Technology-Enhanced Instructional Practice During COVID-19 Pandemic and Implications for New Normal: Experience from China

Abstract

The integration of digital technology into education is a global trend of educational transformation and development to provide a more equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education for everyone. The massive outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the application of educational technology for instructional practices. This chapter focuses on online education in China during the COVID-19 pandemic with school and campus closures. First, this chapter presents the background and insights gained from China’s large-scale online education practices, including key elements that support the successful implementation of online education and characteristics of large-scale online education practices. Second, it reports on various innovative learning and teaching approaches in online education in China during the pandemics, with flexible learning and teaching at the core. Specifically, the definition of flexible learning and teaching is explained, and regular online teaching methods in schools are introduced, based on which seven technology-enhanced innovative learning approaches are illustrated, including (1) Online flipped classroom, (2) Online-Merge-Offline learning, (3) Dual-teachers Classroom, (4) Expert-Based Collective Advising Mechanism, (5) Online virtual simulation experiments, (6) MOOC/SPOC based 1+M+N collaborative teaching, and (7) Open Educational Practices (OEP)-based Courses. These innovative approaches and methods were developed by educators, researchers, and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, using technological support to help students learn successfully online during campus closures. Finally, the chapter concludes that in the post-COVID-19 era, flexible teaching and active learning will become the new normal of future education.