By Rain Liu, Cooonet Corporation 31 Mar 2018
The Spring rain nourishes, awakens all things, bringing out vitality. On March 28, Chen Li (pseudonym), a junior of Sichuan Normal University, finished his last math tuition session for Xiaoguo (pseudonym), a junior high school student from Tianquan county, Sichuan province. This marked the end of Cooonet’s six-month trial period. Between October 2017 and March 2018, Cooonet enrolled five volunteer tutors to provide online, one-on-one, face-to-face tuition to ten students in need through the Cooonet service exchange platform. The students selected were from primary and secondary schools, and the tuition focused on English and Math — their most commonly under-performed subjects. The tuition was subsidised by Cooonet Charity Center (CCC). Thanks to consistent and dedicated tutoring, the students have not only improved academically, but have also built up their confidence and courage.
Cooonet, a global multipurpose online service exchange platform with an initial focus on education, is committed to capturing and redistributing quality educational resources to students across the globe, bringing greater opportunity for upward mobility to students in need. “Our mission is to make the world smaller, flatter, and happier” says Luffer Wong, founder and CEO, “Through education we can change our destiny. Providing quality education to every student is a task that brooks no delay. We endeavor to break geographical limits through the broadband network and to bring valuable educational resources to students all around the world. We believe that a good education should not be a privilege reserved solely for students of affluent families in cities — everyone deserves the right. Underprivileged students in remote areas should also be entitled to education, especially in this day and age. We encourage all warm-hearted people to devote their time or money to these students in need, and make the world a better place.”
The beta version of Cooonet platform was completed on September 2017. The six-month trial tutoring was carried out as a live field test to assess platform functionality, and to fix or upgrade the platform accordingly in a bid to ensure smooth operation and optimal user experience. Cooonet provided the online platform for lesson delivery and sponsored the entire tuition process, during which the Cooonet team monitored tuition sessions and collected feedback from both parties. In light of the trial period, a series of functions were upgraded, including registration, search, service negotiation, session room interaction, homework assignment features, teaching material libraries, charity, payment, assessment and evaluation, and the user administration system.
Connected through the Internet, Cooonet’s tutors and learners can interact in real-time, one-on-one, face-to-face sessions; solve learning difficulties through customized tuition; share teaching materials; assign and submit homework; and make mutual assessments and evaluations based on performance. Payment is automatically transferred to the tutor’s account upon the completion of each session. Additionally, Cooonet users can create their own personalized social space to represent and express themselves, and join Collaboration Rooms (Collaborooms) — a forum-inspired community for discussion, exploring mutual interests, cooperation, sharing, and advice. With practical and easy-to-use tutoring functions and multiple interaction channels, Cooonet has created a platform united by online learning and skill acquisition.
Chen Li says, “I have been practicing tutoring since my first year at university. In the past, I’ve had to rush to different homes around the city every weekend. It was a fulfilling job, but it left me physically exhausted. One day, a friend of mine introduced me to the Cooonet project. The Cooonet platform allows me to provide convenient and direct tuition to students who live far away from me, cutting down on my own travel time and costs. I can now spend more time and energy learning about the personalities and unique needs of my students, providing effective and personalized tuition so as to help them improve.”
During the six-month trial, Chen has not only helped the students raise their grades at school, but has also stimulated their enthusiasm and motivation to learn. Xiaoguo, one of Chen’s students, comes from a poor family. He says, “I am very honored to have met and been taught by Chen. He explained the lessons in detail and with great patience, showed me new ways to learn and study, and I have made a lot of progress with his help. He also shared his own stories with me, and inspired me to set my own goals. Chen has been a teacher, friend, and mentor. I will not drop out of school and do hard manual labor, a choice made by most students where I’m from. Instead, I will learn hard and create opportunities for myself. I am deeply grateful for the tuition sponsored by Cooonet, for giving me the opportunity to have a personal tutor, just like the students from affluent families.”
Cooonet believes in the power of education. Cooonet’s goal is to become the one-stop destination for online educational services by creating a comprehensive School in the Cloud. Cooonet will mobilize people from all walks of life, creating a network brought together by the ideals of sharing and learning. By encouraging volunteer work through online, one-on-one, face-to-face tutoring, Cooonet hopes to extend a helping hand to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring that everyone can enjoy quality education and have a chance at upward mobility.
Please join us at www.cooonet.com.
