The Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education will officially launch the integrated cloud and AI service platform 'PENZ' on September 1, targeting 330,000 students and staff in the region's elementary, middle, and high schools. This initiative is the first of its kind among regional education offices in South Korea, allowing students and staff to access paid digital tools from Google, Microsoft, and Adobe using a single account.
While other local education offices, such as Gyeonggi Province, have implemented similar systems combining Google, Microsoft, and Hangul, Busan's platform also includes Adobe's design-specific tools in its cloud and AI service offerings.
The project, which cost over 400 million won, primarily aims to address the 'digital gap.' An official from the education office stated, "We designed this to ensure that all students in Busan can use high-quality tools with the same license, regardless of their economic conditions or their school's budget."
PENZ is based on the National Education Information System (NEIS) and is accessible only to staff and students affiliated with the Busan Education Office. Those interested can register for the Education Digital One Pass starting September 1, and after signing up on the PENZ website, they can immediately access approved educational cloud and AI tools.
A significant immediate benefit of PENZ is the reduction of administrative tasks for teachers. Previously, teachers had to issue and manage up to 2,000 accounts each year for student promotions within the same domain. With the introduction of PENZ, account processing will be automated, significantly decreasing administrative workload.
To address security concerns, the education office has allocated approximately 200 million won to establish its own server. Only minimal information, such as student IDs and names, will be shared with external services like Google, while sensitive data, including registration and access logs, will be securely managed on the education office's internal server through duplication and encryption.
To ensure a smooth implementation of the system, the Busan Education Research and Information Institute will hold informational sessions for school administrators, information department teachers, and account managers. Four sessions will be conducted, divided between elementary and secondary education, accommodating around 500 participants. These sessions will provide detailed guidance on site access, linking to the Digital One Pass, utilizing the school administrator mode, and the available edtech services.
However, PENZ's commitment to '12 years of continuity' has its limitations. While it allows students to accumulate learning materials on cloud services like OneDrive from elementary school through high school, this is restricted to schools within Busan, including private institutions. Since this is not a nationwide initiative led by the Ministry of Education, students transferring to other cities or provinces will need to manually download and transfer their accumulated materials.
Securing a budget for ongoing sustainability post-implementation is also a critical challenge. Approximately 1.2 billion won will be required annually for the renewal of paid licenses for each service. Given that these services are provided by foreign companies, fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate or changes in corporate pricing policies could impact budget stability. Additionally, support for low-income students lacking devices relies on programs from other welfare departments, necessitating close collaboration between departments to effectively narrow the practical usage gap.
Education Superintendent Kim Seok-jun stated, "With the launch of PENZ, we have enhanced access to digital tools in schools and established a foundation for teachers and students to safely engage in AI education. We will carefully support administrators and teachers to ensure they can utilize the system without inconvenience through the informational sessions."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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