Moscow school children are about to face the new era of education. The city authorities have successfully conducted a one-year Moscow Online School pilot project – innovative educational cloud-based platform which is to revolutionize the entire concept of education.
By the end of 2018 all Moscow schools will be connected to the platform. Throughout next few years city authorities will invest $300 million in e-learning.
The pilot project started in 2016 in six public schools. First users could enjoy wide opportunities of the cloud-based educational platform accessible for teachers, pupils and parents from any part of the city via any desktop or mobile device. Unified platform has already aggregated 800 000 units of textbooks, assignments, tests, presentations, videos and lesson scenarios. Interactive learning tasks boosted children interest, while gamification aspect made education process more engaging.
The selected schools have been provided with individual Wi-Fi hotspots and laptops in each classroom, while traditional whiteboards have been substituted by multi-touch interactive 4K panels. Within two years this equipment will be installed in all schools.
Empowered by modern hardware, digital interactive content made traditional school classes much more dynamic. Teachers could monitor academic progress of each kid, create customized learning tracks and adapt materials to the needs of specific class level based on their academic performance, assign individual homework and additional lessons. Moreover, teachers used the platform to create their own educational materials, sharing and discussing them with their colleagues to exchange experience and best practices.
Moscow Online School has generated immediate results: in less than one year after the project launch Moscow authorities have indicated 15% growth of academic progress in the schools participating in the experiment. Besides, analytics and data-driven management provided by the unified system resulted in 88% administrative cost savings. Noteworthy is the fact that the average weight of pupil’s backpack fell by half.
Chief Information Officer of the Department of Information Technology Artem Ermolaev emphasized that Moscow Online School pilot project has improved the quality of education and increased pupils’ motivation by using up-to-date technology, as well as optimized control over educational processes. ”Moscow has undergone a lot of changes while becoming the undisputed leader in education in Russia. Not to mention, the education system keeps improving. We have been in constant search of how to move on, introducing brand-new innovative technologies into learning process”, – added Mr. Ermolaev.
The digitization of Moscow schools began a couple of years ago with the high-speed broadband internet provided to each school and the online school diary launched to make learning process transparent for everyone. Teachers can easily manage marks and assignments, kids see their schedule and homework, while parents have a tool to monitor their child performance. Moreover, Moscow authorities introduced online enrollment for first-grade students as well as online signing up for after-classes activities and hobby groups at schools via the city’s services online platform. Introducing cashless payments in the school cafeteria and switching into digital checkpoint system were one of the first smart initiatives, so that now parents can monitor and limit kids’ expenses in real time in a line with being notified when their children enter or leave school building.
About the IT Department of Moscow Government
The IT Department of the Moscow Government is responsible for building IT infrastructure that aims to transform Moscow into a Smart City. Projects capitalize on digital technologies to improve the lives of citizens and the efficiency of government structures. The implemented projects include e-Government, Digital Public Services, the United Medical Information System, the Moscow Online School, the Intellectual Public Transport System, Wi-Fi city solutions and many others.
