It could be any classroom, anywhere. The children fidget, excited for their weekly music lesson to begin. But the 30 students assembled at a school in rural China aren’t waiting for a local musician to roll in with instruments and sheet music. Their teacher is 1,500 kilometers away in Beijing, and the point of connection is a video screen.

Online lessons like this, once unusual, are increasingly the norm, thanks to advances in technology coupled with innovative programs.

Technology overcomes distance

Vast distances, small and dispersed populations, limited infrastructure and resources, and a shortage of teachers makes it hard to deliver comprehensive education to students in rural and remote areas. Yet ensuring that all children have access to high-quality learning opportunities is essential for societies to develop.

In China, many local schools are in remote areas.

Initiatives such as Tencent's Digital Volunteer Teaching Project are helping to achieve equity in education. With readily available technology, teachers conduct lessons remotely. All that’s needed are laptops, video screens, and internet access, as well as committed educators.

He Jialuo is one of them, an art and literature specialist who is volunteering to teach the music lesson. Her lessons, made possible through digital platforms, spark joy and creativity in children who may never have dreamed of pursuing the arts, but can now see the possibilities.

Volunteers bring learning to life

The Digital Volunteer Teaching Project was launched by Tencent’s Sustainable Social Value (SSV) organization to explore ways of delivering quality education to rural areas. Supported by volunteers, which include a lot of Tencent employees, the project seeks to enlist and train volunteer teachers from diverse backgrounds to provide livestreamed lessons to rural schools.

A volunteer teacher is conducting an online reading lesson for students.

Volunteers work closely with local teachers, NGOs, and other education experts to ensure courses meet appropriate standards and can be easily understood by students. Teachers on the ground remain responsible for core subjects. The program supplements these curriculum pillars with lessons in art, music, English, reading, mental wellbeing, and more.

Local teachers gain digital skills

Implementing online education in rural areas has its challenges. While digital infrastructure might be available, it can go underutilized if teachers lack the skills. The project tackles this by providing ongoing training and support to local educators and equipping them with the knowledge to use digital tools effectively and integrate new teaching methods into their classrooms.

A dual-teacher model, where online and local teachers work together, makes instruction more efficient and ensures proper interaction with students. Teachers can also form teams to teach a class, or discuss and prepare lessons together. That way, if one of them is suddenly unavailable, there is a backup instructor.

Local teacher Li Caihong has seen firsthand how this project benefits both students and teachers. “These courses have allowed children to have many new experiences. It also brings new insights and thinking to our teachers,” she says.

A Tencent volunteer is guiding a local teacher to use the online teaching platform.

Students dream bigger dreams

The project has grown significantly. It has helped more than 100,000 students learn in 3,000 local schools, with some 60,000 volunteers teaching over 5,000 classes. While that is just a fraction of the 110 million children living in rural China, the project is easily scalable.

Ultimately, it’s rural children who benefit most from the Digital Volunteer Teaching Project. Research from Professor Feng Xiaoying of Beijing Normal University shows big gains in children’s subject knowledge and critical thinking skills.

In addition, they get to study subjects not previously available to them. By interacting with volunteer teachers from other parts of the country, students learn about different cultures and careers, opening up a world of possibilities they had never imagined.

One student from Li Caihong’s class said, “Having two teachers can teach us different ways, I think it’s great.” Another classmate added, “The first time we had a virtual class, I found it lots of fun. The teacher was a like a storyteller.”

Li Xiufang, who teaches in Yunnan Province, also sees positive changes. “These courses have helped students broaden their horizons. Some of them now aspire to become architects, programmers, astronauts, or scientists, inspired by volunteer teachers from all walks of life and from across the country.”

Jiyue Yan, a Tencent employee who has played a leading role in the project, agrees: “Introducing technology and virtual classes to rural schools has opened up a world of possibilities for these children. Their aspirations have grown beyond their immediate surroundings.”

Meanwhile, Tencent employees supporting the project find it gives them a sense of purpose. They contribute to a meaningful cause, one that helps to bridge the education gap and provide opportunities for students to excel. In these ways and more, the Digital Volunteer Teaching Project is transforming education in rural China and empowering the next generation to create a better world.