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“Spring in Autumn 2019” Celebrating my 41 years as a writer, by Lucila M. Del Rosario

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“Spring in Autumn 2019” Celebrating my 41 years as a writer, by Lucila M. Del Rosario

“Spring in Autumn 2019” Celebrating my 41 years as a writer

“Primavera en Otoño” Celebrando mis 41 años como escritora.

Por Lucila M. Del Rosario, UD60935HPS69985.  Sept 19, 2019

Celebrating my 41 years as a writer and the growth of art in 3 generations of my family at  https://omiamericaproductions.com/ In 1977 when I was 15 years old I started writing my first poems and I all of you continue being part of my inspirations and my dreams becoming true.

In 1977 celebrating the month of Independence  in the Dominican Republic and in homage to the patriarch Francisco Del Rosario Sanchez, I presented one of my first poems in front of all the professors and students of my beloved study center “Liceo United States of America”. There between applause and excitement my fellow students shouted: “I love Lucy, I love Lucy.” At that time, I knew that I was born to express my emotions, ideas and inspriation through the written word. From that moment the director of the school labeled me “The poet”.  In 1983 my sister urged me to publish all the poems I had written from 1977 to 1983. Thus was born book “Spring Dreams” which I published at the age of 18.  This book later was published in an international book fair and in 2008 was part of the colecction of 8 my bilingual books and now in 2019 “Spring Dreams in Autumn” is part of the book colecctions of 3 generations of my family. So, there is always spring in our lives and souls, no matter what it is in Autumn.

“Primavera en Otoño”  En 1977 celebrando el mes de la patria en Rep. Dominicana y en homenaje al  patriarca Francisco Del Rosario Sanchez, presenté uno de mis primeros poemas frente a todos los profesores y estudiantes de mi amado centro de estudios “Liceo Estados Unidos de America”. Alli entre aplausos y algarabia mis compañeros de estudios gritaban: “yo quiero a Lucy, yo quiero a Lucy”.  En ese momento supe que nací para expresar mis emociones, ideas e inspriaciones a través de la palabra escrita. Desde esa ocasión  la directora del Liceo Estados Unidos de América me bautizo “La Poetiza”.  En 1983 mi  hermana me instó a publicar todos los poemas que habia escrito desde el 1977 hasta el 1983. Asi nació el Libro “Sueños de Primavera” publicado a mis 18 años de edad. Luego presentado en la Feria Internacional del Libro  en Rep. Dominicana. En el 2008 fue parte de una colección de 8 libros bilingues ; y ahora en el 2019 “Sueños de Primavera en Otoño” es parte de la colección de tres generaciones en la Familia.  Así que siempre hay  primavera en nuesras vidas y alma no importando que sea en Otoño.   

Puedes obtener más información en mi canal en YouTube Lucila Del Rosario videos;   Lucila del o en Rosario Books y  https://omiamericaproductions.com/ o enviar un email a omiamerica@gmail.com

Global education market insights: Australian International Education Conference

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Global education market insights: Australian International Education Conference

Australian International Education Conference October 2019 – a summary by Fiona Reay, Development Partnership Lead at FutureLearn

Alongside many of our Australian partners, FutureLearn spoke at Australia’s largest international education conference #AIEC to learn more about the country’s second largest export worth A$32.4 billion – including 400,000 student enrolments onshore and 26,000 offshore studying Australian education products. Here, Fiona Reay, Partnership Development Lead, unpacks the top talks that sparked discussion around championing global experiences, student recruitment, new growth markets including Vietnam, and the inclusion of international students.

1. Educators the critical voice to “lead the way”

2. The future of transnational education – what does TNE 4.o look like?

3. Regional importance for building a sustainable future

4. Vietnamese growth market for higher ed

1. Educators the critical voice to “lead the way”

Kim Beazley, Governor of Western Australia, former Deputy Prime Minister and Ambassador to the USA provided a lens that spans geo-political borders to the audience of international education professionals – a quarter visiting from overseas. He noted that great political leaders also possess an uncommon administration capability alongside the better known “vision-setting” piece, and he compared those in politics with their sense of isolation and wariness as rather in step with those in teaching.

Beazley encouraged Australia to further develop its “soft powers” in education, research and collaboration alongside its status of being an energy and mining super power, and referenced the Scandanavian countries investments (60% of GDP and more) in public sector programmes to improve their societies in the longer term.

