SEOUL, KOREA — Professor Kim Jae-ho is preparing for his lecture using “Lecturer Maker.” Professor Kim formerly used Power Point (PPT) to deliver lectures to students, but since he started using Lecture maker, an e-learning contents authoring tool, his class preparation time has been cut in half and the quality of his lessons have improved.
Not only that, once Professor Kim changed his authoring tool to Lecture Maker, he received more positive feedback from students. Lee Sung-ah, who is one of the professor’s students, said, “The previous lecture that was given with the old type of PPT was one-sided while the lecture material made with Lecture Maker helped students participate more in class. The new type of tool allows us to understand and focus on the lecture easily.” Moreover, even when Professor Kim was out of town to attend an overseas seminar, he could replace his regular lecture with an online lecture.
Lecture Maker, the authoring tool that allows teachers to make their own e-learning contents and use in class, was developed by Daulsoft (www.daulsoft.com), a business specializing in e-learning solutions.
Yang Ju-myeong, who is the CEO of Daulsoft, has neither an engineering nor educational background. After he obtained his Master’s degree in advertising, he was employed at Doosan Oricom, an advertising agency for 11 years. The reason why his Lecture Maker beat its rivals in the e-learning industry was that it targeted a niche market, along with his innovative idea and technology of e-learning contents authoring tool. Korea IT Times had an interview with Daulsoft CEO, Yang Ju-Myeong about Lecture Maker, which is well-known abroad for having an Industry-specific Smart Learning Approach in a series of six articles.
Q: Please introduce the Lecture Maker.
A: Lecture Maker is Daulsoft’s main product. This product makes it possible to create quality contents with a simple click and providing various types of layouts, designs, and templates that help make e-learning contents. Due to its compatibility with Power Point, Flash and Video, online multimedia lectures can be easily produced.
In addition, since it provides layout and design in a sliding mode like Power Point, it is possible to author various forms of e-learning contents such as video, sound, or text by taking advantage of the various combinations or templates. It supports video recording by using the functions of web camera, microphone, etc. Plus, it is possible to produce e-learning contents regardless of the composition type with the help of the professional editing tools that can easily show math formulas, graphs, figures, foreign languages, and traditional Korean Hangeul.
Teachers can transform various forms of their learning materials including Power Point, Flash, HTML, videos, and images into online lecture tools with the help of Lecture Maker. Lecture Maker also synchronizes video and audio lectures with learning materials.
Q: Overseas exportation is now active. Please tell us which countries import this product.
A: Daulsoft was established in 1998 and included building up an online evaluation system. In 2003, this loping Learning Management System (LMS) made strides in the e-learning business by developing e-learning contents authoring solution Lecture Maker.
LMS was the only e-learning solution in the early domestic e-learning market. There was no e-learning-related software in the beginning. There was actually little original software available, but we received a request in 2005 from Ulaanbaatar University (Mongol) to provide software education for about 300 teachers. At the time Mongol was in primitive condition with little Internet access. We actually had no idea what and how to educate them. We decided to use Lecture Maker, the e-learning contents authoring tool as a customized education material. We downloaded the Lecture Maker CD on about 20 computers out of 50 (the others being broken) at school. We also educated teachers on how to make their own e-learning contents by themselves. As teachers, even those who are not familiar with computers, acquired the ability to build their own contents easily with Lecture Maker. This marked the first export to Mongol’s Education Ministry.
Starting from its first export to Mongol in 2005, Lecture Maker is now being exported to 20 countries including Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Russia, Morocco, and Nigeria, and actively in use in local educational institutions.
Q: What is the secret of success in exportation Are there any differences from other e-learning solutions
A: Businesses that used LMS technology at that time were not able to export their software due to US solutions which monopolized in overseas LMS markets and Australian solutions, which used open-source software. Businesses with contents failed to export their products because of a language and cultural barrier. Despite this drawback, Daulsoft was highly successful in exporting because the company turned its attention to the package software market. Utilizing package software was one of the authoring tools that gives the company competitive edge even in overseas markets.
E-learning contents authoring tools were originally dominated by the US, Australia, and Britain. After a thorough analysis of products from competing countries, we were sure that if we could make authoring tools that allowed everyone to create e-learning contents easily, we could secure global competitiveness. Developing the Lecture Maker contributed to our main factor of success.
The difference between Lecture Maker and other e-learning contents authoring tools lies in language support. Lecture Maker provides multiple language support including Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, English, and Arabic. Lecture Maker is the only solution that supports an Arabic version among the current authoring tools. Although this software may be behind in reputation and brand power we can proudly say, in terms of technical skills and compatibility, we are the most advanced. In the next few years, we plan on upgrading Lecture Maker by adding technical skills needed for smart learning, which will brace our company for the future authoring tools market.
Q. You are already exporting to many countries. Do you have any new markets in mind to target in the future
A: The ultimate goal is definitely the US market. Competing products from other famous brands are now dominating the US market, but the quality of the Lecture Maker in Southeast Asia will lead the way to the US market for sure. To achieve this goal, we are currently seeking qualified agents. In fact, it is fair to say that the possibility of exportation completely depends on the ability of local agents’. Therefore, we will examine their ability thoroughly.
Q: Do we use the Lecture Maker in Korea
A: The places where Lecture Maker is sold in Korea are businesses or private institutes. The purchase rate by college professors is low and there are building experts who prepare e-learning contents for professors. In terms of elementary and secondary school teachers, relevant departments in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology make and distribute e-learning contents, so they do not need to create contents on their own. However, most instructors in businesses and private institutes prefer to use Lecture Maker more often so they can present more effective lessons.
The E-learning business is quite difficult. There is a saying which has truth in its meaning; “education is a plan which spans a hundred years.” This is why e-learning is a significant and essential business. Therefore, Daulsoft will go all out to globalize the Korean Wave of e-learning.
