KERIS

KERIS (Korea Education & Research Information Service) is a governmental organization under the South Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology that develops, proposes, and advises on current and future government policies and initiatives regarding education in South Korea.

In addition to policy, KERIS provides educators and the public with educational services such as the National Education Information Service(NEIS) - neis.go.kr, the Research Information Service System(RISS) - riss4u.net, the National Education Service System(EDUNET) - edunet.net, and Korea Open CourseWare(KOCW) - kocw.net The KERIS website is located at keris.or.kr. =History= KERIS is a governmental organization under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology that was established by the KERIS Act (Statue No. 5,685) on April 22, 1999. KERIS came about through the consolidation of the the Korean Multimedia Education Center(KMEC) and the Korean Research Information Center(KRIC).

=Accomplishments= KERIS has made significant contributions to the development of education in Korea since its inception in 1999. It has reinforced public education by introducing ICT(Information Communication Technology), and has strengthened the competitiveness of South Korea's national research in higher education institutions. It has also done work to reduce the administrative workload of educators and ensured parents’ right to information through online educational administration services. Furthermore, it has established Korea’s position as an e-Learning leader by increasing global cooperation with e-Learning partners around the world.

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 stated mission is 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. It works towards these goals by being involved in multiple ongoing tasks and projects.

Tasks

 * Improvement in the quality of public education and development of human resources through e-Learning support systems
 * Operation and management of the National Education Information System (NEIS) which is an integrated system designed to provide access to school administrative information nationwide
 * Operation of the National Teaching & Learning Center(EDUNET), 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 the Research Information Service System(RISS) an information-sharing service that provides access to source information and full texts of published 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 reagrding its implementation
 * 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 material

=Functions and activities= KERIS is engaged in the organization and operation of the Korean e-Learning systems 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 public access to education. =Project areas=

Research and Planning
KERIS cultivates personnel for the purpose of enhancing national competitiveness, researches policies 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 trying to increase 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, but designed specifically for students and teachers. Through linkage to the central government, local governments, and schools, EDUNET provides 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 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 functions of a teaching-learning support center, digital library, and reading & culture center.

Research Information Network
The Research Information Service System (RISS) provides access to source information and full texts of journal articles and dissertations both in Korea and abroad. The system intention is to contribute 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 in South Korea 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 the NEIS, KERIS works 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]