An educational Website (www.cxjy.net) dedicated to improving
teaching in Shanghai was established on November 5, 2001.
It
is run by the Zhabei District Education Bureau and the State
Education and Science Research Institute.
It
is the first in the nation to provide live demonstrations of
teaching techniques.
The Website is being used on a trial basis only in Zhabei. If it
proves successful after one year, the online service will expand to
all schools in Shanghai, said a Website official, Du Xinyi.
Added Kang Deshan, an education official with the Zhabei District
Education Bureau, “It's not convenient for teachers to postpone
their classes and go all the way to another school to listen to a
class demo. Furthermore, only a limited number of teachers can cram
into a classroom to audit a teaching class performance.”
Educators say the online service should be an effective and
efficient way for teachers to share their classroom experiences and
to introduce innovative teaching methods.
The e-broadcasts currently are limited to the district's 100
primary and secondary schools, which are linked to a network
administered by the Zhabei Education Bureau.
Teachers are being encouraged to post on the Website their theses
on innovative teaching, Website officials said.
A
bulletin-board system has been set up for teachers to exchange
ideas on new teaching methods, they added.
Local education officials say that they are seeking to lead
students to think analytically and creatively because the
traditional way of teaching that stressed memorization and rote
learning has fallen out of favor.
(eastday.com November 6,
2001)