A further 100 online courses will be
introduced to the city’s free open course program in the first half of
this year, Shanghai Education Commission said yesterday.
The Massive Online Open Class system, MOOC, currently provides local middle and high school students free and open access to a selection of 105 courses taught by well-known teachers from 32 schools.
Courses cover fields such as literature, social science and natural science, providing knowledge beyond syllabus demands.
The most popular courses currently, according to the website (http://gzmooc.edu.sh.cn) are art appreciation, introduction to philosophy and interpretation of Chinese classic works.
So far, 16,352 students have registered on the website.
The website was officially launched last March. All students at middle and high schools in Shanghai can register on the website, using their ID card numbers or student card numbers.
Courses are open 24 hours a day over weekends, and during summer and winter holidays.