Cover Story

Sixtieth Anniversary of Shanghai Open University

The year 2020 marks the sixtieth anniversary for the founding of Shanghai Open University （SOU）. Over the past 60 years， more than 550，000 students have graduated from the University. Each year， it trains 500，000 students in non-academic education program and 3.6 million students in community-based education training program. With a vision of working “For all the learners and all for learners”， SOU follows a new development pathway of meeting the social needs. Following a principle of easy admission and strict graduation， it combines three types of higher education （i.e.， continuing education， non-academic education and vocational education）， smart education and blended learning. With an inclusive education concept to meet the needs of all learners， SOU aims to build itself into a world first-class open university with Chinese characteristics， in particular Shanghai features.

Founder of iGet Luo Zhenyu Hopes to Build a Global Leading University in Lifelong Learning

“iGet is to become an education company， no other choice，” said Luo Zhenyu， founder of online learning app iGet and chairman of Luoji Thinking， the vision of iGet is “to build a global leading university in lifelong learning”. iGet is committed to providing professional knowledge service， transforming the knowledge into products and empowering more people. Apart from personal competence， iGet values most the teachers’ sense of responsibility in knowledge service and the teachers’ engagement.

Tianjin Normal University Focuses on Education of Teachers

By actively adapting to the new requirements of educational modernization on teachers， Tianjin Normal University （TJNU） strengthens moral education of future teachers. A model combining multi-disciplinary education and teachers’ education has been gradually put in place， aiming to build TJNU into a world-renowned normal university with distinct features.

The Distance and Continuing Education College of China University of Geosciences （Wuhan） Sets Itself apart from Its Peers with “Four Shifts”

To fully improve its online education level， the Distance and Continuing Education College of China University of Geosciences （Wuhan） has set itself apart from its peers with “Four Shifts”. These Four Shifts include： shift from focus on academic education to focus on lifelong learning in terms of school-running types; shift from self-directed school-running to combination of academic and non-academic education in term of school-running pattern; shift from scale-based development to bringing out the full potential in terms of academic continuing education; and shift from meeting the social needs to guiding the social needs in terms of non-academic education.

Drawing the Roadmap of “Precision Teaching and Personalized Learning” with Technology

The book， titled Data-driven Precision Teaching in Smart Classrooms， is a textbook on IT-based curriculum reform bringing together the top-level designs of eight education bureaus and best practices of nearly 100 schools across China. According to Gao Jun， deputy head of the Online School of Beijing No. 4 High School and editor-in-chief of the book， the teachers used to gain outcomes of classroom teaching based on their own experiences. In the future， however， they can better achieve their teaching objectives only by depending on targeted analysis of data and facts. He stressed that the core of building smart classrooms is to change or even rebuild the relations between teaching and learning， between teachers and students.