Smart schools bolster creative thinking

Net-enabled campuses combine new teaching and evaluation systems.

Tang Dongyuan leads a futuristic life at a rural elementary school in Wuzhen, Tongxiang city, Zhejiang province.

On school days, when she arrives at the campus with her smart school ID, video footage of her entering the gate is captured by cameras and automatically sent to her parents via their smartphones.

As Tang enters the classroom, she can receive messages from her family simply by swiping her ID on an electronic screen at the entrance.

At the front of the classroom, the widely-used projector has been replaced by a giant 70-inch (178-cm) interactive screen, which delivers an interactive learning experience with the teachers. Like her classmates, she has access to emerging technologies such as robots, 3-D printers and drones.

And after Tang leaves school, her education continues. With a quick scan of a QR code set into questions in her homework, she can watch video tutorials created by her teachers.

Every day, she reads for about half an hour on a reading app before going to sleep.

"I am very much enjoying my student life," says Tang, a fifth-grade student at Zhicai Primary School. "It makes studying much more fun."

Tang is one of many students attending 10 schools in the city of Tongxiang benefiting from the Smart Campus initiative, a program aimed at solving practical education problems through the use of internet technology.

"The idea of the Smart Campus centers on a well-equipped campus environment, creative teaching methods and diverse evaluation systems for students," says Lu Bingkang, vice-principal of Zhicai Primary School. "The goal is to nurture more creative students."

In 2016, Tongxiang was made the pilot city for Zhejiang's reform of educational informatization, or, the adoption of information technology in education. Since then, an array of effective approaches to improve education in the region has been implemented, which not only benefits students but also improves the lives of parents and teachers.

Early this year, education authorities launched the Tongxiang Education app with the aim of bridging the communication gap between parents and schools. By the end of October, over 8,500 teachers and 130,000 parents had installed the app, which now draws 70,000 average daily visits, according to the Tongxiang Education Bureau.

"Checking out video footage of my kid entering and leaving school via my smartphone reassures me in terms of personal safety," says Shen Jia, the mother of a local primary school student.

Through the app, Shen sends reminders, such as "drink more water" or "pay attention in class", to her child. She also receives a daily evaluation of her child from the school, which provides her with enough information to guide and further stimulate her child's interests.

"Despite the fact that I am busy with work, I can still maintain close contact with the teachers via the internet," she adds. "It feels like there is no distance in communication between me and the school."