A group of local universities formed an alliance Wednesday to provide the public with free online access to some of their formal course materials in the hope that more people will make use of the country's higher education resources.
多間本地大學週三組成聯盟，提供大眾上網免費觀看他們的正式課程教材，希望讓更多人有機會利用國家的高等教育資源。
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Taiwan OpenCourseWare Consortium (TOCWC), Wu Chung-yu, president of the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), said the joint effort will help break space and time barriers to knowledge exchange and communication.
在台灣開放式課程聯盟的成立大會上，交通大學校長吳重雨表示，這項聯合計畫將有助於穿越時間和空間上的障礙，促進知識的傳遞交流。
It will also create favorable conditions for lifelong learning as well as helping self-educators in their pursuit of learning, he went on.
他還說，這也將為終生學習創造有利的環境，幫助自學者繼續學習。
According to Pai Chi-kaung, director-general of NCTU's Open Education Office, as most OCW programs available online are in foreign languages, the setup of Taiwan's own web portal will enrich online Chinese educational resources.
根據交大開放教育推動中心主任白啟光表示，大部分開放課程系統的內容都是外語，建立台灣自己的網站將讓中文的教育資源更加豐富。
Students in China curious about how university classes are taught in Taiwan can also gain an understanding via the online materials, she added.
白主任表示，想知道台灣大學課程如何教授的中國學生，也可以透過線上教材獲得更近一步的了解。
Pai said that her school currently offers over 40 online courses in calculus, physics and chemistry, with outlines, handouts, assignments and exams for the courses all available on the web site, "just like those you would get if you attended classes in person." She also noted that video clips are available for some of the courses.
白主任指出，交大目前提供四十種線上課程，範圍包含微積分、物理、化學等，網站可以看到課程的大綱、講義、作業、測驗，就像你親自去上學時會拿到的資料。有些課程還提供影片供觀賞。
The other 15 universities that have joined the association, she continued, are expected to offer a minimum of 10 courses over a two-year period from next semester in their own competitive fields.
聯盟中另外十五所大學，從下學期開始，預計在兩年的時間內，至少提供各校專攻領域的十種課程。
Noting that the new service does not require registration, Pai added that as a general rule, no degrees or certifications are awarded and the courses are purely for people who are interested in the subjects and would like to educate themselves.
白主任針對通用規則補充說道，由於這項新服務不需要註冊，因此也不會頒發任何學位或證書，線上課程純粹是服務那些對相關學科感興趣、想自我充實的人。
However, she said NCTU has made it an exception that if high school graduates who apply to enter the school can pass the September exam on the subject they have been self-learning when their freshman semester begins, they will be eligible to apply for advanced credit standing.
不過，也有例外的情形，假設申請進入交大的高中畢業生，在九月大一新學期開始時，能通過自學課程的考試，就有資格申請扺免學分。
The OCW scheme, now viewed by more than 1 million visitors per month, was launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States in 2002, according to Wu.
根據吳重雨校長表示，美國麻省理工學院二○○二年開辦開放式課程計畫，現在每個月有超過一百萬人次上網瀏覽。
According to MIT statistics, as of the end of 2007, the Web site hit-rate of its database in Asia reached 21 percent, next only to 41 percent by North American users.
根據麻省理工學院的統計數據，截至二○○七年，網站資料的點閱率分配第一名是北美地區的使用者，達41%，第二名則為亞洲地區的使用者，佔21%。
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