WuHong,ChiefEducationOfficeratHujiang
TheInternetmakeshigh-qualityeducationarealityinsmallruralschools
ByGeLijun
StudentsinChengzhuangPrimarySchoolhavetheirfirstartclassthroughtheInternetEverymorning,fifth-gradeschoolgirlLiuLugoestoschoolwithasmileonherface.ButtodaylittleLiuandherclassmatesareevenmoreexcited,astheyarelookingforwardtotheirfavoritesubject:artclass.Theywillbetaughtforthefirsttimehowtouseclaytocreatetheirownartworks.Liuhaschosentomakeaclaybabycrocodile.
LiuisastudentatChengzhuangPrimarySchool,aschoolsufferingfromaseverelackofresources.LocatedinLankaoCountyincentralChina’sHenanProvince,theschoolhasatotalof150students,butonlynineteachers.Butthankstoonlineeducation,studentsnowhavethechancetoattendartclassesdespitethelackoffundsandteachingstaff.
InMay,LiuandherclassmatesstartedtakingcreativedesignclassesgivenbyShanghai-basedteacherGongFei,oftheShanghaiChagallArtEducation.ThiswasmadepossiblebyCCtalk,anonlineliveteachingsoftwareproducedbyHujiang,oneofChina’smajoronlineeducationcompanies.“Thecreativityandimaginationshowedbythestudentsreallysurprisedme.Afterall,theyhadnevertakenartclassesbefore,”GongtoldChinaCentralTelevision.
Inthepast,duetothefewnumberofteachers,studentsinChengzhuangPrimarySchoolwereonlyabletoattendmathandChineseclasses.However,CCtalkhasopenedawiderangeofnewsubjectstostudents,suchasEnglish,music,scienceandarts.Thescreenwhichhangsinfrontoftheblackboardhasenrichedstudents’knowledgeandexpandedtheirhorizonsbyconnectingthemwithteachersnationwide,andevenworldwide.
Chengzhuang’ssuccesswithonlineeducationisonlybutoneexampleofHujiang’sHujiaProject,whichwaslaunchedin2015withthepurposeofupdatingtraditionaleducationalmethodswithnewtechnologies.Byenablingthesharingofresources,theprojectmakesitpossibleforstudentsinruralschoolstoenjoyhigh-qualityeducationinaneasier,fairerandhappierway.
AccordingtoDaiMinghong,whoisinchargeofpromotingtheHujiaProject,ruralschoolslikeChengzhuangPrimarySchoolcanusetheplatformtogainaccesstohigh-qualityeducationfreeofcharge,asthecostsareoffsetbyrevenuefromHujiang’sotherpaidservices.TheHujiaProjectalsobenefitsfromthesupportofseveralChinesenongovernmentalorganizations.
Sharingresources
WiththerapidurbanizationofChinainthepast20years,thegovernmenthascarriedoutapolicyofcombiningruralschoolswithanaimofpoolingteachingresources,whichledtoa70-percentdecreaseinthenumberofvillageschools.Implementationofthispolicystoppedin2012,buttheremainingruralschoolsstillfaceproblemssuchasinsufficientteachersandlackofdevelopmentprospects.
InGuangyuanCityofSichuanProvince,16smallvillageschools,witheachhavinglessthan200students,decidedtojoinforcesbycombiningtheirscatteredteachingresources,inordertomakesurestudentscanenjoyhigh-qualityeducation.Theprojectstartedin2014.
ButtheireffortsfailedtohelpstudentsenjoymoreteachingresourcesinGuangyuanuntiltheemergenceofonlineeducation.OnDecember13,2015,HujiaProjectdecidedtostepinandprovidesGuangyuan’ssmallvillageschoolswithmoreteachingresourcesthroughitsonlineplatform.
SinceMarch7,2016,bymakinguseoftheCCtalkliveteachingsoftware,studentsinGuangyuanruralschoolshavebeenabletoattendonlineartclassesfromteachersthousandsofmilesaway.Onlineteachinghassignificantlyalleviatedtheproblemoflackoflocalteachersandhasarousedchildren’sinterestinarts.
“It[HujiaProject]providesaplatformforsharinghigh-qualityeducationalresourceswhichbettermatchdemandwithsupply.Onthedemandside,Chinahasover140.000smallruralschoolslackingpropereducationalresources;onthesupplyside,ChinahasalargenumberofeducationalNGOs,publicwelfareeducationinstitutionsandenthusiasticvolunteerswhocanprovideprofessionalandqualifiededucationalresources.Hujiangconnectsthetwosides,”saidWuHong,ChiefEducationOfficerofHujiangandalsomanagerofHujiaProject.
PublicofficialsfromAfrican,Asian,andLatinAmericancountriesvisitFanjiaPrimarySchoolPoweroftheseed
WudescribestheinfluenceoftheHujiaProjectinruralschoolsas“thepoweroftheseed.”“Weplantseedsinruralschoolswhichthenbringhopetopeoplethere.Parentsbegintotrustinruralschoolsandtheyagreetolettheirchildrenreceiveeducationwithouthavingtoleavetheirvillage,”Wusaid.Untilnow,HujiaProjecthasallowedmorethan100,000studentsfromover500schoolsin20provincestoenjoyanequallyconvenientaccesstoeducationalresources.
Inordertoprovideruralchildrenwithbetterandmorediversecurriculum,HujiaProjecthasenteredincooperationwithhighlyqualifiedteachinginstitutions,includingthe21stCenturyEducationResearchInstituteandShanghaiInternationalStudiesUniversity.“Manyofruralstudentsare‘left-behind’childrenwhoseparentsworkinurbanareas.HujiaProjectopensadoorforthemtoacquireknowledgeanddiscovertheworld,”Wusaid.
Tremendouspotential
OnJuly27,2016,theGeneralOfficesoftheCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChinaandtheStateCounciljointlyissuedaguidelinefornationalinformationandcommunicationtechnologydevelopmenttofurthernarrowtheeducationalgapbetweenurbanandruralareasandbetweendifferentregions,andtoguaranteeaccesstoeducationforvulnerablegroupsthroughdevelopingonlineeducation.TheguidelinealsofocusedonincreasingtheInternetcoverageinruralareas.
“TheInternethastremendouspotential.Betterthandonatingmoneyandmaterialsthroughcharity,onlineeducationhasthepotentialtotrulymeettheneedsofruralschoolsinalow-cost,high-efficiencyandlargescaleway,andmakeeducationalequalityareality,”Wusaid.
“Bytheendof2016,HujiaProjectisexpectedtocoverallareasofthecountry,providinghigh-qualityteachingresourcesandInternet-basedteachers’trainingtoruralschoolsequippedwiththeInternet.”WutoldChinAfrica.Wuexpectsthatinthenextyear,theprojectwillcover1millionstudentsandhundredsofthousandsofteachers,layingthefoundationsforanewcross-regional,Internedbasedandcooperativewayofteaching.CA
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