On March 14, 2013, the Open University of China (OUC) convened a cloud classroom construction conference in Beijing. The conference included information and discussion related to the OUC cloud

classroom project, such as technical plans, deployment plans and implementation details. A total of 20 persons attended the conference, including OUC project leaders and representatives from OUC branches in Xinjiang, Bingtuan, Qinghai, Guangxi, Guizhou and Gansu, the OUC School of Tibet, and OUC study centres in Beijing, Taiyuan and Nanhai.

President Yang Zhijian analyzed the latest transformation in online higher education and emphasized the importance, necessity, and urgency of cloud classroom construction in order to improve the quality of OUC education and modernize education through information technology. “He stressed that the cloud classroom project was an important component of the OUC’s technological development plan, and called on each of the participants to work together to implement the project quickly and thoroughly, and promote the use of cloud classrooms to innovate new models of teaching and learning.

In the recently published Open University of China 2013 Work Outline, a series of new demands were put forward: Complete the construction of the OUC cloud learning and management platform and initiate operation, provide technical support and service for the platform, complete the construction of 63 cloud classrooms and prepare for construction of approximately 100 more cloud classrooms. This conference was a specific measure undertaken as part of implementing the work outline.

During the conference, various representatives presented plans for specific project action items, including technical plans, deployment plans, collaboration agreements, asset management and inspection plans. In-depth discussions with branch technical staff followed.

All of the attendees agreed that the cloud classroom construction project was a significant measure in ensuring that the OUC utilizes the latest IT development trends, breaks down the emotional disconnect between teachers and students in online education and overcomes barriers of time and space, and constructs a digital learning environment conducive to universal and lifelong learning. The project will help improve the quality of OUC education and spur innovation in teaching and learning models.

President Assistant Yang Xiaotang noted that all leaders should be familiar with the details of the cloud classroom project and understand its significance in the strategic transformation of the OUC, and spare no effort in vigorously pursuing the implementation of the project. He expressed his hope that the collective wisdom of the participants would help enhance cloud classroom application and management, create new cloud classroom teaching models, highlight cloud classroom application features,  and explore new distance education methods appropriate for China, thus boosting the OUC’s effectiveness and competitiveness.

From Wu Shuping, the OUC