The appearance of Cyber University from 2001

Cyber University in Korea is one of the main signs of internet Chinese education. The government recognized 9 internet universities which can authorize degrees in 2001. From the initial recruiting, other 7 universities were established as fresh blossom in spring. In present, there are 16 cyber universities and six of those have Chinese related programs. Open Cyber University (OCU) and Korean DIGITAL University (KDU) have established specialized Chinese. Seoul DIGITAL University (SDU), Seoul Cyber University (SCU), Korean Cyber University and Kyunghee Cyber University(KCU) established Chinese department. Moreover, Korean Cyber University of International Studies is also preparing for recruiting students next year. Thus, the Cyber Chinese education is encountering a brand new development and opportunity.     

The parts of usage system and educational programs are not on-line system, but Cyber University still provides high quality educational opportunity for every social level. Since the practice and utility are emphasized, the practical Chinese learning is the majority in all of the Chinese subjects. Thus, it has appeared and utilized on all levels of cyber university, especially OCU and KDU, which have Chinese specific courses and pay more attention on language learning than other non-cyber university.     

Take OCU as an example of cyber university educational programs, the credits requirements for bachelor’s degree is 140 credits including 60 specialized credits. 90 credits for Chinese learning: First year: Basic Chinese I and II, Introduction of Chinese Characters, Introduction of Chinese Culture, Practical Chinese, Basic Chinese conversation; Second year: Intermediate Chinese I and II, Practical Simplified Chinese, Tourism and interoperate Chinese I and II, Modern Chinese Literature and thoughts; The third and forth years: Advanced Chinese I and II, Current Events in Chinese, HSK Chinese III, Business Chinese Conversation, Chinese in Films, Practical Chinese Translation I and II, Applied Chinese, Internet Chinese, Journal Chinese Listening, Advanced Chinese lexical items practices, Business Trading Chinese Practice, Introduction Chinese History. We can find from the program structure that this program focus more on language practice than other general university. The university attempts to help students to achieve at least 7^th level of HSK before graduation and exchange the experiences with Chinese universities.        

When we enter the on-line “classroom”, there are all rooms for the requirements of learning, such as introduction of professors, courses outlines, example materials, materials, notifications, bulletins, FAQ, issues, puzzles, exams, discussion, attendance records, grades, information for students, teaching assistants management, and questionnaires. The major part is the materials uploaded weekly, which belongs to CONTENT and other sections belong to LMS. It can help students and teachers to communicate with each other in simpler way. What all cyber universities concern are to enhance the quality of CONTENT, to meet students’ requirements, and to draw students’ interests. Most of non-cyber universities in Korea also implement on-line learning on part of their programs, but it did not create expected results at present.  

Ministry of Education encourages general universities to utilize multi-media in the classroom. In order to declare the fair educational opportunity expansion, National Education Innovation Commission is attempting to popularize the high quality programs from universities with internet, but the approaches remains unsure with some negative problems to be solved and studied in multi-aspects. With the requirements of the whole educational policy and social trends, as well as more concern on cyber education, the role of cyber universities will become more and more important.  

Websites of cyber universities about Chinese courses:
Open Cyber University (OCU)http://www.ocu.ac.kr
Korean DIGITAL University (KDU)http://www.koreadu.ac.kr/
Korean Cyber University (KCU)http://www.kcu.ac/
Seoul DIGITAL University (SDU)http://www.sdu.ac.kr
Seoul Cyber University (SCU)http://www.iscu.ac.kr/
Kyunghee Cyber University (KHCU)http://www.khcu.ac.kr/