In order to implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Education Informatisation 2.0 Action Plan, promote the implementation of the National Big Data Strategy, cope with the opportunities and challenges arising from the reform of Open Education Informatisation, enhance the data literacy of teachers in the Open University of China (OUC) system, and enhance their ability to master data theory knowledge and data skills, from 27-30 May 2019, the OUC held a training class for key teachers of big data in education, the 1,910th of the kind.
Forty-eight teachers from the OUC branches and subordinate schools participated in and graduated from the training class. Li Linshu, deputy secretary of the Party committee of the OUC, gave a concluding speech and issued certificates of completion.
The training focused on data mining, learning analysis, data visualisation, and the combination of data within the system with actual operation and integrating theory with practice. The students not only realised the value of big data but also fully discovered its potential, deepened its application, and used it to refine management, focus teaching, and personalise learning.
Yuan Yaxing, deputy director of the OUC Information Technology Department, gave a welcome speech and gave a special report titled “The Current State of Big Data Application in the Education Industry and the OUC,” which discussed big data from the three aspects of its case studies, applications, and challenges. Wei Shunping, deputy director of the OUC Information Technology Department, gave a thorough and detailed analysis of each stage of the general process of data mining and the analysis of educational data, including data acquisition, preprocessing, analysis, visualisation, and report writing. He has also given a detailed demonstration by means of specific data and tools. Dr. Wei Shunping also explained and shared the results of data-intensive scientific research. Song Lizhe, Wu Shuping, He Yuanjing, Wei Fangfang, Yang Yafei, and other teachers from the department also explained in detail the application of big data in teaching and management, as well as the use of various big data tools.
Experience exchange activities were also arranged during the seminar. Two teachers, Wang Yingying from the OUC Wuhan branch and Huang Feng from the Chongqing branch, shared their experiences of the analysis of big data and learning, which greatly benefited the participants.
At the graduation meeting, Li Linshu gave a concluding speech. He pointed out that the construction of the informatisation team is the most important part of the overall work of the OUC and the basis for the informatisation of education to lead the overall modernisation of education. He encouraged the trainees to become backbone teachers by participating in training and learning.
Mr. Guo Mingquan from the Chengdu branch spoke on behalf of the students. He said that the three-day study was intensely arranged and enriching for the participants. He personally gained a profound understanding of the theoretical framework of big data and had his professional skills improved in the experiment. He hopes that teachers from different professional backgrounds will take this opportunity to learn and communicate with each other and after returning to work, they will make full use of the knowledge and skills learned to reform and optimise teaching and management work.
By Weifangfang and Song Lizhe,OUC