An exposition of the crucial issues in China's educational informatization

Abstract

An Upsurge in WAN EducationWAN is a computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area. Typically, a WAN consists of more than two local area networks (LANs). These are often connected through public networks, such as the fiber system, leased data lines, or satellites. The Internet, for example, is the largest WAN in existence. From 2002 to 2004, China constructed branches of WAN educational network (WEN) throughout metropolitan areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, and Guangzhou. The construction of WEN has been a catalyst for fully developing regional educational 88

Designing online courses that effectively engage learners from diverse cultural backgrounds

“…No matter what tools they used to communicate, American students found it easy to communicate online; Korean students were most hindered by online communication, possibly because of their cultural perceptions on electronic communications as impersonal and even impolite (Kwon & Danaher, 2000). Chinese students, who typically grew up in noninteractive learning environments (Yu, 2002; Yu et al , 2005), found online broadcast with no interaction to be the most comforting way of learning. Some even expected online learning to be similar to the conduct of traditional classrooms.…”

“…The researcher selected online courses from these institutions primarily because of the pedagogic and cultural contrasts of the three nations (Kwon & Danaher, 2000). For example, the pedagogy for distance education in the US is increasingly more focussed on interactive and student‐centred learning (Kwon & Danaher, 2000), but online courses offered in China and South Korea often feature teacher‐centred presentation and students’ silent note taking (Yu, Wang & Che, 2005). Table 1 in displays the dimensions of cultural variability among the three nations.…”

“…China and Korea have high cultural acceptance of uneven distribution of power and thus have high power distance, while the US has low cultural acceptance of uneven distribution of power and thus has low power distance. China and South Korea have a high cultural tolerance for ambiguity and thus have a low level of UAI, while the US has low cultural tolerance for ambiguity and thus has a high level of UAI (Kwon & Danaher, 2000; Yu et al , 2005).…”

Students perceptions of using mobile technologies in informal English learning during the COVID-19 epidemic: A study in Chinese rural secondary schools

“…Adnan and Anwar (2020) believed that many students in Pakistan cannot access the Internet due to technologies as well as economic limitations. China also faces similar problems, students in Chinese rural areas where family social economic status are generally not compared to those in cities, lack of facilitating conditions such as poor Internet connection and mobile learning tools may constitute great barriers to students' mobile learning intentions (Yu, Wang & Che, 2005). Although first-order barriers such as technology access (Ertmer, 1999) are losing their importance in developed countries, they still remain critical for people in underdeveloped rural areas.…”

Modern distance education project for the rural schools of China: recent development and problems

“…For instance, the project needs to build up a service market under the guidance of local governments, so that these skilled experts or change agents can receive reasonable financial compensations for their important work. A fully functioning market can create a steady flow of distance‐education experts from the cities to the countryside, not the other way around (Yu et al . 2005).…”