Beijing school tries home-schooling for smoggy days   

北京一學校啟動霧霾天遠程教學 停課時視頻教學

昨天上午9點，北京市景山學校的小學、初中、高中共16個班大面積進行QQ群遠程教學測試，一旦北京市發布霧霾紅色預警，全校學生將通過遠程教學在家上課。這也是北京市第一所針對霧霾推出遠程教學預案的學校。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- Beijing Jingshan School tried distance teaching on Sunday, the city's first, as preparation for coping with school closures due to red alerts against pollution, the Beijing Times reported.

At 9:00 a.m., students from 16 classes in primary and secondary school logged onto Tencent QQ, an instant messaging software service, from home, while teachers wearing headsets sat before computers with cameras at school.

Like in real class, teachers could share content in the dialog box on the screen with students, and call on students to answer questions. Besides the box, there was also a forum for students to talk about the class.

Students were dressed in freestyle during the class, some even in pajamas. But they all said such a way of learning requires self-discipline.

Teachers were impressed by students' active attitude stimulated by the new way of learning. Even some students who are normally too shy to speak up in class answered questions, said English teacher Fu Yan.

Qiu Yue, vice principal at the school, said if classes are suspended on severely polluted days, they will arrange three to four classes a day via distance teaching.

The city recently announced the toughest smog emergency measures: If the PM2.5 level exceeds 300 micrograms per cubic meter for three days in a row, schools will be suspended, construction sites ordered to halt work, private cars limited to using roads on alternate days and factory emissions cut.