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C. ICT Application
In line with degree education, 16 secondary vocational majors in the three categories of planting, breeding and management are offered to train professionals who can master corresponding practical technologies for rural areas after the completion of studies. "One for One" uses various media for teaching, such as TV and network, and provides multimedia course packages which are low in cost, easy to use and designed for self-study to suit the needs of rural learners.
The programme relies on the OUC system online distance teaching platform, funded by the OUC. Since the installment of the teaching platform at RTVUs of all levels in 2001, it has undergone five functional upgrades. After the redesign of the entire system using the fourth generation Web development framework ASP.NET in 2005, the platform is able to support millions of users. Information is exchanged through Web services, and XML and GUID technologies are used to facilitate the management and tracking of resources. Thus, the system is now more stable and reliable, and the interoperability of data between multiple systems has been achieved. Furthermore, for user convenience, dual domain access is supported through the educational research network and the public Internet.
The “One for One” distance education website (http://ycy.open.edu.cn) is hosted by the OUC and maintained by the OUC Online Distance Education Technology Co., Ltd. Most of the columns of the website are used to publish various kinds of information, which offer online learning and exchange for teachers and students. The platform provides students with more comprehensive online learning services, thorough tracking of their learning performance, and smoother interaction between teachers and students.
Discussion
The three cases of the study have made significant achievements in providing ICT support to rural education. Through years of exploration and practice, ICT has played diverse roles in rural educational development: building a distance education technology infrastructure spanning urban and rural areas, constructing a large amount of resources to train management and service professionals for rural education, forming preliminary models and methods for rural distance education, raising the cultural literacy of the rural population, and promoting rural economic development. All three cases are representative ICT applications in China’s rural education. In the following sections, this paper analyzes the cases' successful experiences and problems.
Topic 1：Key Success Factors
A. Closely Meet the Practical Needs of the Local Beneficiaries
The lasting viability of the 3 programmes lies in respecting and understanding the local situation and closely integrating the project with the practical needs of the local beneficiaries. All three programmes feature a wide coverage area, so it is especially important to consider the unique social, economic and cultural context of each area. The three programmes focus on the synergies between scientific research institutions and related teams, and especially strive to form strong relationships with the local government, institutions and farmers so as to dynamically adjust programme mechanisms, training methods, content and activities to meet local needs.
For example, Case 2 uses various technologies such as radio, TV, Internet, phone, and satellite network. It transmits resources through various media such as newspapers, magazines, CDs, text messages and printed materials to suit the varying technical proficiency levels of different target groups and maximize their benefit. Case 3 constructs degree programmes and resources tailored to the characteristics of major local industries. For instance, township enterprises are active in Jiangsu Province, so it focused on construction of the Township Enterprise Management major. Jiangxi is a major agricultural province, so it focused on construction of majors like Landscape Technology, Agricultural Technology and Horticultural Technology. Tea Processing Technology and Cultivation of Chinese Medicinal Herbs are majors designed for the provinces of Fujian, Guizhou and Yunnan.
B. Bring Out the Respective Strengths of Participating Institutions
The programmes' implementing bodies and partner institutions can bring their respective strengths into full play and contribute their advantages and resources to the work of rural construction during the design phase and particularly during the implementation phase. This increases the cohesiveness of the process and promotes practical application of programme services, thus enhancing the effectiveness of the programme in helping farmers develop and improve their skills.
The implementing bodies of Case 1 are the Central Party School and Party schools at the provincial, municipal and county levels. As educational institutions, these schools have obvious advantages in terms of educational content. The implementing bodies of Case 2 are CABTV School and China Liaoyuan School. CABTV School already has in place a nationwide broadcast and TV education network and a practical distance teaching network. It can provide targeted educational content and resources, and has professional distance teaching staff and mature distance teaching models for farmers. Its technology centres on satellite broadcasting with a gradual shift to network-based education. Case 3 is managed by the OUC. In 1979, the OUC started to offer satellite-based distance education nationwide. In 1999, it began a national pilot programme for Internet-based distance education, providing web-based open education to the general public. It is now the world’s largest distance education system. The OUC has obvious strengths in distance education resource construction, network systems, distance teaching staff and distance education models. The school continues to innovate and evolve to keep up with advancements in technology. Furthermore, it employs excellent teachers from all social walks, integrates social resources and provides targeted and practical teaching content. All this has laid a solid foundation for the success of the programme.
C. Expand Pathways for Individual Development
The three programmes show that ICT makes it possible to provide multi-level diverse types of rural education, including secondary vocational degree education, higher vocational degree education and non-degree technical training for practical rural skills. These different levels and types of education offer farmers not only diversified choices but also pathways for personal development. See Table 1 for details.
Table 1: Implementing Body, Education Levels and Types
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Implementing Body
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Educational levels and types
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Case 1
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Central Party School of and the national Party school system
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Training
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Case 2
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CABTV School
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Secondary vocational education (degree education), training
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China Liaoyuan School
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Training
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Case 3
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OUC
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Higher vocational education (degree education), training
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