Fulbright U.S. Education Center

This post is prompted by an article in The Korea Times today entitled “Online College Fairs Benefit Students Overseas.” If only it were that simple!

The fact is that the emerging information age, with all of the information potentially placed at one’s fingertips via the internet, both fixed and mobile, is no panacea.  It does not do away with older media or eliminate the need for face-to-face interaction.  It most certainly does not lessen the importance of a localized, Korean-language approach in recruitment of students here in South Korea.  Moreover, a new online or “virtual” fair, like the one being promoted in The Korea Times article, does not automatically confer trust, credibility or prestige on that entity.

On that cautionary note, and partly because of it I should tell you that we at Fulbright Korea, in cooperation with EducationUSA, have decided to launch our own virtual study in the U.S.A. fair in the Spring of 2011.   Our virtual fair will draw on the new power of the internet and digital media, but its value will not rely exclusively on them.  We will be  publishing the basic structure and format of the fair within a matter of weeks and it will be announced, with fanfare, in this blog.  Please consider this the first of several posts, intended to create a dialogue with our many current and prospective U.S. partners, on just what can and cannot be accomplished in cyberspace, or with a virtual fair.

Please consider this short post an open invitation to send in your questions and suggestions.

James F. Larson, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Fulbright Commission, Seoul

Last month we enjoyed hosting the State Department’s Social, Mobile and Visual Media Workshop on “Advising in the Digital Age.”   You may want to check out the Workshop website at http://workshop.educationusa.or.kr/

In conjunction with the workshop, we put together a short promotional video describing our web-based services.  I hope you’ll take a moment to view it on our new YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcixIJG0eZg

Please also note that we have formatted our U.S. Education Center website for easy viewing on mobile devices such as the iPhone and are currently working on creation of a Fulbright U.S. Education Center Korean language app for the iPhone.   Take a look at http://educationusa.or.kr on your iPhone or Android device!    We have added the creation of a mobile version of your website as a new option in our suite of services.  For a complete description of these services see http://educationusa.or.kr/en/usec/services.php

Please share this information, including our new video, with your friends and associates.  Don’t hesitate to contact me (use this link) should you have any questions about these new services.

Jim Larson
Deputy Director
Fulbright Korea

A lot has been happening these days at Fulbright Korea and we thought it would be appropriate to inform you of developments with a short post here.

Without question, the change most visible to people who visit us here in Seoul is the new granite exterior that was installed in the spring and early summer of this year.  The original, old sandstone exterior had a certain appeal, but it was difficult to keep clean and maintain.  The new granite, as you can see from the two pictures contained in this post (click on photo to see a full-size version)is much cleaner.  In the process of re-doing the building’s exterior we were also able to solve some drainage and insulation problems.

Another recent set of changes has more to do with how people will see Fulbright Korea over the internet.  Earlier this year we upgraded the speed of our fiber optic connection to the internet, partly in anticipation of changes that will take place as we enhance our web-based information services on behalf of U.S. schools and other educational organizations.  Since we already have several strands of fiber optic coming directly into our building, this simply involved a visit from KT technicians.

Earlier in the Summer we received a $25,000 grant from the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. State Department.   The money is being expended entirely with a focus on augmenting our ability to gather, edit and publish video material on our websites.  This is an exciting development for Fulbright, and it should help us to stay relevant in this, the world’s most densely networked nation.  You can review our current services at http://www.educationusa.or.kr/en/usec/services.php We will soon be adding video-conferencing activities to the mix.

Finally, the same State Department Office has asked us to host a regional technology conference in April of next year, which will also focus on gathering, editing and using video in Education USA Advising Centers.  We’ve started preliminary planning for that gathering and will publish information here as it gets closer.

Comments on any of these developments are most welcome.

Fulbright’s U.S. Education Center is a U.S. State Department -affiliated advising center.  The mission of that center is to help promote education in the United States by providing information and advice to Koreans who seek to study there.  In keeping with the Fulbright mission to build intercultural and educational exchange between the United States and Korea, the U.S. Education Center also offers services to help U.S. schools, study fairs and other educational institutions promote their programs in South Korea.  This blog will describe both the advising services and the web-based promotional services that are offered through the U.S. Education Center.  We encourage comments and questions from a broad range of institutional partners in the United States.  Don’t hesitate to post questions about services that we may not presently offer, but that you think we should!