By: Jonathan Jenkins
With the rapid development of technology, information technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data have given rise to new business models and opportunities. The traditional methods of knowledge transmission and acquisition have begun to show limitations in humanity’s exploration of the unknown. How to meet societal demands and explore new educational models is one of the most pressing challenges in the field of education today. Against this backdrop, smart education has emerged. As a representative of education in the new era, smart education, with its unique value and powerful capabilities, is gradually transforming traditional teaching methods and becoming a key driver of educational reform.
In the process of advancing the digital transformation of education and exploring smart education, numerous outstanding experts and scholars have emerged in great numbers. Among them, Xiuling XIANG stands out as an exceptional educator, with a profound foundation in education and technological expertise. With years of experience in the education sector, Xiang has consistently focused on educational equity, improving teaching quality, and fostering personalized development for students. She has pioneered an innovative path that empowers education with technology. Her research achievements and teaching practices not only provide forward-thinking theoretical guidance for the education industry but also offer valuable insights for the implementation of educational digitization and informatization.
To gain a deeper understanding of China’s smart education development and the education reform process, we recently interviewed smart education expert Xiuling XIANG. She shared her thoughts on how smart education can drive high-quality development in the education sector, how information technology empowers teaching and learning, and how educators can better advance smart education.
Reporter: Hello, Ms. Xiang! With the rapid development of information technology, smart education has gained widespread attention in recent years. We know you have been researching in this field for many years. Could you briefly introduce what smart education is? How does it differ from traditional education?
Xiuling XIANG: Smart education refers to the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things to empower every aspect of education, driving profound changes in content, format, processes, and assessment methods. The essence of smart education is to support learning with technology and place students at the center, offering a more personalized, interactive, and intelligent learning experience. Traditional education typically follows a “teacher-centered, student-listening” model of one-way knowledge transfer, whereas smart education creates an unprecedented collaborative, integrated, and intelligent learning environment through technological means. It establishes multi-dimensional and diverse learning relationships between educators and learners, as well as between learners themselves. In this teaching system, learners not only receive systematic educational guidance but also have the opportunity to collaborate and support each other, thereby enhancing their learning outcomes.
Reporter: You mentioned that smart education emphasizes a “student-centered” approach. Could you elaborate on how this educational model stimulates students’ autonomy, engagement, and creativity?
Xiuling XIANG: The concept of smart education emphasizes the central role of students and focuses on their “threefold development”: personalized development, autonomous growth, and holistic development, with the ultimate goal of fostering valuable, all-rounded growth. First, in promoting personalized development, smart education leverages technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to collect and analyze various learning data, including students’ mastery of knowledge, learning progress, and interests. By understanding their preferences and needs, teachers can assess each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and potential based on data feedback, and design targeted teaching plans accordingly. This personalized learning pathway aids in students’ individual growth, fulfilling the educational goal of “teaching according to the student’s ability” and ensuring equitable learning opportunities for all.
Second, in promoting autonomous development, smart education, supported by cloud platforms and cloud data, breaks the time and space constraints of traditional classrooms. Students can choose learning content and methods based on their interests, and adjust learning time and locations flexibly. This not only expands the scope of educational participation but also broadens students’ channels for exploring the world and pursuing knowledge.
Finally, in fostering holistic development, smart education utilizes information platforms to explore experiential and interactive teaching methods, such as virtual experiments and interdisciplinary projects. These approaches help students enhance their innovation, communication, and critical thinking skills through practice and teamwork.
Additionally, smart education integrates values into knowledge transfer, reinforcing character education and quality education to shape students’ correct moral perspectives. In this way, it fundamentally supports the mission of cultivating well-rounded individuals. In conclusion, smart education adheres to the “human-centered” philosophy, leveraging technology to provide equitable and high-quality education, and nurturing innovative, creative talents needed for future society.
Reporter: China has made significant strides in advancing smart education in recent years. In this process, what challenges do you believe we still face, and how should we address them?
Xiuling XIANG: China has made rapid progress in smart education, achieving noticeable results in areas such as digital platform construction, integration of educational resources, and talent development. However, we still face many challenges. For instance, digital resources need to be further enriched and optimized; the integration of new technologies into education and teaching practices requires further deepening; the level of intelligent governance in education is insufficient; and some teachers’ digital literacy needs to be improved, among others. Given these challenges, I believe the development of smart education requires focusing on “Five Key Priorities”:
- Updating educational concepts: Strengthen overall planning and coordination.
- Enhancing network platform development: Create a conducive environment for the growth of digital education.
- Accelerating educational reform: Explore intelligent and adaptive learning paths.
- Improving teachers’ digital literacy: Enhance teachers’ abilities in multimedia interaction and teaching with new technologies.
- Emphasizing cybersecurity and digital ethics: Pay more attention to ensuring online safety and addressing ethical concerns in the digital space.
Reporter: As China accelerates its efforts to build a strong education system, what message would you like to share with other educators in this transformative and challenging era?
Xiuling XIANG: I hope every educator will remember that, as teachers, we must possess a solid foundation of knowledge, strong teaching abilities, a diligent teaching attitude, and scientific teaching methods. Especially in the context of the digital transformation of education, we should proactively adapt to and harness the wave of digitalization leading educational change. It is essential to continuously improve our digital literacy, transform our teaching methods, and contribute to nurturing more innovative, high-quality talents for future society.
At the end of the interview, Xiuling XIANG remarked: “Smart education is a dialectical inheritance and upgrade of traditional education. It infuses education with new vitality and possibilities through information technology. I hope that educators deeply understand the essence of smart education, stay attuned to the pulse of the times, and continuously explore new teaching methods. By doing so, they can create a more open, free, and dynamic learning environment for students, cultivating them into future leaders and creators of society.”
We are confident that, with the efforts of educators like Xiuling XIANG, China will move closer to achieving its goal of becoming a strong educational power.
Published by Elle G.
