“In the Government’s Work Report, Premier Li Keqiang has mentioned that economic growth shall abide by the law of development, and in line with objective reality.This is especially true with education. Only with less extra burdens, less interference, less indulgence, can the children grow up in a healthy way.” This is what Fang Qing, representative of NPC said at the group discussion with the Zhejiang delegation at the 3rd plenary session of China's 12th NPC held on the afternoon of March 5, 2015. She is also the headmaster of Jindong District Experimental Primary School of Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province. Her speech entitled “Building a Firewall for Primary and Secondary Schools Against Interference” aroused great attention at the session.
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.
In order to share and exchange experiences in building an overpass to lifelong learning between China's mainland and Hong Kong, a round-table conference on Qualifications Framework and lifelong learning overpass construction was held in Beijing on January 9. The conference was jointly organized by the Open University of China (OUC), the Qualifications Framework Secretariat (QFS), the Centre for Research in Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning, School of Professional and Continuing Education，the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE). The participants of the conference exchanged their experiences in carrying out Qualifications Framework and construction of the overpass to lifelong learning.
On January 14, 2015, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Hill and the Project Manager-China Julia Guangyu YANG of the Open University Worldwide, the Open University, UK (OUUK), visited the Open University of China (OUC). Zhang Shaogang, Vice President of the OUC, and the heads of the International Cooperation and Exchange Department, Research Institute of Open and Distance Education, and the Chinese Language Centre met with the guests and discussed how to promote exchange and cooperation between the two sides.
A new version of the "E-Learning Educator Training" course platform (http://etutor.ouchn.edu.cn/) has been officially released after several trials and improvements over the past year. The Research Institute of Open and Distance Education is in charge of the development issues, and the Information Technology Department provides technical support for the platform. Based on Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle), the platform is designed for the vast majority of teaching staff in the e-learning (distance learning) education sector, providing them with a learning platform of educational services. It is user-friendly, easy to operate, easy to modify and expand, and suitable for in-service personnel to use.
On January 8, 2015, a seminar to evaluate the OUC's 2014 Plan for Data Collection and Dissemination of Teaching Quality Factors was held in Beijing. Vice President of the Open University of China (OUC), Mr. Li Linshu, together with experts from 14 branches(schools)of the OUC, experts from relevant departments, and staff members from the Quality Monitoring and Evaluation Centre at the OUC headquarters attended the meeting. The meeting was held to discuss the 2014 Plan for Data Collection and Dissemination of Teaching Quality Factors for the OUC and the future work thoughts.
“English for E-Learning Practitioners” is one of the courses in the series “E-Learning Practitioners Training”. After the pilot run in 2013 and some course adjustments, the second training class was successfully held from 17 November 2014 to 22 January 2015, and was made up of 23 learners from eleven separate departments of the Open University of China (OUC), such as the Academic Affairs Department (Examination Centre), Shanxi RTVU, Guangxi RTVU, and the Open University of Japan. All of the students highly praised the contents of the course and considered the multi-media courseware to be refreshing. During the training, QQ group voice real-time interaction was integrated to enhance chances for learners to practice their oral English.
On 25 December 2014, the Open University of China (OUC) and Beijing Automotive Industrial Company (BAIC) signed a cooperative agreement to join hands in establishing the BAIC Learning Centre of the OUC Beijing Experimental School.