He also encouraged those in Australian education to reinvigorate a deeper involvement of community in welcoming international students – as English language skills and a better understanding of society (including tolerance) are really built amongst community conversation. He lamented the days of Australia’s Colombo Plan which fostered exchange students and scholarships amongst Asia and the Pacific, and encouraged further uptake of the New Colombo plan which has expanded to mentorship and internships for Australian students to develop overseas. One in five domestic Australian students now experience a learning abroad experience.

2. The future of transnational education – what does TNE 4.0 look like?

Greta Thunberg, microcredentialing and transferable skills featured heavily on a multi-sector panel discussion thinking 10-50 years from now. Janelle Chapman, Executive Director of TAFE Queensland, Matt Durnin, Regional Head of Research East Asia at the British Council, Fiona Reay,  Partnership Development Lead at FutureLearn and Howard Errey, Education Developer at RMIT, provided their perspectives after hearing from Karen Welsh, Branch Manager of the Department of Education, who shared the latest developments on the Australian Commonwealth Government’s strategy for transnational education strategy, due for release in 2020. Australian education institutions are needing to refocus and transform transnational education to meet ever-changing and increasing demand from students, technology, governments, markets and industry, both locally and internationally.

Mobile-first and flexible, stackable learning were seen as musts in a hyper-connected world where students may not want to physically travel for international experiences, valuing their environmental impact alongside their goals to be a more global citizen. Learning relevant and timely on-the-job skills, being strongly linked to tangible employment outcomes, were also crucial factors. The “love of learning” purely for fascination and academic pursuit may fade away in a competitive, resource-depleted world where employers can hire talent from virtual marketplaces and choose the most cost-effective bid.

The panel also debated education as a potential “luxury product” versus being a fundamental human right. The audience asked about ways to take their products to market and how to convince students of the future that their education offering is worth the financial and time investment in a world where digital bootcamps, design sprints and more democratised access to information through 5G internet will allow their customers to learn for free in a flexible environment. A “try before they buy” model of using “taster courses” and “information evening” experiences is already in market for new entrants to the education space who are already disrupting the traditional bricks and mortar model of higher education delivery.

3. Regional importance for building a sustainable future

Rebecca Hall, Senior Industry Specialist at Austrade, chaired a session on unleashing the growth potential of Australia’s regional universities in attracting international students. The education sector needs to diversify its ecosystem more broadly from the current trend of students seeking overpopulated Australian urban centres, and more broadly governments need to manage wider population decline in regional areas.

Rob Lawrence from Prospect Research and Marketing asked the question “do we need regional?” in marketing Australian education and concluded while the sector may need it for policy, frameworks and domestic funding – it doesn’t need to be used to students. Regional universities need to market themselves standing consistently behind an overall “brand of Australia” which resonates overseas with its reputation around landscapes and environment. Customer behaviour on location choice still seems to be weighted more to family connection, with students choosing to locate to where they have a sibling or other family connection. Course choice and the relevant employment pathway is increasingly becoming more prominent as the main influencer in decision-making as the Australian international education market matures.

Greg Slatcher, Director of International Marketing and Recruitment at Deakin University, spoke of the drive to create a more internationally attractive Warrnambool Campus in regional Victoria (outside of the metropolis of Melbourne city) and their tactics around subsidising accommodation costs, creating meaningful social connections on campus and providing work experience opportunities in local industries as the key drawcards to grow regional student hubs.

4.Vietnamese growth market for higher ed

RMIT University spoke of their journey setting up local campuses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the global experiences this creates for their students around the world, sharing with the audience an insight into the market dynamics of a fast-growing market that remains somewhat under the radar of many. Australia trails behind the UK, France and the US (on par with Taiwan) for international suppliers of education in Vietnam, who have set a strategic view to enhance foreign investment in their education sector. Vietnam aimed to set up a group of five universities of excellence by 2020, and has built partnerships with German, Japanese, Taiwanese and British universities. There is a mix of government, private and foreignly owned operators, with various western institutions offering branches and joint centres with local educators to bring in an international perspective. Vietnam does not cap student enrolments in foreign universities onshore, though demands 50% of academic staff to be of PhD level. 

There is further growth potential in the vocational education and secondary schools sector, although it remains early days and higher education for adults remains the priority for transnational education offerings. The challenges in Vietnamese education are similar to those experienced elsewhere in early higher education markets, including the regulation of online learning, attracting foreign investment, competition, quality assurance and equitable access.

