On January 3, 2018, Smart Learning & Innovative Design Week was held in the Jingshi Hall, Beijing Normal University (BNU). It was sponsored by BNU, Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University (SLIBNU), Graduate School of Beijing Normal University (GSBNU), Faculty of Education of Beijing Normal University (FEBNU) and Elernity, supported by Beijing Design Society (BDS). Smart Learning & Innovative Design Week focused on the capability cultivation of design, computing and innovative thinking for future digital citizens. The events included The Second Design、Computing and Innovative Thinking Summit, exhibitions of enterprise design products and excellent student products, Design & Learning Experience Workshop, Design & Learning Products Report and Assessment, and related seminars, etc. On the first day of the events, more than 200 domestic and overseas representatives were attracted. It was lived online all over the world all the time and more than 2000 people online participant in unit time. The exhibition of the products designed by universities and enterprises also attracted more than 800 participants.
Ronghuai Huang, Co-Dean of SLIBNU
Ronghuai Huang, Co-Dean of SLIBNU, presided over the opening ceremony, and the famous educationalist Mingyuan Gu delivered speech. He mentioned that we have entered into a new era where informatization, networking and artificial intelligence are developing rapidly. Education cannot be reformed rapidly with the emerging ICT like finance and other industries, but ICT will surely influence education. The field of education should deal with the relationship of tools, technologies and innovations, in other words, the conception of tools, utensils, applications and changes.
Mingyuan Gu, Honorary Chairman of The Chinese Society of Education (CSE)
Ming Wang, Vice-Director of GSBNU mentioned that to develop the design thinking and innovative design ability of students, BNU had set up the course “Design & Learning” for the first time. This course will try in every aspects such as curriculum system, teaching content, teaching methods and teaching environment, etc, and form a systematic, three-dimensional and indigenized innovative design education curriculum system, developing talents of innovative design.
Ming Wang, Vice-Director of GSBNU
Weizu Song, Executive Director of China Industrial Design Association (CIDA) mentioned that design is the core element of human innovation and development, human is the core to play effective role, and it is the wisdom of human that is innovating. Therefore, education for humans has become the core and key problem in this era, and the problem is the education reform which is promoting the field of education all over the world.
Weizu Song, Executive Director of China Industrial Design Association (CIDA)
Li Xiong, CEO of Elernity said that with the practice of many years, the understanding of Elernity in smart learning had deepened gradually. Elernity could feel that the reform which gathers the global users and changes the pattern of learning and education of many people is brewing. This reform is believed to contribute to the upgrading and transformation of global education products.
Li Xiong, CEO of Elernity
The famous domestic and overseas experts from Stanford University, University of North Texas (UNT), BNU, Tsinghua University, BeiHang University, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in the field of education and design, as well as the excellent enterprise representatives from NetDragon, LEGO Education and Apple, etc, together with representatives of students and faculty, have explored the road to the development of innovative design education.
The official publication of the first academic monograph on education applications of VR, AR and MR
Group Photo of Experts
The official publication of The Application of VR, AR and MR in Education, the first academic monograph on education applications of VR, AR and MR, was one of the spotlight of this event. Xudong Zhu, Minister of FEBNU presided over the publication. This monograph is co-edited by Dejian Liu and Ronghuai Huang, Co-Deans of SLIBNU, Chris Dede, Professor in Harvard University, as well as more than ten top experts from China, Germany, Britain, etc, J. Michael Spector, Professor of Information School of NTU, said that as the important product of FEBNU, this monograph will provide authentic direction for the development and application practice of global industry of “VR+ Education”. Yan Li, Executive Editor of the field of social science of Springer, said that it was the first published book of the series of Smart Computing and Intelligence, and the first English book collecting information about application of VR, AR, MR in education. Chris Dede, Professor in Harvard University, and Kinshuk, President of Information School of NTU also expressed the congratulation on the publication of new monograph in remote mode, and the expectation for more monographs published with BNU in the future.
Xudong Zhu, Minister of FEBNU
In the past two years or so, VR, AR, and MR technologies have developed in a blowing trend. The public have continuously witnessed these new technologies and how they have updated teaching experiences and helped educational reform. In January, 2017, SLIBNU, Harvard Graduate School of Education and Elenity co-hosted “2017 VR Education and Immersive-study Seminar”. This book is based on what experts stated in this seminar. Dejian Liu said in the publication speech that education in the new era has extremely high demanding of innovation, technology and platform, which is still a great challenge of most enterprises, thus hoping the publication of this book can provide supports in comprehensive aspects such as policies, technologies, platforms, talents and training.
Dejian Liu, Co-Dean of SLIBNU
The Second Design, Computing and Innovative Thinking Summit was Successfully Held
The Second Design、Computing and Innovative Thinking Summit was successfully held during Smart Learning & Innovative Design Week. At the first day, several famous domestic and overseas experts in the fields of design, computing and innovative thinking were invited.
