Life-long learning online is a growing trend

Dai Yuqiang (left), a Chinese musician teaches a student in an offline class through the platform of MOOC on March 24, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

goukr.com, an online community filled with diverse interest and curiosity for science, offers stories for all laymen about science and technology by using understandable but professional wording in a light tone.

zhihu.com is an online community where people pose their questions and other users with related knowledge give answers. The community has won millions of fans for its comprehensive questions and answers.

Up to December last year, online education users had reached 110 million in China, making up 16 percent of total internet users, according to a report released by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). About 53 million people study their online course by using their mobile phones, 8.6 percent of the total cellphone users in China.

According to CNNIC, online education in China is still at the early stage, requiring a long time for further development.

Online education already shows its potential to help people have multiple ways of learning for life and the trend is going to expand with the help of the development of technology.

Ding Lei, CEO of news portal NetEase Inc, which owns open course videos on MOOC, said: "We didn't do it for money. As the education resources are not equal around the world, like in east and west, cities and rural areas, we wish the Internet could break down the barriers and everyone can receive education equally".