OUHK Opens the Door of Knowledge to All -- Ten More Free Courseware Units Now Online

Ten additional new units of courseware, covering arts and history, business and management, education, social sciences, languages and information technology, have just been added to the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK)'s suite of Free Courseware on the Web.

(PRWEB) April 12, 2008 -- Ten additional new units of courseware, covering arts and history, business and management, education, social sciences, languages and information technology, have just been added to the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK)'s suite of Free Courseware on the Web.

The ten new units include "The Development of the Chinese Communist Party (1927-1937)" which introduces the establishment of the Communist party and explains Mao Zedong's rise to power. Apart from the resourceful learning materials such as text, maps and charts, an audio clip of a lecture is also included to help people better understand the course and the influence of the Long March. References and recommended book lists are also given as supplements.

People who look for more business knowledge can choose "Management and Developments in Management Thinking" and "The Mathematics of Finance". The former examines management theories and the role of the manager. The latter looks at the time value of money, including calculation of compound interest and present value, and the valuation of annuities.

In the past decade, the Hong Kong education system has undergone a number of reforms. "The Hong Kong Education System" covers issues such as the "3+3+4 policy" and medium of instruction. What do we mean when we say someone is 'guilty' or 'innocent'? "What is Crime?" demonstrates the multidisciplinary nature of criminology. The development of the Internet is far beyond everyone's imagination. "Streaming Technologies" explains two very different approaches to building a streaming application while "Basic Skills in Microsoft Word" introduces some basic skills of the most common computer word processing application.

Food culture has been an important component of the traditional Chinese culture. People who are interested in knowing more about the variety of snacks in different regions of China may choose "Chinese Snack" and learn Putonghua pronunciation and intonation at the same time. Other practical language units are "Interview Skills" and "Reading Skills".

In addition to a wide range of audio-visual and multimedia learning materials, a discussion forum has been set up in some of the units to allow users to share experiences and exchange ideas online with each other. Each subject is further augmented by interactive activities, quizzes, case studies and reference materials.

Apart from "The Development of Chinese Communist Party (1927-1937)", "Management and Developments in Management Thinking" and "Chinese Snack" which are written in Chinese, the other seven units are provided in English.

The OUHK's well-structured learning materials and tools can help people who wish to receive higher education get prepared and gain confidence in learning. They can also familiarize themselves with the relevant curricula and assess their own interests and capabilities through the online courses.

Interested parties can browse the courseware at http://freecourseware.ouhk.edu.hk. Those who would like to participate in the interactive activities can do so after a simple registration procedure. Each courseware unit takes 4 to 28 hours to finish but they do not lead to any credit nor award from the University.

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