Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

N u r t u r i n g Y o u n g W r i t e r s School children in Ho ng Kong are ordinarily required to han d i n about eight to 10 Chinese compositions each year. Prof. Ho Man-koon of th e Department of Curriculum and Instruction launched th e Young Writers Programme several years ago to encourage students to hand i n a piece every 10 days, wh i ch w i l l be read over and commented on by experienced teachers w i t h regard to the content and structure. Grammatical mistakes are pointed out and explained to the students on the web by other language specialists. The programme is expected to t r a i n s t u d e n ts to think at a higher level, to develop their o wn w r i t i n g style, a nd to learn f r om their peers. Last year, 12 young writers studying in Secondaries 4 and 5 who have been with the programme for two to four years published their own web-based magazine. They are now responsible for the writing, editing, and the layout, and take turns to be the chief editor. Internet support and other technical services ar e provided by The Chinese University. •Building an I T Educatio n City Since 1994, The Chinese University ha s been promoting Internet connectivity i n Ho ng Kong schools. After f ound i ng the Ho ng Kong School Net, wh i ch w o n the Ho ng Kong IT Achievements Awa rd (Education) i n 1998, it initiated the establishment of Hong Kong Cyber Campus, wh i ch is a p l a t f o rm for online exchange among Ho ng Kong's teachers and students. The Ho ng Kong Cyber Campus quickly became one of the most popular educational websites i n the territory. Director of the Ho ng Kong School Net and Ho ng Kon g Cyber Campus Prof. Wong Po-choi said The Chinese University has been a pioneer i n promoting the use of IT in education in Ho n g Kong. From the setting up of th e first Internet link between Ho ng Ko n g and the Nationa l Aeronautics and Space Adm i n i s t r a t i on (NASA) i n the US i n 1991, to getting all local schools connected via the Internet , promoting online teaching and learning, and b u i l d i ng a territory w i de cultural platform for teachers, students, and educationists, the University has demonstrated its competenc e and sense of mission i n app l y i n g IT to educational development i n H o ng Kong, and its c omm i tment to University-schools collaboration. A Resources Centre in Support of Education Reform 25