University courses are no longer a mere dream for secondary school students.
Twenty outstanding students from two secondary schools are taking an on-line course run by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (UST). The credits earned can be counted towards their degrees if they enter university.
Coming from Hong Kong and Macau Lutheran Church Queen Maud Secondary School and Wah Yan College Hong Kong, they are the first batch of secondary students to take an on-line course offered by a local university. Eight Secondary Six and two Secondary Five students from Queen Maud Secondary School in Tseung Kwan O were recommended to attend a 14-week elementary computer science course via the Internet.
'It is the first such course in Hong Kong and I really want to know how it works,' Mak Ka-ming, a Secondary Six arts student at the school, said.
The course, which began on September 8, requires students to take three lessons in their own school every week and attend a tutorial at UST.
The students listen to pre-recorded lectures by Professor Pong Ding-chuen of the university's Computer Science Department in their own school's computer room. They can raise written questions with Professor Pong via Net discussions and ICQ.
'Net meetings offer more opportunities for raising questions than the traditional mode of teaching. We are more inclined to ask questions through the Internet,' Wong Yi-yuk, a Secondary Six science student at Queen Maud, said.