Smart Education
and the Culture of Learning

Smart Education is not simply the addition of technology to existing educational practices; rather, it represents an envisioned form and ultimate goal of digital transformation in education.

The concept originated from the rapid development of the internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies, as well as their deep integration into education. As a result, learning environments have gradually evolved from closed to open, and from purely physical spaces to the integration of physical and virtual environments. In such a technology-rich context, the pressing question becomes how to make the environment truly adapt to each learner's individual characteristics, and promote learning that is relaxed, engaged and effective.

Against this backdrop, the concept of Smart Education was proposed, extending from the discourse of Smart Planet and Smart City, and evolving through a series of related terms from Smart Campus to Smart Classroom.

I see Smart Education as comprising three progressive realms: First, smart learning environments emphasize providing learners with high-quality learning experiences and personalized learning settings. Second, new pedagogical models emphasize empowering learners to engage in adaptive and deep learning. Third, modern educational systems emphasize the cultivation of digital citizens and their readiness for the future.

Today, generative artificial intelligence is triggering systemic transformations in education. The educational system is shifting from passive acceptance to proactive change, which involves the holistic reshaping of elements such as content, pedagogies, and environments. In this context, Smart Education provides an elaborate depiction of the ideal paradigm of future education and the vision of Education 2050.

The Global Education Monitoring Report 2023, "Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms? " points out that there is a significant lack of reliable and fair evidence on how educational technology affects learning. Meanwhile, the rapid updates of technology put great pressure on education systems. Therefore, we cannot just focus only on the level of tools. To truly realize the value of technology in education, we must pay more attention to content, pedagogy, and assessment.

First, develop and make good use of digital textbooks. Content is one of the three keys to unlocking digital learning proposed at the 2022 Transforming Education Summit. Digital textbooks are a new form of learning materials. They can be accessed on digital devices, updated in real time, and automatically record students’ learning activities. Developing these digital textbooks requires the full digitalization of the entire process, from content development, review, and publishing to classroom implementation and platform support.

Second, collaboratively explore and implement digital pedagogy. Digital pedagogy should focus on effective teaching and deep learning. It should be based on optimized digital environments, leverage digital resources and emerging technologies as enabling tools, and promote effective teaching and learning. Specifically, we should focus on technology-empowered deep learning, green and sustainable digital learning environments, evidence-based teaching, and trustworthy human-machine collaborative education.

Third, deepen the reform of educational assessment. By leveraging technologies such as AI and big data, we should integrate outcome-based, process-based, and value- added assessments. We should conduct full-process longitudinal evaluations (tracking progress over time) and comprehensive horizontal evaluations (assessing all factors), thereby better supporting personalized learning.

"Smart" in this context emphasizes that the education system should be suitable, adaptive, and equitable. Smart Education is an educational approach or system developed

and implemented by schools, regions, or countries. It is characterized by high-quality learning experiences, highly adaptable content, and efficient teaching. It uses modern technology to provide differentiated support and personalized services to key stakeholders such as students, teachers, and parents. It can also fully collect and use data on participants’ statuses and the teaching-learning process to promote equity, continuously improve performance, and foster educational excellence.

In essence, Smart Education emphasizes three foundational dimensions:

"Wisdom" rooted in teachers. Student-centered teaching "wisdom" is the soul of Smart Education. This "wisdom" goes beyond merely passing on knowledge. It means that, driven by humanistic care and supported by technology, teachers conduct student-centered teaching. They guide students to think critically about complex problems and develop creativity in diverse situations. This brings education back to its true purpose of "nurturing people" and aims to cultivate top innovative talent.

"Capability" supported by adaptive intelligent environments. Educational environments built by intelligent technology are a key support for Smart Education. Unlike traditional education, which relies heavily on specific times, spaces, and teaching capacities, smart learning environments transcend physical boundaries. They effectively expand access and flexibility, making "learning anytime, anywhere, and on demand" a reality. Smart learning environments have four key technical features: context recognition, process recording, environmental sensing, and community connection.

"Change" embodied in new educational structures. Implementing educational system reforms means systematically reshaping educational management, assessment systems, and governance structures. The core goal is to shift the educational paradigm from the staged, standardized model of the industrial age to the lifelong, personalized model of the AI era, achieving a structural breakthrough in education.

For a long time, China has treated the digital transformation of education as a key national strategy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, China successfully completed the world’s largest upgrade of its digital education infrastructure and a massive training program to improve the digital literacy of teachers and students. It also carried out the world’s largest social experiment in digital teaching and an open educational resources movement.

