Through voting by Internet users and expert selection, the “OUC's Top Ten News Stories of 2014”, jointly held by the Open University of China (OUC) and china.org.cn, were announced a few days ago.
Following the deepening of comprehensive reform in the field of education by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the OUC, as the university with the most number of students in the world, is devoted to promoting lifelong learning and the formation of a learning society. The top ten news stories, including The Progress of Credit Bank Construction, The First Enrollment of the “Assistance Plan”, The Construction of the Cloud Classroom, and The Appearance of the Open University for Older Adults, have all reflected from different aspects the OUC’s contribution to building a lifelong learning society, and its pioneering and innovative spirit in the educational and teaching reform of distance education.
Special guests invited to remark on the top ten news stories in the event included Wang Xuming, former president of the Language & Culture Press and former Press Secretary of Ministry of Education (MOE); Zhang Yi, Vice President of China Profiles; Xue Lisheng, Deputy Editor-in-chief of china.org.cn; and Li Defang, Deputy Secretary General of Modern Distance Education Collaboration Group for National Colleges and Universities and Professor at Beijing Normal University.
1. Thirteen OUC Courses Selected for the State-level Quality Resources Sharing Curriculum (Web-based Education Curriculum)
By the end of 2014, a total of 13 courses from the OUC’s headquarters and branches, including eight courses from the headquarters, two courses from Shenzhen Radio and TV University (RTVU), and one course from Hebei RTVU, Guangzhou RTVU and Henan RTVU respectively, had been selected for the State-level Quality Resources Sharing Curriculum.
Li Defang: Abiding by the principle of “relying on famous teachers, focusing on courses, and building on an online model and group collaboration”, the OUC insists on high standards and levels in its course construction to meet the strict requirements of the selection of the State-level Quality Resources Sharing Curriculum. A rational, scientific course construction mechanism has been created. Its instructional design takes into consideration the characteristics of the content of the subjects, as well as learners’ demands. The teaching methods and teaching organization are arranged reasonably. The course resources system is comprehensive thanks to its distinguished features and high practicability. All these have exerted a fine demonstration effect. The fact that 13 courses has been selected for the State-level Quality Resources Sharing Curriculum is not only an important symbolic achievement of the OUC’s resource construction, it is also a true portrayal of the OUC’s aim to fulfil the concept of lifelong education and persist in open education and connotation construction.
2. OUC Promotes Micro Lectures for the Micro Era
The OUC has constructed more than 4,000 five-minute courses, with the actual average length of all the courses varying from 5 minutes to 10 minutes. There are nearly 60 series of courses, including western economics, public economics, tea culture, Chinese family names, photography and literary appreciation.
Xue Lisheng: One of the characteristics of modern society is the transformation caused by the mobile Internet era. Along with the trend towards mobile, social and visual, the Micro Lectures promoted by the OUC fit the demand for “fragmented learning” and are also a beneficial exploration into educational reform and development. “Fragmented learning” does not imply “fragmented knowledge”; rather it means handling all kinds of relationships as per educational rules, with the aim of inspiring students’ interest in learning so as to meet the social requirements for students’ abilities.
Wang Xunming: Micro lectures are a hot topic. They show that the OUC is keeping up with the times. The five-minute courses are rich in content and diverse in style. The news covered the details of the courses, which made it more meaningful.
3. 18th “China May 4 Youth Medal” Unveiled, RTVU students Li Zhihui, Chen Qingcheng and Tan Zhongneng Win Awards
On May 2, 2014, in order to establish and propagate excellent models of contemporary youth, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the China Youth Federation elected to award 30 comrades, represented by Wang Hongbing, with the 18th China May 4 Youth Medal. RTVU students Li Zhihui, Chen Qingcheng and Tan Zhongneng were honored with the award.
Zhang Yi: The three award winners are grass-root laborers and sergeants who work hard at their everyday posts. The three RTVU students are not only models of dedication, but also examples of achieving success. They use their own hard work to promote the positive energy of China’s youth. Let’s praise the three young people!