Live and Learn
Online education enlivens the classroom but also poses challenges By Li Qing
Hu Heng, a 6-year-old learning English in Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province, east China, takes lessons on a mobile app every day at 8 p.m. On November 22, the topic was how to make a cake.
Jackson, a teacher from the U.S., explained the materials needed and the process of baking, followed by practicing some simple greetings with his students. Hu was amused by Jackson’s exaggerated body language. The interactive component of the app, created by an educational institution, is especially attractive: It allows Hu to share ideas with his classmates and teacher.
天禾嘉穗公司总经理钱程向与会嘉宾汇报了公司的有关情况。他表示，未来天禾嘉穗公司将努力为江苏地区的客户和农民带来更优质的产品组合和更先进的解决方案，为江苏省农药减量、农产品增产提质作出贡献。
Xu Hongyang, Hu’s mother, told Beijing Review that the boy had been studying on the app for six months and showed great interest in English. His younger sister sometimes imitates his pronunciation, although she is deemed too young to start learning.
“I heard about this app from a friend of mine whose flrst-grade daughter was learning English and math with it,” Xu said, adding that many parents she knows are opting for online learning.
1.3 统计学处理 采用SPSS22.0统计软件进行分析。以描述性与推论性统计的百分比、平均值、标准偏差、t检验、皮尔森积差相关分析与单因子变异数分析来呈现医护人员在相关因素的分布情形、个人基本资料与其认知及3个相关因素结构面间的相关性。
Targeted solutions
“My husband and I are busy on weekdays, so my mother-in-law takes care of our two children. It is impossible for her to take Hu to a cram school after regular school hours,” Xu said.
Currently, many parents and students complain that teachers from online institutions do not have offlcial certiflcates proving their teaching competence.
According to a guideline issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, in July to improve compulsory education, more free and high-quality teaching resources should be provided to rural and remote areas. Applying Internet technologies, schools in these areas can develop excellent curricula, playing a positive role in improving the quality of teaching.
还有，要充分开展岗前实习，做好从课堂到家庭的过渡。在完成课堂基本学习之后，阿姨如果直接上户服务，还是很容易失败，因为没有上户经验。如果这时候能够安排新学员跟着老学员去客户家实习几天，师傅带徒弟，会让学员有一个很好的过渡。也可以安排学员去一些有需要的家庭做志愿者，从打扫卫生、做饭开始做起，让学员在这个过程中体会入户服务的技巧，体会如何和雇主打交道。
莫言创作以其独特的风格在新时期文学史上占有重要地位，无论在内容方面还是形式方面，莫言小说创作都进行了大胆的探索和创新。一直以来，不少学者认为莫言作品具有狂欢化的叙事特点。从狂欢化理论的形成及其特质来看，莫言小说的狂欢化叙事并不是对狂欢化理论的简单模仿，而是体现了高密东北乡民间社会和民间文化的独特魅力。与欧洲狂欢文化的渊源不同，莫言小说的狂欢化叙事没有狂欢节庆仪式的喜庆气氛和广场效应，而更多地表现了民间底层社会的人生苦难和悲情诉说。
本研究仅对某地区海勤人员开展了调查研究，样本量相对较小，有待在多个不同地域不同海勤单位开展多中心大样本研究，进一步验证 SF-36生命质量量表对于海勤特殊人群的适用性及相关的影响因素；同时也可考虑与其他健康生命质量量表用于部队人员的健康生命质量结果进行一致性研究[12-13]，寻求能更好地评价海勤人员健康生命质量的工具。
Lei Yunyu, a teacher in Beijing, displays a mobile app on September 11
According to a survey by Key Laboratory of Big Data Mining and Knowledge Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 76.7 percent of parents are willing to pay for Internet-based educational products. Those with children in primary or middle schools and living in large cities make up the majority of users, spending nearly 6,500 yuan ($924) per year.
“The only drawback is that this mode of study doesn’t include face-to-face interaction with teachers,” she said.
To many people, flexible arrangements and not wasting time on the road are some of the advantages of online classes. App functions, such as being able to fast forward when knowledge is mastered or replaying areas that present difflculties, can improve the efflciency of learning.
