20 courses provided by 18 top Chinese universities went online in November, 2011. This is China’s latest attempt to disseminate teaching resources within the nation and promote Chinese culture globally. They are available through the websites of NetEase and China Network Television, as well as icourse.edu.cn, for free.
The Chinese Ministry of Education comments that these open courses can enable university students across the country to have access to lectures given by top scholars. They also promote the idea of open education by using the internet, and they can be shared by the public for free.
According to the Ministry, up to 1,000 online open courses will be offered by the end of 2015, and 100 will be available by the end of 2011. Some of the courses will be translated into English and promoted across the rest of the world.