Two of the most important lessons from this are:

First, treat digital infrastructure as a public good. From the Modern Distance Education Project for Rural Schools, which used satellite technology and CDs to address resource shortages in rural areas, to today’s achievement of 100% internet connectivity and full multimedia classroom coverage in all primary and secondary schools, China has consistently made bridging the urban–rural digital divide a national strategic priority. Today, China has established the world’s largest National Smart Education Public Service Platform. This platform serves as a key foundation for breaking down barriers to educational resources and advancing equitable access to quality education. It brings together more than 130,000 high-quality resources for primary and secondary education, over 12,500 high-quality vocational education courses, and 145,000 high-quality higher education courses. The platform has attracted more than 178 million users and has been accessed in over 200 countries and regions, enabling students in rural and remote areas to benefit from the same high-quality educational resources.

Second, combine systematic top-level design with grassroots innovation. China has not only launched the National Education Digitalization Strategy Action but also established numerous Smart Education Demonstration Zones. This combination of top-down policy design and bottom-up innovation in school-based practice provides both strong institutional support and sustained momentum for building a lifelong learning system.

Smart Education can better support learners who have long been underserved by traditional education systems by addressing both the digital access divide and the digital use divide.

The first group comprises historically marginalized learners, including students in remote areas, learners with disabilities, those from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and individuals whose economic circumstances limit their access to high- quality educational resources. These learners primarily face the digital access divide. Through open educational resources, accessible technologies, and personalized learning support, Smart Education can reduce barriers to participation, expand access to high- quality educational resources and services, and make learning opportunities more accessible, continuous, and equitable.

The second group consists of learners in technology-rich environments, where access to technology has not yet translated into high-quality learning experiences or the

competencies needed for future development. They are primarily affected by the digital use divide. Standardized curricula and uniform approaches to teaching often fail to realize the full potential of technology to support self-directed, creative, and collaborative learning, as well as complex problem-solving. Smart Education can provide more diverse learning pathways, authentic learning tasks, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities, enabling learners to actively choose, regulate, and deepen their learning according to their interests, abilities, and developmental needs.

Looking towards 2050, the most profound changes in learning, teaching, and educational institutions will unfold across three interconnected dimensions.

First, the core purpose of education is to cultivate authentic and agentic learners who are prepared for the age of intelligence. Such learners can be understood as IAAA learners, characterized by four interrelated qualities: Intrinsic, Authentic, Agentic, and Active. Intrinsic means discovering value in the learning process itself. Authentic means connecting learning with meaningful real-world contexts. Agentic refers to taking purposeful ownership of the learning process by setting goals, making choices, and regulating progress. Active means engaging deeply in learning through thinking, discussion, exploration, and creation. Together, these four qualities enable learners to take ownership of their learning and continuously develop the capacity for lifelong learning.

Second, the central task of teaching is to place learners at the centre and redesign assessment to support their holistic development. Teaching should respond more effectively to individual differences, encourage meaningful participation, enrich learning experiences, and promote continuous growth. Assessment should extend beyond measuring knowledge acquisition alone to capture learners' cognitive development, key competencies, character, emotional growth, and social development.

Third, smart schools will become the institutional foundation of future education. Their development rests on five interconnected dimensions: student growth and smart learning experiences; pedagogical innovation and the

effective use of digital technologies; teacher development and digital teaching competence; strategic planning and sustainable development; and students' holistic development through partnerships among schools, families, and communities. The defining strength of future educational institutions will lie in their ability to integrate these five dimensions into a coherent framework for continuous school improvement.

The relationship between the application of AI in education and Smart Education is characterized by the mutual shaping and deep integration of technology and education. On the one hand, AI is becoming embedded across the full spectrum of educational processes, including teaching, learning, assessment, and administration. On the other hand, education must guide the design, development, and application of AI through its core values, learning principles, and institutional norms. This relationship therefore requires a dual governance framework.

The first dimension is the governance for sustainable educational transformation.

As AI continues to reshape education, education systems need to strengthen their strategic capacity, organizational resilience, and value-based decision-making. Even amid rapid technological change, they must remain committed to learner development, educational equity, quality education, and human flourishing. Schools and other educational institutions should translate technological innovation into sustainable educational capacity through forward-looking planning, teacher development, organizational reform, and rigorous evaluation.

The second dimension is the governance for trustworthy AI in education.

Stakeholders across the education sector should participate in the design, development, procurement, implementation, and evaluation of AI technologies. This requires governance mechanisms that address data security, algorithmic transparency, content reliability, ethical review, accountability, and meaningful human oversight, thereby ensuring that AI is applied in education safely, effectively, and responsibly.