Das chinesische Bildungsministerium hat eine Studie zu MOOCs ("massive open online courses") in China veröffentlicht: Lag die Zahl der über MOOC Lernenden vor zwei Jahren noch bei rund 1,5 Millionen, prognostiziert der Bericht bereits 10 Millionen Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer für Ende 2016.
Der vom "Online Education Research Centre" des chinesischen Bildungsministeriums verfasste Bericht gibt schon für 2015 eine Teilnehmerzahl von 5,75 Millionen an – insofern stellen die für Ende 2016 prognostizierten 10 Milllionen Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer fast eine Verdopplung im Vergleich zum Vorjahr dar.
Als maßgebliche Faktoren dieser rasanten Entwicklung werden im Bericht die chinesischen Hochschulen angeführt, die inzwischen rund 1.200 MOOCs zur Verfügung stellen.
Die bestbesuchtesten Kurse sind der Studie zufolge der Sprachkurs "Umgangsenglisch", gefolgt von "Finanzanalyse und Entscheidung" sowie "Einführung in die Psychologie".
China: Zahl der Lernenden über MOOCs steigt rapide
Chinese MOOC learners to top 10 million by year end
The number of students enrolled on a MOOC in China is set to exceed 10 million
by the end of 2016, up from 1.5 million just two years ago, a white paper from
the Ministry of Education has predicted.
Published by the Ministry of Education (MoE)'s Online Education Research Centre, the report charts an explosion of interest in massive open online courses since 2014. In the last year alone, the estimated number of registered MOOC users in China has come close to doubling, with the total standing at 5.75 million in 2015.
Higher education institutions have so far led the charge when it comes to developing MOOCs, working with internet companies and online education enterprises to develop platforms for delivery.
Preparation for China's university entrance exam, the gaokao, is one of the most popular topics for Chinese MOOCs, along with higher education modules that slot into university courses and for-credit classes that new students can take before arriving on campus.
The white paper estimates that some 1,200 MOOCs have so far been developed by around 30 universities and an unspecified number of colleges, with a much greater focus on higher education rather than vocational courses.
But despite the boom in enrolments and courses, 90 percent of China's colleges and universities have not yet begun to develop MOOC provision, according to the report.
The substantial resources needed to develop a high-quality MOOC and the subsequent building of brand awareness in order to attract users are barriers for most institutions to develop a course, the report notes.
An online survey of 761 learners who had taken a MOOC in the last year, included in the white paper, revealed that despite the bigger focus from universities to develop higher education courses, vocational training was actually more popular among respondents.
Around 61 percent said they were interested in this type of course, compared with 44 percent who were interested in degree or diploma level MOOCs.
This apparent gap between provision and demand creates opportunities not only for Chinese institutions but also their overseas counterparts.
"There may therefore be room to introduce quality content in the FE sector from overseas countries such as the UK," commented Kevin Prest and Liu Xiaoxiao at the British Council China.
"The white paper predicts that the future development of the MOOC industry in China will include the expansion of service value not only to the online learners, but also schools and business (employers) – with more vocational and professional training courses for employees or adult learners," they added.
The survey also revealed the vast majority of learners (83 percent) are aged between 18 and 35, with almost half falling within the 18-25 age bracket.
The largest group of MOOC takers in the survey were students (39 percent), followed by entry-level employees, and all but 7 percent had either completed or were in the process of undertaking a higher education qualification.
Just under a quarter of those who took part in the survey (22 percent) said they had paid for their course, spending on average between 201 and 300 RMB (30-45 Dollar).
The survey also showed users spend short periods on a course at any one time, studying for around 10-20 minutes per session.
When it came to choosing a MOOC platform, the majority of users (70 percent) made their decision based on the quality of the curriculum, while others commented specifically on the outstanding teachers or courses linked to their personal interests.
Published by the Ministry of Education (MoE)'s Online Education Research Centre, the report charts an explosion of interest in massive open online courses since 2014. In the last year alone, the estimated number of registered MOOC users in China has come close to doubling, with the total standing at 5.75 million in 2015.
Higher education institutions have so far led the charge when it comes to developing MOOCs, working with internet companies and online education enterprises to develop platforms for delivery.
Preparation for China's university entrance exam, the gaokao, is one of the most popular topics for Chinese MOOCs, along with higher education modules that slot into university courses and for-credit classes that new students can take before arriving on campus.
The white paper estimates that some 1,200 MOOCs have so far been developed by around 30 universities and an unspecified number of colleges, with a much greater focus on higher education rather than vocational courses.
But despite the boom in enrolments and courses, 90 percent of China's colleges and universities have not yet begun to develop MOOC provision, according to the report.
The substantial resources needed to develop a high-quality MOOC and the subsequent building of brand awareness in order to attract users are barriers for most institutions to develop a course, the report notes.
An online survey of 761 learners who had taken a MOOC in the last year, included in the white paper, revealed that despite the bigger focus from universities to develop higher education courses, vocational training was actually more popular among respondents.
Around 61 percent said they were interested in this type of course, compared with 44 percent who were interested in degree or diploma level MOOCs.
This apparent gap between provision and demand creates opportunities not only for Chinese institutions but also their overseas counterparts.
"There may therefore be room to introduce quality content in the FE sector from overseas countries such as the UK," commented Kevin Prest and Liu Xiaoxiao at the British Council China.
"The white paper predicts that the future development of the MOOC industry in China will include the expansion of service value not only to the online learners, but also schools and business (employers) – with more vocational and professional training courses for employees or adult learners," they added.
The survey also revealed the vast majority of learners (83 percent) are aged between 18 and 35, with almost half falling within the 18-25 age bracket.
The largest group of MOOC takers in the survey were students (39 percent), followed by entry-level employees, and all but 7 percent had either completed or were in the process of undertaking a higher education qualification.
Just under a quarter of those who took part in the survey (22 percent) said they had paid for their course, spending on average between 201 and 300 RMB (30-45 Dollar).
The survey also showed users spend short periods on a course at any one time, studying for around 10-20 minutes per session.
When it came to choosing a MOOC platform, the majority of users (70 percent) made their decision based on the quality of the curriculum, while others commented specifically on the outstanding teachers or courses linked to their personal interests.
Quelle deutsch: Kooperation international, kooperation-international.de, 09.12.2016; Quelle englisch: The PIE-News, thepienews.com, 30.11.2016