In addition, online education provides convenient channels of learning for people keen on new job and living skills such as computer programming and photography.
Song Meiting, 27, has been learning translation through online classes. In her current job in Zhuhai in the southern province of Guangdong, she has to often interact with foreign companies, which has made her want to improve her foreign language skills.
What’s more significant is that with access to the Internet, students can enjoy various educational resources, overcoming barriers such as location, teacher shortages and flnancial difflculties.
The recent Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee called for the establishment of a lifelong learning system for the public. Online platforms are expected to contribute to this goal since they are able to meet the speciflc demands of different groups with diverse knowledge and information resources.
A lot of companies have introduced their online education products in schools. But many teachers only use them when preparing lessons because the developers fail to make clear to teachers and students the advantages of online education. Institutions should create more scenarios to help students gain a better understanding of and have an opportunity to practice what they have learned online, according to industry insiders.
Prominent issues
According to a report on Internet development released by the China Internet Network Information Center, by June, the Chinese audience for online education was 232 million, accounting for 27.2 percent of all Internet users. Statistics released by iiMedia Research, a Chinese market consultancy, showed that the market is growing and is expected to exceed 450 billion yuan ($63.98 billion) by 2020.
A child tries an online education product at the Sixth Popular Science Products Expo in Shanghai on August 23
Yang Cheng, an assistant researcher at the National Academy of Education Administration, told People’s Daily that online learning has developed into one of the main patterns of education in the country, attributing its fast growth to a low industry entry threshold, the lack of regulation and huge potential with a lot of capital. This has inevitably led to many challenges.
选择一处动人的美景，以达到最佳的效果。我们选择在沙滩上进行拍摄，焦点是远处的小岛。为了能够在黄金时段拍摄，我们赶在日落前抵达那里，这样能保证成片中的天空呈现温暖舒服的色调。
One of the reasons Xu chose the app is that she can receive feedback on her son’s performance through the program, while there is always a staff member checking students’ homework online, including their oral English practice. She thinks professional teachers are qualifled to teach her son. “I am afraid that my English pronunciation is not accurate enough and it will have a negative infiuence on my son,” she said.
However, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in November 2018, all online education institutions are required to register with provinciallevel authorities, providing details such as targeted students, curricula and course duration. They should also post names, photos and teacher certificates of their employees on their websites.
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the National Institution of Education Sciences, told China Youth Daily that China is still in the primary phase of combining the Internet with education. He said requirements for online teachers should be specifled and uncertified teachers should not be allowed to give lessons.
人归属于一定的地域是人最基本的需求。随着村庄的消失、旧城的拆迁，在快速城市化进程中，人们的地域归属难以实现。在城市中，计划经济时代形成的单位人工作在单位、生活在单位，对单位的归属感在体制改革的大潮中也几乎消失殆尽，甚至家庭这种自古以来人们最后的归属，在各种浪潮的冲击下，也难负其重。在一项涉及社会归属感的调查中，只有三成多的人选择了“有归属感、不孤独”。[1]血缘、地缘、亲缘这些在传统社会中令人深深依恋的因素，在当今社会已经很难发挥令人产生归属感的作用。
“If senior teachers in schools can participate in online education, users will have more opportunities to access high-quality teaching resources,” Chu said, adding that educators should uphold the right concepts of teaching and follow relevant rules.
Regulation underway
In July, six central government agencies released a guideline for the regulation of the online education industry, including the MOE, the National Radio and Television Administration and the Ministry of Public Security. It said institutions should design their classes in accordance with students’ ages and each lesson should not exceed 40 minutes.
The document also said an overhaul of online education institutions would be completed before the end of the year, with the establishment of an Internet-based supervision mechanism and enhancement of public supervision. At the same time, a national management and service platform will be launched to help all enterprises in the industry to fulfill their responsibilities and strengthen product quality.
Regulation of online education is conducive to reducing students’ burden by providing them with quality products, according to China Education Daily . Speciflcally, online courses should focus on the needs of students, teachers and parents in a bid for better efficiency. In the process of developing mobile apps, issues of privacy and data security should be taken into consideration. It is also necessary to add a time usage monitoring feature for protection of users’ eyesight and prevention of Internet addiction.
Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
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