Taiwan LIFE

What it is

Taiwan LIFE (Taiwan Learning Initiative For Everyone, 臺灣全民學習平台) is a MOOC platform for lifelong learning in Taiwan, run by the National Open University (國立空中大學). Its About page says the National Open University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (國立陽明交通大學) and the IT company 神通資訊科技 signed a memorandum in November 2013 and launched the platform in June 2014, to build an environment that encourages lifelong learning for everyone. The roles are split: the National Open University runs the platform, drawing on its lifelong education experience and institutional systems; Yang Ming Chiao Tung University designed and built it; and the IT company provides learners with free cloud services through its education cloud.

The About page's headline claim is that Taiwan LIFE will be the only MOOC platform in the country offering a complete lifelong digital learning system ("全國唯一可以提供完整終身數位學習制度的MOOC平台"). The footer says it has run more than 900 online courses and has over 100,000 registered learners since its launch in 2014.

What learners get

The platform invites university lecturers to teach MOOCs, and the About page lists the support a learner gets: reading course materials online from a computer or mobile device at any time, taking self-tests, watching live lectures, and joining peer discussion groups about the coursework. The standard MOOC features also include downloading resources and peer assessment. Each course runs on fixed dates, and every listing shows its dates, its total hours and its length in weeks, with an enrollment deadline. The listings print that length as weeks (週次): 18 weeks for each AI ethics course, 10 weeks for the nutrition course and 6 weeks for the iPAS class.

Examples from the current listings show the range:

• beginner, intermediate and advanced Thai and Vietnamese, each level in two parts, from the National University of Kaohsiung (國立高雄大學), each 9 hours of study running from mid-September to early January;
• two AI ethics courses from the same university, each 9 hours spread from mid-September to mid-January;
• cross-domain AI applications (26 hours), building your own AI chatbot (14 hours), Japanese conversation through Japanese culture (18 hours) and basketball skills training (18 hours), all from Soochow University (東吳大學) and all running from mid-September to mid-December;
• a course on the origins and culture of tea and a playful Mandarin course from I-Shou University (義守大學), each 4 hours of study;
• nutrition science from Chang Jung Christian University (長榮大學), 8 hours spread from the end of September to the end of June;
• beginner Japanese for independent travel between Taiwan and Japan from National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (國立高雄科技大學);
• a 30-hour class, from late September to mid-November, preparing for the intermediate iPAS AI application planner competency test, listed as an extension education course.

The full course list runs to 160 pages.

The catalog

The site prints a count for every category: language and literature (500), basic sciences (461), medical (426), humanities and social sciences (335), management (316), information technology (290), arts and creative work (272), law and politics (149), psychology (125), engineering (88), on-demand courses (86), history and geography (45), mathematics (37), philosophy and religion (23), and one course taught entirely in English. Course tags separate MOOC courses (磨課師課程) from extension education courses (推廣教育課程), and language courses carry extra tags such as multilingual and culture.

Certificates, exams and credits

Learning on Taiwan LIFE and earning something formal are two steps. The About page says learners can pay an affordable fee (平價費用) to sit an identity-verified certification exam, and those who pass receive formal credits from the National Open University (空大的正式學分), recorded in the lifelong learning credit bank. The FAQ explains how to pay for and download a certificate and how to sign up for paid courses.

The home page adds a second route, in line with Ministry of Education policy: non-formal education credit classes (非正規教育學分班課程). Learners who pass can apply for a credit certificate recognized by the Ministry of Education (學分證明書) and then ask a college to count those credits under that institution's own rules. These classes run in batches, and a recent site notice refers to the third batch of non-formal credit classes for ROC year 115. The FAQ also sets out how to apply for a refund on the lifelong learning credit classes.

The longer-term aim is a lifelong learning degree (終身學習學位). The About page says that credits accumulated on the platform could lead to one once Taiwan's law on how colleges confer academic titles provides for lifelong learning degrees, so that part depends on future legislation. Among its six vision statements, the platform names becoming the lifelong learning bank most open to all citizens ("最具全民性的終身學習銀行").

Exams in person

Certification exams are held in person. The National Open University has 13 learning guidance centers and 40 face-to-face teaching points across Taiwan, and each center has a computer lab, audiovisual classrooms, a library and a counseling room. It holds synchronized in-person exams five times a year in different places, run to the same specification as national exams. The About page also promises that, however many learners a MOOC has, an in-person certification exam can be held for any course at several locations around the country within 6 months of the course ending.

For universities and organizations

Taiwan LIFE also works as a hosting platform. The home page invites universities and public and private organizations to put their teaching material on it and offers to build open or closed, free or paid courses to each one's needs, a made-to-order online classroom ("量身打造專屬線上教室").

Teachers get a second benefit. Because Yang Ming Chiao Tung University also built the ewant platform (育網), a course uploaded to one platform can be shown on both, so students of both take it together. The About page describes the division of labor: Taiwan LIFE ties domestic learners' results to certification exams, the credit bank and lifelong learning degrees, while ewant introduces Taiwan's courses and universities to Chinese-speaking learners worldwide.

Languages and access

The interface can be switched between Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese, though only one course is listed as taught entirely in English. The site recommends a screen resolution of 1280 by 1024 or higher and supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Taking a course requires registration, and the FAQ covers choosing courses, joining after a course has started, sign-up, password recovery and missing notification e-mails. One FAQ topic addresses whether differences in technical terms between courses from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait affect learning.

Who it suits

Taiwan LIFE suits adults in Taiwan who want short, structured courses from Taiwanese universities and a route to formal credits: a learner can take a course and then pay for the certification exam if credits matter. Language learners get a structured ladder in Thai and Vietnamese, plus Japanese for travel and conversation. Learners within reach of a National Open University center can sit exams locally, and universities and public agencies can host their own open or closed courses.

It suits less well learners who need English instruction, since only one course is taught entirely in English, and anyone who wants a recognized qualification straight away: credits come through paid, in-person exams, and the lifelong learning degree still waits on a change in the law.