Conclusion 

The Australian international education sector remains very reliant on recruitment agents who provide 75% of onshore enrolments. It needs to think more broadly about marketing a wider variety of its education portfolio and build up its product suite through the lifelong learning cycle through  professional development (and even preparation for retirement!) to be export ready. Younger “digital native” populations will demand their presence in online and mobile channels, and not think so strictly about barriers of language and borders.

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Research insights

What’s Going On in This Graph? | Nov. 13, 2019

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What’s Going On in This Graph? | Nov. 13, 2019

This graph originally appeared elsewhere on NYTimes.com. By Friday morning, Nov. 15, we will provide the “Reveal” — the graph’s free online link, additional background and questions, shout-outs highlighting student comments and headlines, and Stat Nuggets.

To add other relevant information to your analysis, you may want to use the graph below to compare the prior experience of our presidents to the experience of 2020 Democratic candidates.

After looking closely at the graphs above (or at this full-size image), think about these three questions:

  • What do you notice? If you make a claim, tell us what you noticed that supports your claim.

  • What do you wonder? What are you curious about that comes from what you notice in the graph?

The questions are intended to build on one another, so try to answer them in order. Start with “I notice,” then “I wonder,” and end with a catchy headline.

2. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment online. Teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students’ comments.)

3. After you have posted, read what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting a comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, our collaborator, the American Statistical Association, will facilitate this discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time to help students’ understanding go deeper. You might use their responses as models for your own.

4. By Friday morning, we will reveal more information about the graph at the bottom of this post. Students, we encourage you to post an additional comment after reading the reveal. How does the original article and the moderators’ comments help you see the graph differently? Try to incorporate the statistical terms defined in the Stat Nuggets in your response.

Lesson of the Day: ‘Anxious and Cooped Up, 1.5 Million Kashmiri Children Are Still Out of School’

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Lesson of the Day: ‘Anxious and Cooped Up, 1.5 Million Kashmiri Children Are Still Out of School’

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Featured Article: “Anxious and Cooped Up, 1.5 Million Kashmiri Children Are Still Out of School”

After India revoked the autonomy of the Kashmir region in August, soldiers and militants have claimed the streets and most schools shuttered their doors indefinitely.

In this lesson, students will consider what their own life would be like without school, examine the impact of the current crisis on the lives of school-age children in Kashmir and choose a youth or image profiled in the article to write about.

Imagine you couldn’t go to school anymore.

Whether you love, hate or occasionally dread school, imagine that all of a sudden no children could attend school: How would this affect your life?

Take a few minutes to reflect on how life would be different: What would your first day, week or month be like? How would you try to adjust to life without the routine and community of school? How would you feel? What would you do? What would you miss the most?

Write a short journal entry describing what you imagine life without school would be like.

Background Information

Before you read the featured article, here is some relevant background information.

On Aug. 5, India’s Hindu nationalist government unilaterally revoked the autonomy of the Muslim-majority Kashmir region, a disputed territory fought over by India and Pakistan.

The Indian government imposed curfews, cut phone and internet service (which has since been partially restored), and detained over 2,000 people, including teachers, lawyers and journalists.

Three months later, most schools have been closed indefinitely.

Read the article, then answer the following questions

1. What has Aliya Khan, a fifth grader, been doing every morning since India revoked Kashmir’s autonomy thirteen weeks ago? Why do you think she does this despite her mother’s attempts to dissuade her? How does Aliya’s story illustrate the author’s claim that education stands as “one of the crisis’s most glaring casualties”?

2. How many schools have been closed in Kashmir? Why are many parents afraid to send their children to schools that remain open?

3. How have the school closures affected the lives of Kashmiri children — physically, socially and emotionally? Give three examples from the article.

4. What are some of the things Kashmiri students miss the most? Why are many “desperate” to get back to school, according to the article?

5. How are some teachers and educators, like Mufeed Ahmad Malik, trying to make sure the children are still learning even if they are not in school? Why does Mr. Malik fear that if schools don’t reopen soon, some children will “go down the wrong path”?

6. Why do Indian-backed officials in Kashmir blame parents for not sending their students to school? How persuasive is their argument? If you were a parent in Kashmir today, would you send your child to school?

