Nanjing campuses go smarter

Nanjing awards the first group of 32 schools that have achieved tangible results in the "smart" drive on Feb 6, 2018. [Photo/jschina.com.cn]

An online "cram school" engaging computer technologies and public school teachers became available to Nanjing students recently, another move taken by the city for greater smart campus development. 

At the moment, 103 schools have implemented their "smart drive", while all Nanjing schools are expected to be equipped with smart facilities by 2020. 

It is common to see tablet computers in Nanjing classrooms, with students using the gadgets to finish pop quizzes while teachers use it to correct papers and analyze grades automatically. 

"All the students got full scores in the multiple choice test, while only 45 percent of them answered the fourth free-response question correctly. I will go over the knowledge points in my next class," said Teng Min, a middle school math teacher, after having her students' pop quiz results automatically analyzed. 

In fact, it's the various applications embedded in the tablet that have helped Nanjing classrooms become smarter. 

"We can get immediate information on how well the students have followed the class and can make adjustments to meet their personal needs," said Ye Xushan, the school headmaster. 

A screenshot of Nanjing's smart campus management system. [Photo/szhxy.nje.cn]

Aside from professional applications, the widely-used social networking app WeChat has also helped teachers be clear about students' time for physical exercise, reading, homework and sleep. 

"My students read about 32 minutes yesterday, while they spent an average of 97 minutes doing homework. I will do further research on whether they were inefficient or whether there was just too much work to do," said a teacher named Chen Gong. 

The app not only facilitates the faculty, but has also forged closer ties between parents and teachers. Take the city's flexible school leaving scheme as an example. Parents can scan the personalized QR codes of their children after picking them up from school and teachers will get instant responses from the app. 

"The integration of technology and education has paved the way for an internet-based road with distinctive Nanjing features; I hope every child can learn at any time and at any place in a 'smart' way," said Sun Baijun, director of Nanjing Education Bureau.