Remote schools benefiting from streaming

The live streaming of lessons in rural and remote areas was discussed at a meeting in Shanghai recently. 

Li Jiahou, a professor at Shanghai Normal University, said it was important to use modern technology to allow qualified teachers to spread their knowledge.

Fu Cairui, founder and CEO of e-learning platform Hujiang, told the audience it had launched an online program, named “Hujia” or “Internet plus,” three years ago for volunteers to teach children in rural areas. So far, 5,000 schools had benefited. 

The program also involves online training for teachers. 

To improve quality and efficiency, it launched another program recently to engage at least three teachers in one class. One is in charge of teaching to one or more schools, one is an assistant to help collect feedback and prepare lessons, while the third will be a teacher in the classroom to observe the students’ performance and give feedback to the assistant.

One of the online education program beneficiaries is Ningdu County in Jiangxi Province, which is experiencing a shortage of teachers because of its remote location.

A total of 5,475 local teachers have taken part in live streaming training sessions to improve their skills, according to Wen Yingjun, director of the county education bureau.

“We lacked high-quality teachers and our teachers need improvement in academic knowledge and teaching skills,” he said. “The Internet is the lowest-cost way to help improve our education quality.”

He said he was impressed by the improvement of some students after they took part in online art classes delivered via the Hujia program.