Eric Byler, an expert of the ME310 Project of Stanford University, delivered a speech on “Team Communications in the Design of Complex Engineered Systems”, stating the opinions on group cooperation and exchange in complex engineering system design. Michael Spector, Professor of NTU gave the speech on “Design Science: Facilitating Knowledge Development”, claiming that design should emphasize meaningful and authentic activities, since people will learn from doing this. Zhang Xiong, Professor of BeiHang University, gave the speech on “Information Literacy and Computing Thinking”, emphasized the importance of information literacy and computing thinking in current development of talents. Jingwei Yu, Head of LEGO Education of China, delivered a speech on “Construction of Healthy Ecology of STEM in China”, interpreting the training of computing thinking from the perspective of industry. The speech was presided by Zhiying Nian and Tingwen Chang, doctors in SLIBNU.
Eric Byler, Expert of the ME310 Project of Stanford University
Michael Spector, Professor of NTU
Zhang Xiong, Professor of BeiHang University
Jingwei Yu, Head of LEGO Education of China
In “Computing Thinking Development Workshop”, Yanyan Li, Professor of BNU, Feng Li, Doctor of East China Normal University (ECNU), Tengfei He, trainer of education team of Apple, brought their own views from the perspectives of academic and industry. This part is presided by Haiguang Fang, Professor of Capital Normal University (CNU).
Yanyan Li, Professor of BNU
Feng Li, Doctor of East China Normal University (ECNU)
Tengfei He, Trainer of Education Team of Apple
In “Innovating Thinking Development Workshop”, Jinsheng Ma, Associate Professor of BeiHang University, Guangzuo Cui, Professor of BNU, Juan Wu, Associate Professor of BNU, Dianjun Gao, President of Chen Jinglun Middle School, Chongshi, shared the experiences of innovative thinking development, especially from the teaching of Chinese, math, etc. This part was presided by Guoqing Zhao, Associate Professor of BNU.
Jinsheng Ma, Associate Professor of BeiHang University
Guangzuo Cui, Professor of BNU
Juan Wu, Associate Professor of BNU
Dianjun Gao, President of Chen Jinglun Middle School, Chongshi
Except for the experts above, Guanzhong Liu, Professor of Tsinghua University (THU), Jianzhong Zhou, a researcher in China Academy of Sciences, Nian-shing Chen, Professor of National Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhongming Weng, Associate Professor of Tianjin University, Qian Fu, Associate Professor of BNU, Junjie Wu, a teacher of Beijing Jingshan School, and Dawei Li, the co-founder of MakerCollider will share wonderful ideas.
“Design and Learning” course which improves innovative design ability
As another spotlight of this event, the students of “Design & Learning” course will show the products of the whole semester. This course is co-lectured by Dejian Liu, Ronghuai Huang, Co-Deans of SLIBNU, taught in flipped class mode, and integrated with technologies like VR, AR, holographic projection and 3D printing, etc, thus innovating learning experience. This course, based on “design methodology”, is both designing thinking, and an effective designing flow. It can help product designers change their thoughts and to think about the design and products. Weizu Song, Executive Director of CIDA, thinks learning and practicing design methodology can not only develop students’ design thinking, but also benefit the research on the education mode of innovative design.
As a project of cultivating the ability of innovative design, in support of Elernity, SLIBNU and Stanford University together chose the project team made up of students and teachers in BNU to participate in the forty-year design course “ME 310”, aimed at cultivating international talents of innovative design. We have made positive explorations and beneficial attempts in updating educational concepts, adjusting professional structure, improving curriculum system and credit management mode, etc. and achieved some periodical results.
The exhibitions of products designed by universities and enterprises
During Smart Learning & Innovative Design Week, the exhibitions of products designed by universities and enterprises were held at the meantime in Siji Hall, First Floor of Major Building in BNU. The exhibitions included two theme exhibitions, Innovative Design Experience Zone and Design & Computing Thinking Experience Zone. The schools, universities and enterprises such as BNU, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Stanford University, Beijing Jingshan School, Hangzhou Yangtze River Experimental Primary School, Elenity, Microduino, Leju Robot, TRIZ EDU, ZANVR, Zige, etc, will show the excellent products in the field of design during the exhibition.
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Glimpse of the Exhibitions of Universities and Enterprises
Smart Learning & Innovative Design Week will be held during January 3rd to 7th. In the next few days, there will be the special presentation and Design & Learning Experience Workshop from excellent universities and enterprises. It will provide a platform for students to talk and exchange with enterprise design, as well as opportunities of learning and communication for a wide range of teachers and students who are interested in design and innovation.