The world is undergoing some of the most dramatic changes in over a century. With the coming of the post Covid-19 era, the structure of higher education will face great changes. Open universities, which focus on open education and online teaching, have entered a period of great transformation and leap-frog development.
In order to further deepen the reform and innovation of the Open University of China (OUC) and improve the level of teaching and scientific research and the service capabilities of tutors, the OUC 2021 Academic Salon (sixth session) and Second Reading Salon was held.
The theme of this session of the Reading Salon was “Open Education Development in the Post Covid-19 Era.” This session specially recommended the newly-published Beyond Distance Education: Cutting-Edge Perspectives on the Future of Global Open Universities in the open education academic field. This book discusses the development and action plans of universities since the Covid-19 pandemic and collects the latest viewpoints of leaders from many open universities and traditional universities around the world, inspiring international colleagues to discuss, share, and build the future of open education, sharing strategic ideas and forward-looking predictions in the era of coexistence of opportunities and challenges, and discussing explorations and experiences beyond distance education.
Associate professor Jia Hongxia from Beijing Open University; Liu Jie, deputy director of the OUC Publishing & Media Group; and Lin Lin, China representative of the Open University (OU), were invited as special guests. Li Song, vice president of the OUC and a roundtable scholar; Zou Jun, associate professor of the Faculty of Education and an expert from the OUC; Xuan Hongqin, tutor of the School of Marxism; and Xiao Wanying, tutor of the Faculty of Humanities, were commentators. Qi Shu, tutor of the School of Marxism, presided over the reading salon. Ge Junyi, Wang Haiping, Zhang Manying, Huang Shan, and Yuan Yiping attended the event as tutor representatives on behalf of the OUC headquarters. Patiman, tutor from Xinjiang Hami Open University; Yang Fang, tutor from Hunan Open University; Guo Jiewen, tutor from Panyu Branch of Guangzhou RTVU; and student representatives Bao Qiangqiang and Su Cheng participated in the event via video link.
Li Song gave a speech at the event. He pointed out that in order to do a good job in teaching and research and undertake the mission of fostering virtue through education, teachers must be diligent in reading and good at learning. They should learn to think from reading, sense what they’ve learnt from reading, and gain something from reading. The Reading Salon should take the opportunity of profoundly studying the book Beyond Distance Education: Cutting-Edge Perspectives on the Future of Global Open Universities to help everyone to further expand their global horizons; correctly grasp global patterns, national conditions, teaching conditions, and academic conditions to scientifically position open education; and get a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by the OUC and open education working staff and the missions and responsibilities they undertake. Overall, this will help them understand the direction and goals of development, so as to further improve the OUC’s teaching, scientific research, and service capabilities.
In the expert sharing session, Jia Hongxia used the topic “Social Responsibilities and Responsibilities of Teachers in Open Universities” to analyse the role and mission of open-university teachers in the post Covid-19 era from three aspects: communicator of urban and rural integration, messenger of degree and non-degree integration, and pioneer of online and offline integration.
Liu Jie told the story of the publication of Beyond Distance Education: Cutting-Edge Perspectives on the Future of Global Open Universities from aspects such as social significance, academic value, overall design, and content. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about changes in the global education landscape and has driven the world’s open universities to reflect on practical issues and share their practical experience in distance education. The book has achieved a high degree of quality and legibility and deeply integrates both market-oriented and academic attributes. With its serious, rigorous, and concise design style, it is an academic work that reflects China’s responsibility as an education power.
Based on the development of the OU in the post Covid-19 era, Lin Lin shared the OU’s contributions and experiences during the pandemic in terms of teaching model, quality assurance, and learning support system innovation.
During the roundtable talk session, Zou Jun analysed the development of open education in China from the perspective of the historical development of Chinese education and the contemporary presentation of traditional Chinese culture. China’s unique historical culture is part of the country’s cultural confidence in developing education with Chinese characteristics. In the new era, we should further improve the integration of open universities with Chinese traditional culture, and make open education an important channel for the continuous delivery of high-quality education to the community.
Commentator Xuan Hongqin and Xiao Wanying reflected on the theme of the session and discussed issues with the guests on-site. Xuan Hongqin shared her experience of participating in the salon based on three key words. The first is “positioning.” We need to explore the positioning of open universities, highlight the characteristics of open universities, and do a good job in learning support services. The second is “direction.” We should improve the effectiveness and relevance of education. The third is “method.” We must pay attention to “method” to find a specific path suitable for future development. Xiao Wanying shared her experiences with the special guests and gave a speech entitled “Open Education Teaching Design and Innovative Development.” She discussed the teaching innovation design of open education from the following aspects: student-centred concepts, using real-world data to connect learning and life, and open education textbooks. She also cited some case studies from Tidewater Community College in Virginia.
During the on-site interactive session, the branch teacher representatives and student representatives voiced their opinions and held discussed with the guests.
Written by Xiao Wanying;photos by Zhang Jun, OUC