Dozens of students sat in a classroom in a Shanghai primary school in March, watching a video lesson.

The eight-minute clip covered the topic of decimals. It was taught using characters from the popular Chinese cartoon series Boonie Bears, which describes the antics of the animals.

There was no teacher present in the classroom. Instead, a set of questions had been left for the pupils to help initiate a discussion after they watched the video.

The teaching method, known as flip teaching or a flipped classroom, was being tested at Shanghai Xiangyinlu Primary School.

Compared with traditional methods of instruction in which students listen to lectures in class and are assigned homework, flip teaching aims to allow them to acquire knowledge by watching educational videos, usually at home. It also gives the students more time in class to interact with their teachers and complete classwork under guidance.

"Students have long been locked down by 'seat time', passively waiting for teachers to drum knowledge into their brains," said Li Xuhui, founder of the nonprofit educational website Kuxuexi.com, the video's provider. "The new study model aims to break with convention and make a change through technology.

"My son is in primary school, and I found that he absorbed knowledge much more quickly when he was taught with vivid examples, and that inspired me," Li said.

Li created the website last year and said he was also inspired by the US nonprofit website Khan Academy, which features thousands of educational resources such as personalized learning dashboards, more than 100,000 exercises and more than 5,000 microlectures.

"Students should acquire knowledge in a cool way. The learning process should be enjoyable. That's what we want to create," he said, adding that the boom in massive open online courses, which aim at large-scale participation and open participation via the Internet, in recent years has brought out opportunities for "flipping" the classroom.

Li used to work in the advertising industry, which he said gave him a lot of creative ideas he used to set up the website. The lectures are taught by volunteers, mainly students at prestigious universities.

"They are not only academically outstanding but, more importantly, they are good at presenting the knowledge and catching the eyes of young audiences," Li said.

The website covers subjects including math, physics, chemistry, biology and English, for students from primary through high school level. Each lecture is limited to 15 minutes.

"This time frame will ensure students concentrate on the topic but it also increases challenges for us to prepare and design the lectures," Li said.

The website has become popular with both students and parents. Li and his team also developed an app that allows students to watch the videos more easily.

"'Boring' is the most frequently used word to describe the classroom. The new website has sent a shock wave through traditional teaching. Children can learn more efficiently through the fun lessons," said a teacher surnamed Zhang, who has a son in middle school.

In recent years, the city's education departments and educators have been seeking to implement the latest developments in online learning for primary, middle and high schools, as part of efforts to promote educational reform and encourage students' interest in learning.

The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission said it has been working to establish an online study platform based on the massive open online course system for primary and middle school students. Officials said they plan to launch the platform later this year.

wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/26/2014 page5)