CRI听力: 21st Century Classroom

Australia pays great attention to its education industry. At the 2010 Shanghai Expo, the country has brought their latest achievement, the Ultranet educational system, to share with the Chinese. What is this Ultranet classroom like? What makes it different from other classrooms? And what can Chinese people learn from it? Our reporter Zheng Cheng has the details.




The 2010 Shanghai Expo is full of exciting things, especially in the Urban Best Practices Area. Now students from primary and middle schools can go on an adventure in the Ultranet classroom from Victoria, Australia.

About 30 students both form Australia and China are in this Victoria "smart class" to have a lesson on Nanotechnology. Here in this classroom, there's no need for chalk and a backboard, as they have been replaced by a computer screen and an electronic pen. There is no teacher's desk. The teacher stands in front of the classroom and uses the electronic pen to move things on the giant computer screen on the wall. All of the students are concentrating on their lesson.

This unbelievable classroom is part of the Ultranet educational system, which is an online student-centered learning environment that supports high-quality learning and teaching and connects students, teachers and parents. The Ultranet is amazing in that it can not only provide you with online service, but also allows access for students, parents and teachers at anytime and captures a complete record of the student learning process over time, from year to year, and school to school.

Darrell Fraser is a local education official from Victoria. He says he is glad they can take advantage of the Shanghai Expo to share this educational system to Chinese people.

"We've brought out the Victoria smart classroom to the Shanghai Expo to show how we design the physical spaces of children learning and teachers teaching. We have been working for 7 years on this exciting high-technology system."

Darrell Fraser sees the Ultranet as a high-tech vehicle, which will take a while to learn how to drive, but the journey and the destination will benefit those who climb aboard. He says the education industry is the second largest industry in Australia, and most of the government officials consider this show in Shanghai as a great importance both to Australia and China.

"Education is a very important industry in Australia and particular for Victoria. Our Premier John Brome has indicated that the relationship between Victoria and China is a very important one so we came to Shanghai to share about what we know, and what a high-technology education system can do, and to share that technology with China. And to learn about what China is doing right now."

The official says that for each nation, the educational goal is the same in that each government should be committed to providing every child with every opportunity to succeed no matter where they live, regardless of urban or rural areas. The Ultranet brings to mind the concept of a "Classroom without walls." He says it is a challenge for each country to solve this problem.

"We believe by working with China we can share what we have learned about how you connect children in rural locations to high quality educational content. How you provide access to these children who live in remote areas to teach them physics to teach them chemistry to teach them languages which those children would not be access because they are so far away from major cities. We also believe we can share with China what it look like when you have smart technology management primary which connect every parent, every teacher and every student in a virtual class experiences."

Schools are places where everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow. Due to the great differences in the education situation between China and Australia, it is very important for both countries to share what they have learned from each other.