7. What is your reaction to the article? How did your writing from the warm-up activity compare to the actual experiences of young people in Kashmir who can’t attend school? How does reading the article affect your view of your own schooling and your relationship to school?

Choose one or both of the following questions to respond to in writing.

1) The article features many children whose lives have been affected by school closures in the region, such as Mehak Javid Bhat, an 18-year-old, who was preparing for medical school when her high school shut down, or Reyan Sofi, a fourth grader, who recently told his father, “You should either burn my books and my uniform or send me to school.” Which student did you find most interesting or affecting? Which did you relate to most?

Select one student featured in the article and write about how you connect with his or her story. What can we learn from it?

2) Look at the photos featured in the article: What do you notice about them? What story do they tell about the current crisis in Kashmir and its impact on children? Which photo do you find most interesting, surprising or memorable?

Choose one image and write about how it illustrates the ways that children have been affected by the loss of school.

Popeyes Chicken Sandwich

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Popeyes Chicken Sandwich

Have you tried a Popeyes chicken sandwich yet? If so, do you think it lives up to the hype? If not, would you wait in long lines just to get a taste of one? What do you think makes this sandwich different from all the others?

Have you tried any other “viral” foods, like Burger King’s Impossible Whopper, the Starbucks “unicorn Frappuccino” or avocado toast? What made you want to try them? Were any as good as they were made out to be?

In your opinion, what is it that makes a food trendy?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to find out more about the Popeyes frenzy.

Find many more ways to use our Picture Prompt feature in this lesson plan. You can find all our Picture Prompts in this column.

Word + Quiz: Sisyphean

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Word + Quiz: Sisyphean

1. both extremely effortful and futile

2. of or relating to Sisyphus, a figure from Greek mythology best known for having to roll a boulder up a hill in Hades, only to have it roll back down, over and over for eternity

_________

The word Sisyphean has appeared in 30 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on May 24 in “The Women’s World Cup’s Other Inequality: Rich vs. Poor” by Jeré Longman:

Women’s international soccer has long faced a Sisyphean battle to gain respect and support. The American women’s team continues to find it necessary to sue U.S. Soccer for gender discrimination. Players in Australia and elsewhere have refused to play matches, and stars in other countries went public with complaints on everything from training pay to a lack of games.

It has been a particularly tough slog in the Caribbean, where soccer has been blighted by corruption, and the women’s game especially has been widely dismissed. When Trinidad and Tobago arrived in Dallas for the final qualifying round of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, its coach, Randy Waldrum, sent out a financial S.O.S. via Twitter.

“I need HELP!” Waldrum wrote at the time. “T&T sent a team here last night with $500 total. No equipment such as balls, no transportation from airport to hotel, nothing.”

_________

Do You Read Reviews?

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Do You Read Reviews?

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

Note: This question, like three others we’re asking this week, are inspired by our Review Unit and related contest, in which we invite teenagers to write their own takes on a work from any of the 13 categories of creative expression that The Times reviews. If you are participating in the contest, we invite you to use this as a kind of “rehearsal space” to post ideas and see how others respond.

And, of course, even if you’re not participating, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

How do you decide if you want to see a movie? Do you check sites like Rotten Tomatoes? Ask your friends? Read newspaper reviews? Check TikTok?

How much, in general, do those other opinions sway you?

Is everyone qualified to be a critic? What’s the difference between the kinds of user-submitted reviews you read online and cultural criticism by a professional critic? Don’t worry if you’re not sure. Below, we’ve rounded up several pieces that ask questions about the role of reviewers and cultural criticism in our world today.

In “A Times Arts Critic Reviews His Own Role,” the movie critic A.O. Scott explains what he does:

By the end of this year, if recent history is any guide, around 900 movies will have opened in theaters in the United States. Hundreds more will have made their debuts on streaming platforms, along with more than a million hours of serial programming on traditional networks, cable channels and web-based broadcasters like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. Defying periodic reports of its demise, live theater is flourishing: on Broadway and off, in Brooklyn and Chicago, in London and Louisville. Nearly every week brings new dance recitals, chamber music concerts, pop albums, museum and gallery exhibitions — am I missing anything?

Everyone is always missing something, but the critics who write for The New York Times — in staff positions and as regular freelancers — collectively strive to miss as little as possible, and to provide some help to readers faced with the overwhelming abundance of contemporary culture. How to make sense of it all? How to choose?

