Score another victory for online education: the trend is officially sweeping the world.

China is the newest country to embrace virtual learning, good news for a country experiencing a long-time teacher shortage.
Xinhua reports:

A tool to give instructions to students from anywhere of the country or the world has quickly charmed Chinese educational institutions.

CERNET-Blackboard, a marketing agency of online educational technology Blackboard, reported Tuesday the number of Blackboard clients in China had grown to 96 at the end of 2005.

"We are excited about the achievement as it was made in only two years," said Jiang Aiping, CERNET-Blackboard marketing manager.

Current Blackboard clients in China are mainly colleges and universities, including the prestigious Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University and Nanjing University.

A few high schools, including the Minhang No. 2 School in Shanghai, have also become users of the technology.

"It saves the trouble of traveling around the country to give instructions," said a teacher with the Business School of Renmin University of China. "The effects of teaching are also excellent as the system makes real-time interaction possible."

He predicted a bright future for such technology. "China is in urgent need of quality teachers and teaching materials. Online education could fill the gap easily," he said.
It's always encouraging to see the power online education has to provide opportunities that may have never come to fruition otherwise.