In order to create an upgraded version of the Ministry of Education’s "One College Student Per Village Programme," and actively implement the new "Integration of Six Networks” model, the OUC’s headquarters and Hunan Branch launched a "Rural College Student Training Programme" mobile learning pilot in 2015.
They delivered unified, customised mobile learning terminals named the "O Learning Pad" to 18,593 rural students in both the Class of 2015 and 2016. Easy to carry, convenient for learning, powerful functionality, and flexible in application, the "O Learning Pad" has enjoyed great popularity with farmer college students, and benefitted a host of mobile learning stars.
Changde City, Taoyuan County, Liaohe Town, Lingyan Temple Village farmer Zhang Meifang, who studied at the Hunan branch in autumn, 2015 through the "Rural College Student Training Program" as a rural administrative professional student, is a typical example.
Zhang Meifang was the incumbent Party secretary in Lingyan Temple Village, Qihe Town, Taoyuan County, Changde City, Hunan Province. During her tenure, she led locals to vigorously develop a seedling industry with distinct local characteristics. She was recognised as an advanced individual in the village, won the title of “Outstanding Woman Worker,” and was rated an “Outstanding County CPC Representative.” She once won a Li Jiacheng seed fund award to attend provincial civil affairs organisational training. In 2015, she was admitted to attend Hunan RTVU’s "Rural College Student Training Programme," studying Rural Administration. She worked while attending the RTVU, and put what she learned into practice. She made use of the "O Learning Pad" and Hunan’s educational website for farmer college students, as well as the "Internet+ Agriculture" concept, to broaden her horizons and sales channels. She made a record more than 100,000 annual seedling sales, becoming a pioneer in building wealth for the masses.
Speaking of the "O Learning Pad," Zhang Meifang gave it high praise: "Although I worked in planting seedlings, I did not know that the branches of the sweet-scented osmanthus tree should be repaired. Now I know that repair gives the tree better shape, and increasing its price. By watching practical agricultural skills videos on the "O Learning Pad," I learned a variety of grafting methods for citrus, pear, and other trees. I believe that, in the future, there will be more seedling varieties. As the saying goes, being engaged in planting cannot involve sticking to just one kind of tree. If I want to cultivate other species of seedlings, I now do not have to go anywhere else to learn, but can simply turn to an “O Learning Pad.”
The "O Learning Pad" is not only convenient, but also practical to use. With multiple built-in practical digital teaching materials, the OUC’s digital textbook 2.0 is neither just a digital form of paper textbooks, nor a simple transformation of paper textbook contents. It integrates multiple forms of media, including pictures, texts, audio and video, painting, and other media, which are new types of interactive digital materials suitable for presentation on mobile terminals such as mobile phones and Pads. Different from paper textbooks, digital textbooks support the most basic human-computer interaction and human-human interaction. The content can be dynamically updated, making it is easy for students to take notes, search data, and strengthen their understanding and memory. The OUC headquarters began its digital teaching materials project in 2011, and has since developed 58 courses’ digital teaching materials. Meanwhile, in conjunction with mobile learning, the OUC has explored the construction of a virtual learning environment for a variety of learner levels.
The "O Learning Pad" not only provided Zhang Meifang with new technological tools, but also life tips. One day, her next door neighbour’s two-year-old child had a diarrhea, and her neighbour was extremely anxious because the closest hospital was far from their home. Both her neighbour and the child were suffering. Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Meifang took out the "O Learning Pad," and used the built-in browser to search the Internet. Soon, she found a therapy for curing diarrhea: making a soup of lightly salted apple slices. The results were immediate and effective; the child recovered after drinking the soup. The next day, her neighbour brought fruit to thank Zhang Meifang, who replied with a smile, "Do not thank me, just thank the ‘O Learning Pad’ offered free by the OUC!"
The "O Learning Pad" has helped Zhang Meifang a lot in her work. There was an old woman who had no children, and lived on government relief. She was called Grandmother Zhang” by the villagers. One day, Zhang Meifang and other representatives of the village committee went to visit Grandmother Zhang. She found that Grandmother Zhang had finely embroidered many shoes. So, Zhang Meifang took pictures of Grandmother Zhang’s handmade cloth shoes using the "O Learning Pad," and posted them to the Internet. After but a few days, the handmade cloth shoes were sold out, and Grandmother Zhang had earned a small fortune. Grandmother Zhang said, “After decades of no relief, I finally have my own income. I am grateful to secretary Zhang!”
Now, the "O Learning Pad" has become Zhang Meifang's “assistant.” Each semester, in addition to face-to-face counseling classes arranged by the local RTVU, the "O Learning Pad" guides her learning. Whenever she has time, she opens the Pad to learn something. In her own words, “The ‘O Learning Pad’ is more convenient to carry than a computer. I can take it and learn at any time, in any location. With an ‘O Learning Pad,’ the school no longer has to worry about my studies."
By Peng Ying, Gao Hui, OUC