KERIS (Korean Education Research Information Service)

KERIS (Korea Education & Research Information Service) is a national institution of the government of South Korea that works to develop human resources through e-Learning, regain public trust in education, lay a foundation for a knowledge and information-based society by activities through academy digitalization. KERIS has significantly contributed to the development of education in Korea since its inception in 1999. It has reinforced public education by introducing ICT, and has strengthened the competitiveness of our national research through the introduction of ICT to higher education institutions. It has also reduced the administrative workload of educators and ensured parents’ right to information through advanced online educational administration services. Furthermore, it has enhanced Korea’s position as an e-Learning leader by increasing global cooperation with e-Learning partners around the world. Currently KERIS has been providing NEIS(National Education Information; neis.go.kr, RISS(Research Information Service System; riss4u.net, EDUNET(National Education Service System; edunet.net, KOCW(Korea Open CourseWare; kocw.net and so on. The KERIS website is located at keris.or.kr.

=History and major accomplishments= KERIS is a government organization under Ministry of Education, which was established by the KERIS Act (Statue No. 5,685) on April 22, 1999. KERIS came about through the consolidation of the KMEC and KRIC. Notable accomplishments include:
 * Dec. 2004 - Earned certification on KEM as Korean Standard for educational metadata(KS X 7001)
 * July 2005 - Certified with ISO 9001 on KERIS Quality Management System
 * Oct. 2006 - ISO/IEC 20000 Certification for System Support Infrastructure Management of EDUNET and RISS
 * Dec. 2006 - Certified with ISO 9001 on KERIS Quality Management System for international e-learning consulting
 * Jan. 2007 - Received the 1st UNESCO Prize for ICT in Education
 * Apr. 2007 - Received the IMS Learning Impact Platinum Award

=Mission= KERIS is doing its utmost to develop human resources through e-Learning, regain public trust in education, lay a foundation for a knowledge and information-based society by activation of e-Learning, and to enhance national education and research competitiveness through academy digitalization

Tasks

 * Improvement in the quality of public education and development of human resources through e-Learning support systems (The National Education Information System (NEIS) is an integrated system designed to provide access to school administrative information nationwide).
 * Operation of the National Teaching & Learning Center?EDUNET to share educational information (EDUNET is a comprehensive educational information service system which allows all teachers, students, and citizens to gain access to valuable educational information and run a voluntary online learning community).
 * Operation of Research Information Service System(RISS) to share research information (The Research Information Service System (RISS) provides access to source information and full texts of distinguished journal articles and dissertations both in Korea and abroad).
 * Revision of the metadata standardization format KEM 2.0 to promote the sharing and distribution of educational and research information
 * Organization and operation of the Digital Library Support Center in order to vitalize the operation of school libraries
 * Development, securance, and provision of educational content to improve teaching-learning methodology
 * Investigation and evaluation of the current status of digitalization of the education academy information, and research and support in the development of education policies
 * Support for the growth of the private education information industry through quality certification and e-Learning exhibitions
 * Support for the digitalization of universities and life-long education

=Functions and activities= KERIS is engaged in the organization and operation of the Korean e-Learning system to reduce private tutoring expenses and improve public education; Support the development of creative personnel needed to lead a knowledge-based society in the 21st century; Support for the qualitative improvement of classroom lessons and the fundamental improvement of public education through the use of ICT; Management of user-centered knowledge and information resources through the Research Information Sharing Service; Organization of the e-Educational administration service to enhance the efficiency and transparency of educational administration and the civil service; and Support for the cyber learning system which allows anyone access to education. =Project areas=

Research and Planning
KERIS cultivates talented personnel for the purpose of enhancing national competitiveness, researches policy on national human resource development, and develops programs for the more efficient training of elementary and secondary school teachers and administrators. KERIS strives to realize the results of research in policy and institutionalization through close cooperation with the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development and Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education, as well as education communities and teachers. Furthermore, KERIS is increasing the effectiveness of these policies by developing an evaluation system for national education and research informatization. In particular, KERIS has been providing new training guidelines for ICT, from basic skills and adaptation to educational content, so as to improve the teaching capabilities of instructors.

e-Learning in school education
The National Teaching & Learning Center?EDUNET, is the largest comprehensive education information service in Korea, and a one-stop service system for all, especially students and teachers. Through linkage to the central government, local governments, and schools, EDUNET seeks to maximize the satisfaction of its beneficiaries by providing a wide range of information on education. It organizes and operates the cyber learning system to reduce private tutoring expenses and strengthen public education. EDUNET provides a consulting service dealing with how to adapt e-Learning to curriculums through 'EDUNET Cyber Teacher' and 'Cyber Home Learning Service'. The Digital Library Support System (DLS) is a system that supports school libraries which are built within Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education, and is an Internet-based, one-stop service system that helps the school library carry out the function of a teaching-learning support center, digital library, and reading & culture center.

Research Information Network
The Research Information Service System (RISS) is a service that provides access to source information and full texts of distinguished journal articles and dissertations both in Korea and abroad. The system contributes to world-class competitiveness in academic research. The RISS provides research information services such as a union catalog, interlibrary loans, and dissertations in order to promote the sharing and distribution of research information. In addition, the RISS is an advanced research information service with a cooperative network among university libraries and related institutions.

e-Administration
The National Education Information System (NEIS) is an integrated system designed to provide access to all educational information by connecting all elementary and secondary schools, the Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development, 16 Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education and their affiliated institutions through the Internet. Through NEIS, KERIS strives to enhance the efficiency of general education administration, improve the work environment for teachers, and provide a new educational administration information service for students, parents, and other users.

=External links= [KERIS homepage: http://www.keris.or.kr

KERIS brochures and annual reports: http://english.keris.or.kr/es_brchr/es_brchr.html

KERIS Journal: http://english.keris.or.kr/es_archieve/es_av_jrnl/es_av_jrnl.html

KERIS Related Services: http://www.edunet.net

http://www.riss4u.net

http://www.neis.go.kr]