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BBC Article - source |
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An online education initiative between the UK and China is being launched – with plans to provide “e-learning” for 20 million Chinese students.The deal will see the UK’s LP+ group building a system for delivering online lessons in China. The firm’s chief executive, Mehool Sanghrajka, says it is a sign of the rapid globalisation of education and training. The education market is “no longer a cottage industry”, he says. The deal, signed at the Department for Children, Schools and Families on Monday, will see a partnership between the UK group and the Chinese media company, Sun Media. The online teaching materials will be aimed at pupils in 20 major Chinese cities. Globalisation LP+ will provide an online learning system for secondary school lessons in the Chinese language – with lessons accessible through an internet browser.
The content, across a range of subjects, will be provided by the Chinese partners – with the first students using the materials in spring 2008. They will draw on the educational technology experience of Shireland Language College, in the west Midlands – with teachers from the college travelling to Beijing later this year to support Chinese schools. Education and training are increasingly being seen as an important export market – with a report last week claiming that it was earning more for the UK economy than financial services or the car industry. The report from the British Council claimed that education exports were worth £28bn, an increase of 39% in two years. China, with its growing demand for an educated workforce, is seen as a key market. Universities are already offering UK degree courses to Chinese students – including the University of Nottingham setting up a campus in Ningbo. An independent school, Dulwich College, has also opened a branch in China, with a school in Shanghai. And this latest project will see the UK’s experience of educational technology being introduced to Chinese secondary school pupils. “As a nation we recognise the growing importance of the Chinese economy and we need to start working and collaborating with counterparts there,” said Mr Sanghrajka. “Globalisation is now a fact in education,” said Mr Sanghrajka. And he says this will increasingly mean that best practice in one country will be applied elsewhere. “We are looking at a truly global education community connected in ways never before imagined,” said Doug Brown, head of the technology futures unit at the Department for Children Schools and Families. |
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UK and China sign e-learning deal September 24, 2007
Hopes and Fears September 18, 2007
In the last meeting we went through some of our hopes and fears.
I’ll start with the negative first;
Some FEARS (in no specific order)
Pollution
Food
Flying
Mosquitoes
Language barriers
Being home sick
Communication home
Organisational arrangments
Some HOPES (in no specific order)
Seeing the sights
Sharing the experiences
Making new friends abroad
The shops
Learning new things
Making meaningful connections
A safe return
In appropriate Zen Buddhist style, Amanda sagely said that hopefully everyone’s fears should be able to be managed or contained, (except the Mosquitoes if there are any). If I am sat next to Amanda on the plane, I shall remind her of her very wise words.
Where are we so far? September 17, 2007
So to re-cap what we have done so far….(in a soap opera style!)
Episode one:
Behind the scenes Amanda and Lara plotted to organise the trip. They head-hunted the young people to go on the trip based on their previous amazing achievments in various creative projects. They then head-hunted some lucky “responsible” adults to accompany them on the trip based on our AMAZING involvement in previous projects. (or so I would like to think, being one of those “responsible adults” myself!)
Episode Two:
We had a meeting with the young people and their parents to discuss “what the trip was all about”. The young people very professionaly introduced themselves and explained why they thought they had been picked to go on the trip. (they were impressively all correct!) The responsible adults introduced themselves and ate all the biscuits. All the parents looked at their diaries with a mixture of fearful trepidation and exciting anticipation. Everybody was happy. After the meeting, Amanda and Lara went behind the scenes and plotted some more.
Episode Three:
The responsible adults met for an informal meeting to discuss the trip. Lara announced she had been actually plotting much more than we had orginally planned, and sadly wouldn’t be able to go on the trip due to her GREAT NEWS.
In a swift move reminiciant of the revolving door of the Sugababes line-up, Lovely Lara stepped down and Lovely Nic stepped in. Welcome Nic!
Episode Four:
Group meeting at the Arnolfini gallery. The first group meeting without the parents. We were all there, and the young people got to meet Nic and Bruce for the first time. Everyone (including the adults) split into pairs and discussed their fears, hopes and expectations, etc, which we all filmed on video cameras and audio recorders. Amanda showed some of the artefacts she brought back from her last trip, and screened some video work from some Guangzhou artists. Everyone in the group is lovely and I am lucky to be travelling with them. Will be a great trip.
It was in this meeting that I asked for a name for the project, to allow me to set up the blog. Luke came up with the suggestion ”Project C”. I liked that, and tried to adapt it to become “Project See”, as in looking. (See what I did there!) But after some reflection I thought the word ‘project’ didn’t feel quite right, so I softend the sound of it to become ”Plan C” instead. It still means the same thing. Is that ok? (I did confer with Amanda first!) Luke, please forgive me! ;-) Thanks for the inspiration.
Setting up the blog September 17, 2007
The plan is for this blog to reflect the plans, hopes, fears and experiences of a group of 5 young people and 4 adults visiting Guangzhou, China for a research trip in October 2007, from Bristol, UK.
We hope you enjoy reading the stuff we write on the physical and emotional journeys we will be taking. Only one of us (one of the adults) has been to China before. A couple of the young people have never been on a plane before. We are all excited and nervous and looking forward to the new experiences ahead.
As a group we don’t really know each other that well so part of our planning will be getting to know one another.
We hope you enjoy the blog.
Welcome to the Plan C blog! September 17, 2007
There will be something interesting here soon, I promise.
