Modern distance education project for the rural schools of China: recent development and problems

Abstract The Modern Distance Education Project for the Rural Schools (MDEPRS) of China has a wider scope and serves a larger population than any other informational project in the world. It likely will result in a far-reaching informational revolution for basic education in China. Here, we introduce three main innovative models of material delivery, the recent developments of MDEPRS, and the problems associated with this project. We then fully discuss strategies for optimizing this project, such as establishing reasonable goals and directions, restructuring its major components, improving the delivery models and digital contents, sustaining its development, conducting better financial audit and project evaluation, and increasing community participation and financial investment.