Hosted by Beijing Normal University (BNU) and organized by the Office of International Exchange & Cooperation, BNU and Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University (SLIBNU), the  preliminary round of 2021 Global Competition on Design for Future Education was held online on October 19th (GMT+8). With the theme of “Inclusive Education,” the competition is divided into two categories, for college students and for primary and secondary school teachers, in which students from over 100 colleges in over 10 countries and teachers from over 100 primary and secondary schools participated. The semi-finalists of 2021 Global Competition on Design for Future Education was announced. Moreover, experts from various fields delivered speeches, providing new ideas for contestants to further design their projects.

Mr. Yujun Wu, Director of Office of International Exchange & Cooperation, BNU, addressed remarks. He emphasized on the importance that BNU and the Office of International Exchange & Cooperation attached to international cultural exchanges. Additionally, he affirmed the positive effects of this competition on promoting innovation in education design with the competition accelerating the dissemination of educational innovations and building platforms for cross-cultural exchange. He also wished all the teachers and students to keep it up and design better projects in the finals.

Focusing on the combination of design thinking and education, Mr. Yuanbo Sun, Professor of Beijing Institute of Technology, gave a speech entitled “Introduction to Design Thinking in Basic Education”. He pointed out that in basic education and higher education currently, it is common to lack courses related to design thinking and design aesthetics. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate design thinking into education and its whole process, so as to improve teaching quality and innovate teaching methods.

Mr. Junjie Peng, Senior Director of Industrial Design, NetDragon Websoft Inc., elaborated the common process of good design with a question “What is design?” as lead-in. He started from specific cases to illustrate the importance of sufficient research, specific analysis of problems and structured design thinking in creating excellent design projects. Also, he emphasized that the real source of creation for designers was to keep thinking and learning.

Mr. Yang Junfeng, Professor of Hangzhou Normal University delivered a speech entitled “Learning Space and Future Classroom.” He pointed out that the current learning space includes physical space, social space, as well as information space brought by the development of technology. The design of learning space should be flexible, inclusive, collaborative, creative and efficient. As typical kind of learning space, the future classroom will combine physical, synchronous and asynchronous classroom, providing better support for seamless learning via SMART framework.

Ahmed Tlili, Associate Professor of Beijing Normal University, compared the teaching tools in the past and in the present, and explored the impact of emerging technologies on education by analyzing several cases, including learning analytics, open educational resources, educational games, virtual reality, etc. He stressed that education design should focus on specific problems and explicated the key role of technology in solving such problems.

Mr. Jianguo Shi, Vice President of China Educational Equipment Institute, and Ms. Yan Li, Associate Professor of Beijing Normal University, as representative judges of the teacher track and the student track, announced the semi-finalists of the preliminary round of the competition respectively.

In the Teacher Track, the semi-finalists include a total of 23 teams/individuals from Beijing, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Guangdong, etc. Their case-studies involve various disciplines, including picture books based on traditional Chinese culture, interdisciplinary and comprehensive curriculum design focusing on The Belt and Road, and teaching case-studies in the context of the pandemic, etc.

In the Student Track, the semi-finalists include a total of 18 teams from Beijing Normal University, Central China Normal University, Jiangsu Normal University, University Putra Malaysia, etc. Reflecting the educational innovation and development, the submitted projects include technical solutions to the shortage of educational resources for rural students, personalized teaching solutions based on reality, etc.

Mr. Guangju Chen, Vice President of School Affairs Committee, BNU, summarized the preliminary round of the competition and highlighted the four characteristics of this competition: (1)international, interscholastic, interdisciplinary, in different school phases; (2)Setting the track for primary and secondary school teachers; (3)Introducing design into education and developing education through technology; (4)Utilizing the new learning methods of “Cloud Cooperation”. Prof. Chen encouraged all the students and teachers to strive forward with innovative thinking and the passion for design and learning. Participants can take full advantage of the expertise to keep exploring better solutions for future education and contribute to design and education.

Semi-Finalists in the Teacher Track

Personalized Education

Chinese Opera-Related Picture Books Drawn by Teachers and Students

Using Underwater Robotics to Promote AI Education in Primary Schools

“Technology + Creation” Course

The Design and Production of Smart Anti-Pandemic Assistant

From The Silk Road to The Belt & Road Initiative

The Shooting and Application of Time-Lapse Video for Teaching

The Project-Based Learning about Paper-Cutting Art Based on STEAM Theory  

The Household Appliances in the Post-Pandemic Era

Revive Traditional Culture via Promoting Herbal Tea

Museum Studies Courses

The Integration Exploration of Literacy-Oriented IT and Science Education

The Design and Production of Unity Video Games

The Design and Application of Subject-Based Classroom

Smart Teaching School-Based Practice

Future-Oriented Scientific and Technological Innovation

Rural Education

The Educational Exploration on Combining Industrial Model and Monitorial System

Constructing Ideal Home-Style Learning Space in School

Special Education

Life-Adaptation Course Promoting Social Integration

A Case-Study on Improving the Speech Intelligibility of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Personalized Learning Supported by IT for Children with Special Needs

A Case Study on the Home-Based Training Program for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Education in Crisis

The Development and Practice of Relevant Courses in the Anti-Pandemic Context

Reshape Monitorial Model and Improve Students’ Learning Abilities

Semi-Finalists in the Student Track

Personalized Education

Love Sports——Solution to Achieve Higher Grades in P.E. Test in Senior High School Entrance Examination

Journey to Find Maddie

“Little Orange Lamp”- Personalized Program for Children's Sensory Integration Training

IOT solution: MOOC recommender system

Personalized Emotional Education with Picture Books for Pre-School Children

The Exploration of Self-Adaptation in Online Education – UIU Solution

The Flower of Chinese—Personalized Construction of the Online Platform for Teaching Chinese

Education in Crisis

Online learning with 3D classroom——3DH Project for Preschool children  

Support Children in Emergencies——The New-Type Educational Service in Major Emergencies

Rural Education

Construction of Smart Education Platform for Left-behind Children

X Space——Educational Space of Design Thinking for Students in Rural Areas

Research on the Three-Dimensional Construction of STEM Courses in Rural Areas

AI GO——Artificial intelligence education and learning platform for rural areas

Co-Construct the Bifrost for a Better Countryside in the Future

Facilitate Science Education in Rural Areas——Inquisitive Virtual Laboratory

AI-Based Psychological Counseling Model for Students in Resource-Poor Areas

Special Education

Aizhixun——AI-Based Platform of Chinese Training for Children with Developmental Dyslexia

The Multiple-Model Picture Books Reading for Blind Children

(Notes: The list is not ranked.)