Online courses benefit children in poor areas

Fortunately, live streaming, the trendiest social activity among Chinese youth, is transforming the classes in Lumacha. With only an internet cable, an overhead projector and a webcam, the three students are now able to take part in online courses. A music teacher appears on the screen, instructing the children on how to read musical notation while correcting their singing. There is also a teaching assistant present in the classroom to manage the students.

In Gansu, there are nearly 1,000 schools like Lumacha with less than five students. In order to provide a better education to these children, provincial authorities launched a pilot online education project in 2017. Now, all of the schools in Lumacha's district have adopted the same class schedule and recruited excellent teachers to give online courses. By switching video feeds, online teachers can monitor and interact with students in different schools. Live streaming has connected children in rural areas together. Some outgoing and versatile students have even become "online celebrities."

The rapid development of China's internet has brought changes to education in poor areas with underdeveloped infrastructure and few teachers. Broadband construction in rural areas has been accelerating, and new online education companies keep springing up, bringing better public services and technologies to rural schools. The government and its national strategies have both played major roles in pushing it all forward.

Promoting educational equity is one of the issues that the Communist Party of China and the government pay the most attention to, because it is an important basis for social equity. Nine-year compulsory education was implemented across the entire country by 2014, and now, through live broadcasts online, poor students in Lumacha Primary School can get access to arts curricula that were inaccessible in the past, reflecting an even deeper pursuit of educational equity.

China's significant progress in internet technology and artificial intelligence in recent years has attracted global attention. At the same time, a spotlight has been shone into the poorest corners of China. It is evident that the Chinese government is working to develop its economy, while still paying attention to social equality, so that economic growth can be shared by everyone. Some changes may take time, but they are on the way.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Online courses benefit children in poor areas
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2018-03/29/content_50767910.htm

About China.org.cn

Founded in 2000, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn/China.com.cn) is a key state news website under the auspices of the State Council Information Office, and is managed by China International Publishing Group. We provide round-the-clock news service in ten languages. With users from more than 200 countries and regions, we have become China's leading multi-lingual news outlet introducing the country to the outside world.

We are one of the country's authoritative outlets for government press releases and are authorized to cover various major events. "Live Webcast" is our online webcasting service to present State Council Information Office press conferences in both Chinese and English languages. We are reputed for timely and accurate delivery of news and information, and wide interactions with audiences. In addition, we are authorized to publish and live broadcast major events and press conferences of ministries, local government agencies and institutions as well as enterprises.

In the era of mobile internet, we endeavor to create an array of products for mobile devices headed by the multilingual WAP platform and the mobile APP. We also use Chinese and international social media to publish information for different user groups.

In the future, CIIC will continue to offer authoritative information about China, tell China's stories, voice China's opinions, and introduce a vivid, panoramic and multicultural China to the world through multi-language, multi-media and multi-platforms.

SOURCE China.org.cn