Tainan is the first city in Taiwan to set up a Digital Learning Promotion Office and assemble a “Tainan Digital National Team”. The project was officially launched by Mayor Huang Wei-che on Feb. 24. During the ceremony, the Mayor announced the vision of the project, which is to support students in Tainan with “digital 3Cs” (digital Companions, Coaches, and Community) to better navigate the new digital era. Huang hopes that the schemes brought forth by the Office will significantly bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas, and transform Tainan into a digital learning demo city.
Huang expressed that the city government is committed to closing the digital gap between the northern and southern parts of Taiwan. In addition to supplying each classroom with air conditioning units, the ultimate objective is to let every student have access to tablet computers and turn every classroom into digital classrooms with internet coverage. He also mentioned that after tablets were introduced into schools in Tainan, the learning performances of local students have exceeded the national average. This proves that digital learning can greatly improve the learning of children.
Cheng Hsin-hui, Director-general of the Bureau of Education, expressed that in 2020, Tainan had already set up advanced smart learning classrooms in schools to support digital learning. Every classroom for Grades 3 to 6 in elementary schools and Grades 1 to 2 in junior high schools have 75” touch screens and education zones have 100% internet coverage. Cheng also mentioned that so far the results of digital learning in Tainan City have been very successful and he hopes that through this new project, Tainan can soon become Taiwan’s first digital learning demo city.
The Tainan City Digital Learning Promotion Office assembled experts and researchers, personnel from different divisions of the Bureau of Education, school principals, and teacher representatives to set up its committee. It also loaned teachers with digital learning experiences and expertise in IT network and digital planning to form the “Tainan Digital Learning National Team”. Both parties will work together to promote the “Every Student Has Access To A Tablet – Enhancing Digital Learning” project in elementary and junior high schools in the city. The goal is to encourage students to leverage tablets as a tool for learning and support students in Tainan with “digital 3Cs” for this new digital era.