Open University of Hong Kong makes online teaching materials freely available

Apps, videos and chatrooms are among the tools students now find themselves using in class. But with all the buzz about the growing trend of e-learning in Hong Kong, is education really just a click away?

Technology guru Dr Yuen Kin-sun has reservations about e-learning. He thinks more must be done to help schools reap the full benefits of learning online. As director of the Open University of Hong Kong's educational technology and publishing unit, he strives to make quality learning materials freely available online.

The Education Bureau launched the E-textbooks Market Development Scheme in 2012 to provide a subsidy to non-profit-making organisations to develop e-textbooks for schools that are cheaper than printed textbooks.

Since then, Yuen and his team have been developing e-textbooks as desirable alternatives to printed textbooks. The scheme was initiated to curb rising textbook prices, but it also set the stage for the implementation of e-learning.

"In many cases, it is not about each student having his own device and working on his own. If we want e-learning to permeate every part of a student's work, I think the core content has to be available. We are talking about materials that teachers can modify to cater to students' needs, and make their own," Yuen says.

The Open University team has developed a series of English textbooks for primary and secondary students. Rather than gathering information from around the internet, Yuen believes it's essential to have a set of core learning materials.