THE STUDY AND PRACTICE OF WEB-BASED LEARNING ASSESSMENT IN OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION

Learning assessment is defined as assessment and evaluation of the learners' learning activities, process and outcomes. In recent years, as the Internet access is increasingly available, a majority of distance education providers in China have succeeded in delivering programs and support services through modern communications technology, in particular, the Internet. However, as far as the education assessment mode is concerned, the conventional paper-pencil test or endof-course assessment is still overwhelmingly employed for measuring learning outcomes. Therefore, the exploration of web-based learning assessment mode is not only the practical need for conducting open distance instruction and assessment reform at China Central Radio and Television University (CRTVUS), but also has become a hot research topic in the whole sphere of distance education. Under this circumstance, the Examination Center in CCRTVU began to show research interests in exploring web-based assessment mode. As a consequence, in 2005, the Center applied for and launched research project "Practice and research on web-based learning assessment in open and distance education", which is approved by Ministry of Education as a key project program of 2005. This article reports the important research contents of the project. This article first describes the core achievements of the project-namely, design and implementation of the web-based assessment system, principles in creating assessment scheme for the mode, and the mechanism. Then it moves on to report feedback from the pilot population about the application of the web-based learning assessment mode in the two semesters of year 2005. The article ends with the discussion of innovations the research has made.

Integration of the High-tech and Low-tech in Distance Teacher Training in China: An insight from the case of Jiangsu Radio and Television University

This paper reports the result and subsequent exploration of the pilot multi-media in-service teacher training programme with BA degree (non-honour) ( English Language Education) undertaken in the past three years (2001-2004) in China’s distance education. Through the integration of low-tech and high-tech in instructing and delivering courses, many interesting findings have been unexpectedly obtained. Both the trainers (the university lectures) and trainees (in-service school teachers) have experienced a great transformation in their language teaching and learning: a). the trainees (in-service school teachers) have become more independent learners since they raised their educational level; b). the trainers (university lecturers) have learned to adjust their roles in classroom teaching: to be more learner-centred and less teacher-centred; c). acommunicative task-based approach has been satisfactorily adopted and implanted into the process of learning and teaching; d). the trainees have not only upgraded their qualifications but also their teaching methodology. Based on the findings from the case, the authors offer suggestions for the future development of distance teacher training.

EXPLORING AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO WEB-BASED COURSE ASSESSMENT

Web-based course assessment is a new thing at China's Open University – China Radio and Television Universities (China RTVUs). This article reports an innovative pilot study in this research area. The experimental course for integrated web-based assessment in this study is Advanced English Writing, which is a compulsory course in the B.A. English programme at China Central Radio and Television University (CCRTVU). The study started in March 2005 and it is still in progress at the moment. This article first describes the webbased assessment design of the course and the implementation procedures. Then it moves on to report some initial feedback from the student participants on the pilot study. The article ends with a tentative plan for further actions based on the current study.

Web-Based Education at Conventional Universities in China: A Case Study

With advances in information and communication technology (ICT), Web-based education has become an increasingly popular instructional mode all over the world. In recent years, the Chinese government has authorized a total of 45 universities to offer Web-based educational programs. One is China Central Radio and Television University, the Open University in China. The other 44 universities are all leading conventional universities. This case study is intended to provide a descriptive analysis of Web-based educational practices at the 44 leading conventional universities, by focusing on the current state of Web-based education in China and its discernible trends for the future. It is hoped this analysis of Web-based educational efforts in China will provide some insight for other countries.