Those are difficult questions, and they aren’t the same question. Part of the critic’s job is to offer consumer advice. You want to know if a given performance or exhibit is worth your time. But criticism doesn’t stop with warnings and recommendations. (The Times doesn’t use stars, thumbs or letter grades, but especially worthy productions are designated Critic’s Picks.) Whether or not we like the thing we’re reviewing, we are interested in what it means, how it works (or doesn’t), why it matters (or doesn’t), and how it reflects and is part of the larger world. We assume that readers are looking not only for advice, but also for ideas, arguments, provocations and the occasional joke. We hope that, even if you skip the movie, give up on the show or can’t get tickets to the opera, you’ll at least find something worth reading.

In a 2015 column, “Is Everyone Qualified to Be a Critic?”, two Times critics discuss what it takes to pass judgment on the arts. Adam Kirsch writes:

Everyone, upon encountering a work of art, has some kind of response. In this sense, everyone really is a critic … To be able to say what you feel and why: That is the basic equipment of a critic.

In the same column, however, Charles McGrath argues:

If for a start we require that critics know what they’re talking about — that their judgments are actually informed — the field thins considerably, and if we also insist on taste and discernment, then the number of valuable and useful critics dwindles pretty drastically.

A 2010 edition of the Sunday Book Review asked six essayists to consider the question: What is the role of the critic today?

Educator spotlight: Using Open Educational Resources to create learning ‘For Everybody’

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Educator spotlight: Using Open Educational Resources to create learning ‘For Everybody’

This month we travel to the US and one of its top public universities, the University of Michigan. By partnering with FutureLearn, Michigan furthers its commitment to shaping the future of learning which perfectly aligns with our vision of transforming access to education. Its first three courses on Python, Sleep Deprivation and Successful Negotiation started in October and we caught up with Charles Severance, the lead educator on the Python course, to discuss what makes a good online course and what his first impressions are of the social learning experience on the FutureLearn platform: 

I really enjoyed bringing Python for Everybody to the FutureLearn platform. In a lot of ways, teaching on FutureLearn is like teaching an on campus course. By having cohorts that start a few times per year, each time the course runs, we can develop social relationships among learners and between the teaching staff and the learners. Each course session has its own rhythm and over time builds its own sense of community and a bit of a “vibe”. I think that FutureLearn attracts the kinds of learners that want to learn alongside other learners.

FutureLearn is the perfect partner for my “For Everybody” (4E) approach to online teaching. The first goal is to produce a course with no pre-requisites and moving through the course material at a pace that anyone can follow. The learning objectives are constructed so that any learner can achieve them by the end of the course. This means that 4E courses are a great “entry point” to learning new material. 

Another important aspect of the “4E” concept is to use 100% free, open and reusable course materials (Open Educational Resources – OER) with an eye to remixing and reusing. The idea is that if we truly want “everybody” to know how to program Python, we need to train new teachers and provide them high quality course materials and tools so that they can go back and teach these topics to younger students in their classrooms. We don’t just need a free course – we need a free set of “publisher quality” materials that are OER.

I have been hard at work developing a series of these courses covering Python (www.py4e.com), Web Applications in PHP (www.wa4e.com), and Django for Everybody (www.dj4e.com). My colleague at the University of Michigan School fo Information, Colleen van Lent, has developed a course in the series called Web Design for Everybody (www.wd4e.com).

One of the goals of a MOOC platform like FutureLearn is to educate everyone regardless of ability to pay or physical access to learning facilities. My courses are intended to remove the barrier of a learners lack of pre-requisite knowledge for topics that need to be taught widely.

 

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Research insights

EDUCAUSE 2019: What are students really looking for from higher education?

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EDUCAUSE 2019: What are students really looking for from higher education?

Author: Holly Shiflett, Director, North American Partnerships at FutureLearn

The annual EDUCAUSE conference was held in October in Chicago, Illinois. As many of you know, this event is one of the big IT events in the US and covers a vast array of different themes. For me, a key benefit of EDUCAUSE is having a broad view of a wide variety of education technologies – from systems that support overall campus operations to classroom technology and furnishings to distance education and supporting the adult learner – there is always something new to see and new people to meet. The overall theme of EDUCAUSE this year was diversity and this was evident throughout the proceedings.  

