Innovative Approaches to the Challenges of e-Learning in Agriculture

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Innovative Approaches to the Challenges of
e-Learning in Agriculture
APAN Meeting, Fukuoka, Japan, 22-24 January 2003

• ZuoRui Shen
• The IPMist Lab
• China Agricultural University
• Tel [phone],
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail ipmist_at_cau.edu.cn
• or zrshen_at_public.bta.net.cn
• URL http//www.ipmist.org (En)

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1. Introduction

• Distance Learning in Agriculture Chinese
  Strategy for Rural Education
• APAN Shanghai Meeting, August 26-28, 2002

• a four-vehicle system of e-learning in
  agriculture were forming in China.

CAST Central Agricul. Broadcast
Televion Schools
EDUC higher education Institutions
SORG social organzns
PCOM private corps
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e-Learning
CAST
APAN
PCOM
EDUC
APRTC
SORG
Cross-organizational and international
cooperation (COINCO) to forge innovative
approaches to the challenge of e-learning market
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Ulumuqi
Qingdao
Lahsa
The COINCO approach to e-learning should create
new paradigms to promote the transfer of
agriculture and rural society from planned
economy to marketing economy.
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• Now Chinas governments, from the central to
  locals, are turning their role from direct
  intervention in economic activities with a
  planning brain to guiding macro-economy with a
  brain to learn the market regulations.

• They are responsible for the Internet
  infrastructure development and management to
  facilitate the market leverage. And technical and
  administrative policy will be ensured in
  utilizing the Internet infrastructure and
  management systems.

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2. Innovation in Technologies

• The first challenge would be under-profitability
  for the e-learning providers, because farmers or
  rural people for whom the e-learning aims to
  serve almost belong to population of low income
  or even in poverty.

• But, the e-learning should be justified as a
  profitable tool for farmers, just like what was
  showed by our crop protection getting digital
  project or many projects reported by other
  authors.

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• The second challenge is under-equipped
  infrastructure for Internet applications in vast
  areas of rural communities.

My native place, a remote mountainous, small
villege waiting for three-network combined IT
service
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sitehttp//www.ipmist.org
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• The third challenge results from complexity and
  diversity of agricultural knowledge, including
  crop varieties, farming techniques, pest and
  nutrition management, naturally dependent on
  geographical, pedological, meteorological,
  ecological, environmental, and seasonal factors,
  also socially dependent on political, cultural,
  and anthropological factors.

• So, distributed databases and knowledge
  management systems should be developed
  intensively.

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Remote diagnosis project
Cyber-Insect-Musium project
Automatic identification
Yes
successful?
No
Assisted identification
User
Yes
successful?
No
New knowledge and information
On-line group diagnosis
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3. Innovation in Organizations

• Connected to Internet at www.crdenet.net.cn, CABT
  is a well-organized network of five levels, from
  central and provincial schools to regional,
  county and rural district schools.

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• It has more than 3.5 million of students enrolled
  in agricultural disciplines at meddle level, and
  many of them benefit from training courses and
  are conferred only with certificates to show
  their skills useful for agricultural practice.

• In fact, CABT already is a member of the
  International Council of Opening and Distance
  Education (ICODE).

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• Now it is right time to establish a
  cross-organizational and international
  cooperation between CABT, EDUC, SORG, PCOM, and
  APAN.

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• We are thinking about how APAN-demonstrated
  technologies and APAN-coherent organizations
  should contribute to this international
  cooperation.

• APAN/NR-JIRCAS
• APAN/NR-ED

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• Beijing-
• FarmKnow
• IDRC PAN
• ICT Grants
• Programme

http//www.farmknow.com

• InfoCounty, Qingdao, Shangdong
• all-round ICT service for SARD

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sitehttp//www.ipmist.org
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Thank you!
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