On July 9, 2014, the Wukesong Campus of the Open University of China (OUC) was connected with Changdu Audio-Visual Centre via video through the OUC cloud classroom system. From that time forward, the distance training series has been made available to primary and middle school teachers in support of Tibetans in Tibet’s Changdu Prefecture via the Application of New Technologies in Education.

Researchers from the OUC Engineering Research Centre are the primary lecturers for this series, which covers 3-D printing technology and its application in education. According those in charge of the project, the choice of “3-D Printing Technology” as the theme for the first lecture was based on 3 reasons. Firstly, 3-D printing is an innovative technology that has the potential to revolutionize traditional manufacturing and is regarded as “a major production tool for the third industrial revolution”. Training in 3-D printing technology geared to primary and middle school information technology teachers in Changdu Prefecture is beneficial in assisting remote minority areas to get access to cutting-edge technology and to bridge the digital divide. Secondly, 3-D printing technology is of special significance to education. It can be used to create more realistic and reliable exploration opportunities, those which may otherwise be inaccessible to these schools. Thirdly, the OUC Engineering Research Centre is a leader in the exploration and application of 3-D printing technology since its inception in 2013 and has established an “i-3D printing lab”, which confirms the OUC's qualification to provide related education.

During the training, the OUC Engineering Research Centre has sought to fully utilize “technology integration and application". Through the integrated 3-D virtual studio based on the cloud classroom system, it can offer a better classroom experience to teachers in faraway Tibet.

Cloud Classroom at the Headquarters of the Open University of China

Cloud Classroom in Tibet’s Changdu Prefecture

Cloud Classroom without integrated 3-D Virtual Studio

Cloud Classroom with Integrated 3-D Virtual Studio

Multi-Screen Feature of the Cloud Classroom Virtual Studio

Offering Application of New Technologies in Education training in Changdu Prefecture in Tibet is one of the key 2012 pedagogy projects included in the national social science fund, under the topic of Research on Rural Educational Development and Reform in Synchronous Advancement of Industrialization, Digitization, Urbanization and Agricultural Modernization (the approved project number: AGA120007). It is aimed at the exploration and promotion of educational development models and methods via the application of information technology in rural and remote areas. At the same time, it is also a useful exploration of the OUC in advancing the application of the cloud classroom.

By Wei Shunping, Wu Shuping and Zhao Xuan, the OUC