I noticed a particular focus on the changing requirements of students and there were a large number of vendors that offered support for the student life cycle and recruiting. From Generation Z (Gen Z) beginning to enter college, increased needs for mental health care, the rise of the adult learner, online degrees and microcredentials, and proactive student support, it is clear that learners are evolving their expectations related to how they want to engage with higher education. This aligns with Pearson’s recent Global Learner Survey which suggested that the future of education may reside in lifelong learning experiences delivered in smaller segments. Coming from an OPM/online education background (I worked previously at Wiley Ed Services), I did notice the lack of presence of most of these providers and publishers in general, as Michael Feldstein pointed out in his recent blog post. 

The keynote speaker, Steven Johnson, set us off on a broad vision. “Great ideas,” he said,  “come from collaboration and diversity.” He highlighted the danger of what he called the “Blind Spot.”  The blind spot happens when we are limited by our own thinking, by our unique life experiences. Johnson suggests that diversity improves our ability to make decisions while  highlighting the power of collaboration and diversity. Forbes discussed the same concept in April 2019 and found that smaller more diverse teams offer optimal decision ability. One person can only take an idea so far without the input and different life experiences of others.  

Johnson’s example of this concept is Eduarde Scott de Martinville. Martinville actually created the first sound recording 20 years before Edison invented the phonograph in 1877.  The device he created mapped sound waves but there was no way to interpret the output.  Due to a blind spot (his background as a stenographer), he didn’t consider the need to listen to the recording. As a stenographer, he wrote things down and this life experience led him to transcribe the sound only. Edison came along with different life experiences and figured out a way to play it back which is really what was needed.  

My path through EDUCAUSE was punctuated by looking for general themes. I was hoping for a view into how technology might help us to better support students online. This led to my decision on Wednesday to attend the session on Gen Z to hear how digital natives would interpret higher education. I learned about the term Phigital, which means the merging of Digital and Physical worlds. The generation coming up through the education process – Gen Z – has always had technology, they are used to complete customization and view the world as phigital – there is no line between digital and physical.  

In higher education, I expect they’ll have high technology expectations and they will be looking to customize their own degrees. Where many grew up with the message of “fit in”, Gen Z has been inducted with the personalization message and they start developing a brand name at an early age. You can see this evidenced in their use of social media. 

In addition to the phigital theme, we learned about other  characteristics of Gen Z-ers such as:

  • Realistic – They are asking about the ROI of higher education and making different decisions
  • Driven and Super competitive – They want to be successful and earning money is important
  • Expect hyper-customization – They want to build their own college degrees

Based on these criteria, which are, of course, different from any other generation, we can expect students to look for customization and flexibility in higher education. They’ll expect the digital and physical to be part of their experiences. Being practical, they are going to look for the value in higher education and the most cost effective path to achieve their goal – a high paying job.  A downside to the constant technology is that Gen Z-ers (and maybe all of us) have tailored our news feeds to our own personal preferences which means we are only hearing one perspective with limited diversity. To succeed in the world, we can go back to Johnson’s point about the blind spot. We all need alternate points of view and the influence of other people’s experiences to be successful.  

So, what does this mean for us and how is this related to higher education.  The future potentially holds increased learner demands for customized and personalized learning delivered just-in-time and in small, manageable chunks. Universities can work towards more flexible offerings and we saw at EDUCAUSE there is already a focus on the student journey and incorporating diversity of opinions and ideas.  At the same time, we can be more deliberate about diversity of thought in higher education and using technology to facilitate engagement and interactivity. In closing, EDUCAUSE, for me, was a great chance to connect and reconnect across a wide range of disciplines, to see some familiar friends and make some new ones. See you in 2020!

 

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Research insights

The Emergence of China’s Nationally-Recognized MOOCs

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The Emergence of China’s Nationally-Recognized MOOCs

China MOOC Conference 2018China MOOC Conference: MOOC team receiving award

MOOCs took off in China in 2013 with the launch of XuetangX, China’s first MOOC platform, which was developed by Tsinghua University. Six years later, China offers over 12,500 MOOCs across more than 10 MOOC platforms.

In July 2017, China’s Ministry of Education announced an initiative to recognize the nation’s best MOOCs. Each year, the Ministry would review Chinese MOOCs against a set of quality criteria. MOOCs that pass this review would earn national recognition, the highest accolade an open online course may receive in China. The Ministry’s goal was for China to have 3,000 nationally-recognized MOOCs by the end of 2020.

