Chulalongkornhascontinuouslydevelopedaplatformforonlinelearningtoaidwiththeconcept“lifelonglearning”andpreparingThaistoaccessknowledgeanywherewithoutthenecessitytoactuallybeinsidetheuniversity.ItcanbesaidthatChulalongkornutilizethisplatformtoalleviatethedisparityineducation,allowingalltoaccesshighereducationequally.TheplatformisprovidedwithmanycoursesprovidedbymanychulastartupcompaniesandhasbeenreceivedmanyacknowledgementsfromPublicresources(lifelonglearning):Provideaccesstoeducationalresourcesforthosenotstudyingattheuniversity–e.g.computers,library,onlinecourses,andaccesstolectures.
Overahundredyearsago,a“gardenofknowledge”wascultivatedonaplotoflandbeneaththeraintreesincentralBangkok.Eachyearsincethen,afewhundredyoungstudentsareselectedtosavorthefruitsofknowledgethatareabundantinthisgardencalledChulalongkornUniversity.
Today,however,withmoderntechnology,theuniversityispursuingabroaderambitionbasedontheconcept“Everyonecanlearn”.Thegardenofknowledgehasnowexpandedbeyondthecampusboundariestoenrichthelivesofanyonewhoaspirestogrowanddevelop.
Theneweducationalplatform,ChulaMOOC(MassiveOpenOnlineCourse),deliverseducationviainternetconnectionstoeverycornerofthecountry.
“Ourwealthofknowledgeandhumanassetsshouldbeaccessiblenotonlybyourenrolledstudents,butalsobythepublicatlarge,”saysAssoc.Prof.Dr.NaebboonHooncharoen,AssistanttothePresidentforAcademicAffairsatChulalongkornUniversity.
Nowenteringitsthirdyear,ChulaMOOCoffersonlinecoursestoallstudentsregardlessofage,race,educationalbackgroundorlocation.Mostsignificantly,thefree-of-chargecoursesreflecttheuniversity’sdeterminationtoconnectwiththosewholackthefundsfortuitionfees.
SinceitbeganinAugust2017,ChulaMOOChasdesigned30regularcourses.Thecurrentlineupincludescontentrelatingtodigitalskills,IT,health,artandself-development.Astheuniversity’seducationalphilosophystressesinclusiveness,therearealsoonlineThailanguagecoursesforanyoneofanynationality.
“ChulalongkornUniversityisthefirstThaiuniversitytointroduceitsownMOOCtothepublic,”addsAssoc.Prof.Dr.Naebboon.“Butsoonerorlater,otherThaiuniversitieswilloffertheirindividualMOOCplatforms.”
BeforedevelopingitsownMOOCplatform,ChulalongkornUniversityhadcooperatedwithThaiCyberU,whichprovidedaccesstoaninternationalMOOCplatformforjointonlinecourses.
Eventually,theFacultyofEngineeringatChulalongkornUniversitydevelopeditsownMOOCplatformcalledCourseville,enablingtheuniversitytodesignitsowncoursestofittheneedsofacademiaandlocalstudentsalike.
Unsurprisingly,thepublicresponsetoChula’sfreeonlinecourseshasbeenoverwhelming.Whenregistrationsforenrollmentwereopened,themaximumintakeof2,000wasfilledwithinafewdays.
AccordingtoAssocProfNaebboon,themostsought-aftercoursesareMarketinginthe21stCentury,andInfographics:What&How“Sinceallofthesepopularcourseswouldbefullwithinthreedays,”hesays,“wehavereceivedalotofcomplaintsfromthosewhowereunabletoentertheirnamessoonenough.”
Oneyoungknowledgeenthusiast,PanyathipHattakanond,isamongtheluckyfewwhowasabletoregisterintime.ShehasenrolledincoursesinITSecurityandInternationalOnlineMarketing.
“Normally,Iexploreformoreknowledgebymyselfthroughinternetsearches,”shesays.“ButtheamountofinformationavailablefromthewebissooverwhelmingthatIfinditdifficulttochoosewhattolearn.
“WithMOOCcourses,theknowledgeoverloadhasbeenscreenedandthecontentdesignedtosuitourneeds.”
Alsoafull-timestudentinChulalongkornUniversity’sFacultyofCommunicationArts,MsPanyathipsaysshefoundtheMOOCcourseshetookinparallelwithherclassesatChulaquiteappropriateintermsofitscontentandthelengthofthecourse.“Thevideoisengagingandthecertificatewillprovevaluableinmyresume,”shesayswithabroadsmile.
Witheightyearsofexperienceinconductingonlinecourses,theprovidersofChulaMOOClearnedthroughtrialanderroraboutwhatacademiccontentwouldmeetthepublic’sneeds,andgainedmoreinsightsintothelearningbehaviorofonlinestudents.Oncetheuniversity’sownMOOCplatformwaslaunched,theywereabletobettertailorthecoursestofulfillpublicexpectations.
With25%ofitsonlinestudentshavingpassedandearnedcertificates,ChulaMOOCisconsideredsuccessful.Statisticsshowthatforonlinecoursesingeneral,anaverageof10%ofthosewhoregistercompletethecoursesandobtaincertificates.
“Thismeansthatpeoplewhoenrollinourcourseshavetakentheireducationseriously,”AssocProfNaebboonsaysproudly.
Inlinewithpublicdemand,ChulaMOOCwilleventuallydevelopmorecoursesonhumanresourcesdevelopmentinorganizations,especiallyskilldevelopment.Andinthenearfuture,theplatformwillbeopenedtopublicparticipation,withinterestedindividualsallowedtodevelopcontentofinterestintoonlinecourses.
Givensuchbenefits,theimpactexpandsfurtherbeyondthecommunity.MOOCwillallowtheconceptoflearninganytime,anywhere.Itisalsoapushingfactorthatallowsnewwaysofteachingandprovidingawarenesstosolvesocialissues.Asaresult,therearemorethan300,000activeusersandover1millionregistrationwithin4yearsandiscontinuouslyincreasing.
CUNeuronisanonlineteachingsupportsystemforgeneraleducationandCUVIPwithqualitythatcoversthetargetgroupincludingstudents,personnels,alumnus,highschoolstudents,andthepublic,whichallowsthemtolearnandselfimproveviadifferentmeansoflearninganywhereandanytime.
Thiscourseisopentothepublicincludingthosewhograduatedorstudyingatanyeducationallevelswhowishestolearn.
TherearevariousonlinecoursesavailableunderCUNeuronincludinglifeskillsoraccordinglytosyllabus.Thereareoptionsascreditcollectionandinformationwarehouse.Thecoursesareupdatedfrequently.
Theobjectiveforthisprojectistoprovideeducationandcreationofgraduateswhichprovidesqualitycitizensforlifelonglearningeitherforadegreeorwithoutadegree.
ThelearningstyleisthatlearnersareapplythelearningresultsandregisteraslearningunitsunderGenEd“DigitalKnowledge”accordinglytotheregulations.
BY
GeneralEducationCenter(GenEd),ChulalongkornUniversityLearningInnovationCenter(LIC),ChulalongkornUniversityOfficeofAcademicAffairs,ChulalongkornUniversity
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NationalBroadcastingandTelecommunicationCommission(NBTC)andChulalongkornUniversityofficiallyinitiatedacollaborativetwo-yearoperationcalled5GIT/IOTInnovationCenteroncampustostudyanddeveloptheusecaseof5GtechnologytomaterializeVRclassrooms.
Today’sstudentsneedtobroadentheirhorizonsandadoptuniversalvalues,saysadistinguishededucator