A seminar on Higher-Education Reform in the Internet Age was held at Sias International University in the lecture hall of the Library on November 9. The seminar was sponsored by the Central Plains Online Course Alliance, and co-sponsored by the Chaoxing Group and Sias International University. The aim is to implement the goals from the National Education Conference and the National Undergraduate Education Conference and promote the integration of modern information technology and education to enhance the classroom experience.
The chief guests at the Seminar included the Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education at the Henan Department of Education, and former Principal of Fudan University, Yue Desheng; Director of the Teacher's Development Center, Prof. Lu Fang; Director of the Academic Affairs Department of Zhengzhou University, Prof. Wang Zhongyong; General Manager of the Beijing Chaoxing Group, Que Chao; Chairman of the Central Plains Online Course Alliance, and Director of the Dean's Office at the Luoyang Institute of Science & Technology, Feng Chao; Director of the Academic Affairs Department at the Nanyang Institute of Technology, Prof. Gao Youtang; Professor at the Luoyang Institute of Science & Technology, Li Meng; and Vice President of the Chaoxing Group's Research Institute, Qian Huibo. The Sias leadership was represented by the President, Chen Sikun, Executive President, Wang Jialin, and Assistant Principal, Guo Xuede. Almost 800 teachers, professors, and educators from over 40 universities and institutions took part in the seminar.
Sias President, Chen Sikun, welcomed the guests and thanked those involved in the organization of the seminar. He said that they aimed to provide a platform for the integration of the internet and higher education for the networking and digitalization of education in institutions. He said that on the occasion of Sias' 20th anniversary, the university hoped to promote reforms in education through this seminar. He also invited the guests to join Sias in the 20th anniversary celebrations in May, 2019.
TheDeputy Director of the Department of Higher Education at the Henan Department of Education, Yue Desheng, delivered a speech and pointed out that the action plans put forward at the National Education Conference, to be reached by 2022, were development goals that covered all school-age students as well as the introduction of digital campuses to enhance the student-teacher relationship. He encouraged those present to explore new modes of governance in universities in the information age. Drawing from his work experience, he proposed the improvement of classroom teaching, the use of information technology in education, and the growth of information and research based academia.
The General Manager of the Beijing Chaoxing Group, Que Chao, said that changes in classroom teaching were imperative in an era of innovation and technological breakthroughs. He added that one must link technology, big data and teaching resources to transform ordinary classrooms to intelligent classrooms.
Later, Que Chao and Chen Sikun unveiled the "Chaoxing Classroom Innovation Center", a cooperative effort to promote change in classrooms and work towards improving the level of training.
Prof. Lu Fang delivered a lecture on how education informatization promotes the improvement of higher education. He spoke about the new requirements of higher education institutions, and the goals put forward by the National Education Conference. He provided a detailed analysis of the problems faced by traditional higher education institutions from four different perspectives - those of the school, the classroom, the teacher, and the student. He then provided solutions for these problems through the promotion of teaching reform and educational informatization.
The Director of the Academic Affairs Department of Zhengzhou University, Prof. Wang Zhongyong, spoke about the characteristics of a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), virtual reality, and mixed reality. He then spoke about the changes brought to education in the "Intelligent Age". He pointed out that classrooms should be open, individualized, fair, sustainable, and multi-faceted, to help students with their learning in accordance with their aptitude.
There were also lectures by Prof. Gao Youtang, Qian Huibo, and Prof. Li Meng, on varied topics such as network teaching platforms, the setting-up and application of MOOCs, creating meaningful learning experiences for students, and the evaluation of goal oriented classrooms.
At the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, it was postulated that the modernization of education was necessary to provide China with the tools for development and internationalized education that would lead to a strong and educated society. The nurturing of talent based on ability, informatization of education, educational reform, and modernization, were crucial for the credibility of the educational system.
