Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Sep 05, 2025

China’s ed tech unicorns prove that remote learning can work

China’s ed tech unicorns prove that remote learning can work

Overstretched teachers could soon get much-needed smart assistants
Distance learning has been around for years. But it still came as a rude shock to parents and children when the pandemic forced more than a billion students around the world to try to learn via a screen at home.

Under-resourced teachers, unfamiliar technology and massively variable home-schooling conditions meant that, for some, the experience was fraught and ineffective. For many, it even left them questioning the very concept of distance learning. In 2021, however, we will see how technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), is the future of education, as it works alongside teachers to deliver successful online lessons.

China leads the way in mass-scale e-learning solutions that combine human teachers and AI, with nine education technology unicorns of its own, including VIPKid, Zuoyebang and Yuanfudao. AI allows these companies to deliver a learning experience that caters to the specific needs of the child and helps them progress, rather than provide traditional lessons that leave some children behind and others bored.

Imagine Ling, a six-year-old first-grader learning to write complex Chinese characters. Her Chinese literacy platform, developed by Hexiaoxiang Network Technology, uses AI, computer vision and speech synthesis to deliver lessons. AI image-recognition software identifies each Chinese character Ling writes and generates assessments based on smart matching against a large training database. Speech synthesis and online videos give her real-time instructions and feedback. Human teachers on the platform can focus on personal coaching and support.

In the past few months in particular, AI has enhanced all four key areas of education: teaching, learning, practising and testing. Beijing-based online education company VIPKid, with more than 700,000 students, has launched an AI-embedded class, which includes animated fun characters who assist the human teacher. When the company ran a trial on 10,000 students comparing the AI-embedded classes against video-only classes, the results were striking. Course-completion rates went from 80 per cent to 90 per cent and correct answer rates from 50 per cent to 80 per cent. And all this online activity produces data that can be captured and used over time to provide even smarter AI inferencing.

AI used in this way can help reduce costs and enable more people of all ages to access education. And it will allow human teachers to delegate many routine tasks, such as planning, assessment, timetabling and even the imparting of facts, and instead focus on students’ curiosity, critical thinking and creativity – the three C’s that AI cannot replace.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×