In China, MOOCs are mainly geared toward university students, by contrast with the US and UK, where MOOCs also target out-of-school learners. Wu Yan, head of China’s Higher Education Department, explains the objectives behind China’s MOOC-recognition initiative:

“The main reason for developing MOOCs in China is to improve equity in higher education.” This can be achieved by “breaking time and space barriers” and by “supporting the sharing of educational resources across universities.” He added that “MOOCs are critical to reform China’s traditional, cramming teaching model.” 

The process for a MOOC to gain national-recognition in China involves three steps:

  1. Application
  2. Evaluation & Selection
  3. Recognition & Review

Let’s describe each.

Application

Every year in July, universities may submit their MOOCs to the National MOOCs Recognition Program for review. Only MOOCs developed by Chinese universities and which have been offered for at least two sessions are eligible; SPOCs (small private online courses) and other types of online courses are not.

Evaluation & Selection

To earn national recognition, MOOCs should satisfy requirements in six categories: team, design, content, teaching, impact, and support. Detailed requirements are published annually on the program’s official website.

For example, the MOOC team should consist of a lecturer, a course manager, and at least two teaching assistants. In addition, the MOOC should be designed to fit in an online or blended learning setting. It should involve thorough assessments such as quizzes and exams. And it should provide learners with support through online office hours and discussion forums.

Above all, the MOOC should have outstanding social impact, such as being widely shared by universities and receiving positive reviews from students that have taken it.

Each MOOC is evaluated by a team from China’s Education Ministry. MOOCs that satisfy this initial review are then opened to the public for one week in October and November. In light of how they are received, a final selection is made. Each year in December, China announces the new nationally-recognized MOOCs. Here are the lists for 2017 and 2018.

Recognition & Review

Nationally-recognized MOOCs will be labeled as such on their respective MOOC platforms. They should remain entirely free. And they will undergo periodic reviews for the next five years by both public and Education Ministry. So they should be properly maintained — for instance, by keeping content up to date and continuing to adequately support students.

In addition, the teaching team of each nationally-recognized MOOC will receive an award at the annual China MOOC Conference.

Number of MOOCs

The number of MOOCs that should be nationally recognized each year is set by China’s Education Ministry. Here are the targets:

  • 2017 Target: 500 MOOCs
  • 2018 Target: 900 MOOCs
  • 2019 Target: 900 MOOCs

Since the Ministry’s goal is to reach 3,000 nationally-accredited MOOCs by the end of 2020, we can expect next year’s target to be at least 700.

In practice, numbers have fallen slightly short of their targets:

  • 2017 Recognized: 490 MOOCs
  • 2018 Recognized: 801 MOOCs

Note that only about one-third of the MOOCs submitted for review ended up earning national recognition. So the targets weren’t missed because of a lack of applications:

  • 2017 Applied: 1,383 MOOCs
  • 2018 Applied: 2,137 MOOCs

Applied vs. Recognized MOOCs

Types & Subjects

Nationally-recognized MOOCs can be distributed into three types:

  • Basics courses
  • Cultural courses
  • Professional courses

So far, this distribution has been relatively stable each year:

MOOC Type20172018
Basic12%16%
Cultural28%23%
Professional60%61%

The most common subjects among nationally-recognized courses are:

  1. Computer Science
  2. Electronics & Information
  3. Mathematics
  4. Business & Management
  5. Foreign Language

Top subjects per year

These five subjects account for 26% of the total number of nationally-recognized MOOCs.

Universities

Tsinghua University, the institution behind XuetangX, is the leading player in MOOC development in China and has provided the largest number of nationally-recognized MOOCs, both in 2017 and 2018.

The other top four universities are Peking University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Wuhan University and Xi’an Jiaotong University. These have contributed 20% to the total number of nationally-recognized MOOCs.

Top universities per year

Platforms

Nationally-recognized MOOCs are offered by more than 10 MOOC platforms in China. The leading MOOC provider is Chinese University MOOC (iCourse) which offers 71% of all nationally-recognized MOOCs to date.

Top platforms per year

In a couple of months, China’s third wave of nationally-recognized MOOCs should be unveiled. Assuming submissions and picks continue to grow at the same rate, China should have about 2,300 nationally-recognized MOOCs by the end of the year, keeping the nation comfortably on track toward its goal of 3,000 nationally-recognized MOOCs by the end of 2020.

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