'Seoul Learn' platform draws positive reviews
A student accesses online lectures on Seoul Learn, a learning platform introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, in this photo provided by the city. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Bahk Eun-ji
Seoul Learn, an online learning platform introduced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to bridge the education gap for underprivileged students, is displaying high user and satisfaction rates, according to the city.
Some 8,800 children have registered since the website providing lectures opened on Aug. 27, meeting 88 percent of the membership goal set by the city government.
One user was taking an average of five courses.
Seoul Learn is an educational support service implemented as part of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's campaign promises to restore the collapsed “educational ladder” in the country, by providing online lectures from popular private academies, or “hagwon” in Korean, for free.
Elementary, middle and high school students from low-income households, children from mixed heritage families as well as those not attending school can join the website and use the services from well-known hagwon such as Megastudy, Etoos, i-Scream Home Learn and Eduwill.
Besides the lectures on school curricula, the platform provides one-on-one consulting and mentoring services on college admissions and future careers.
According to an online survey of 1,025 Seoul Learn users from Nov. 17 to Dec. 7, the overall satisfaction level was 85 out of 100 points, and the intention to continue using the service was at 88 points.
Also, 27 percent of the users said the free service helped them save on educational costs.
The city government plans to develop the website into a lifelong learning platform in the future so that citizens of all ages can use it.
“We will collect various opinions from the satisfaction survey and improve the services so that they can remain a good example of educational innovation,” said Lee Dae-hyun, the director of the city government's lifelong education bureau.