application through the 'Knowledge Plus > Online Opening Content Application' menu on the Knowledge (www.gseek.kr) website.

Yeon Je-chan, Director of Lifelong Education, Gyeonggi Province, said, "We understand that as the second semester begins, frontline teachers who were preparing for in-person classes are facing difficulties in securing learning materials for remote classes due to the sudden re-spread of COVID-19. We hope that the online educational content provided by Gyeonggi Province will help facilitate smooth class instruction."

Meanwhile, Knowledge (GSEEK) is the nation's largest online lifelong learning platform operated jointly by Gyeonggi Province and 31 cities and counties. Currently operating approximately 1,300 educational courses, anyone can learn for free without membership registration.