Soft lights embedded in the room, creating a transparent space of warmth and cosiness. A humanised place equipped with intelligent environmental control system, wireless interactive system, multimedia devices as well as movable tables and chairs desktop tablets, allowing the students to take part in any form of education. This is what I expect about the ideal environment for education. Technologies have been infiltrating into every corner of the educational context, becoming as natural as how we breath the air.

Back ten years ago, I had almost no idea of the knowledge of information technology and was even laughed at by asking classmates what PowerPoint was. It was not until I went to a top high school that I knew the idea of information technology and developed a keen interest. I thus signed up for a half-month academic exchange program in Gymnasium Bad Nenndorf, my high school’s sister school in Germany. For the first time I witnessed the power of technology and "technology creates better life" was ironed in my heart. It also enhanced my yearning for advanced technology and inspired me to study abroad.

Your university appeals to me with the eminent faculty such as Professor Kaska Porayska-Pomsta who specialises in Artificial Intelligence in Education, and the systematic curriculum setting. Especially, I find the course Design and Use of Technologies for Education attractive for its excellent combination of instructional design principles, learning technology and pedagogical strategies. Having already gained adequate knowledge on information technology and relevant practical experience, I wish to acquire more theories and methodologies in this multi-faceted field.

When I was in college, I was passionate to take part in volunteer activities, especially those related to education. I gave weekly community tutorials to the senior citizens on the use of electronic devices. Since the aged had more difficulties in learning when confronted with memory decline, presbyopia and change of mindset, I devised manuals with approachable illustrations and enlarged fonts for them to review. Meanwhile, I helped the volunteer team at UIBE with their development of public welfare classes in the affiliated primary school to achieve children’s overall development through competence education. My determination of entering the cause of education gradually emerged as I continuously involved myself in services like these.

As one of the first full-time teachers of comprehensive practical activities, I took bold attempts to integrate and optimize the online resources into school-based curriculum. By choosing hot topics as a go-between, I collected information to sort out the most stimulating materials and pieced them together logically. Furthermore, I took thoughtful consideration of the school characteristics as it was originally founded by Tao Xingzhi, a great educationalist in China who advocates life education. For students’ better understanding of nature, society and self, I designed several theme activities such as interviewing the local dream-seekers, investigating school histories, planning for nearby countryside trip and knot knitting for wilderness survival. During this period, I also observed more than 50 lessons every semester to gain more teaching experience from teachers of other subjects and developed the travel study courses with members of the teaching studio led by our headteacher.

The awareness of combination of technology and education occurred after I entered the employment. I noticed that students were relatively skilled in the practice of digital technologies, but only limited to the context of course requirements. I believe technology should be an organic whole instead of a course alone; it makes everything possible for learners to receive education anywhere at anytime. Take the edutainment for example, according to Prof Zhu Zhiting, it should be “on the basis of respecting the current life value of learners.” Were children given coursework implemented in educational games, there would be more interest and stronger motivation to challenge their limits and parents who worry too much about the negative effects about digital technology would therefore find it more acceptable and create more opportunities for kids to embrace technology. Moreover, the use of technology should be strictly used under ethical regulation. I have witnessed the abuse of technology, such as using hidden cameras to monitor students’ learning state and, even worse, applying artificial intelligence to analyse statistics on behaviors like sitting position, hand-raising, facial expressions and mind-wandering. This violated the concept of child-cantered education and becomes a wicked tool for educators. Information technology only benefits us if conducted in a human-oriented way. In hierarchical teaching, different homework and intelligent tutoring can be designed for students of different basics. In addition, for children with congenital learning disabilities, such as autism, an area where Prof Kaska works in, and others related to special education like hyperactivity disorder, visual impairment, AI plays a vital role in varied stages of their early warning, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. To conclude, this interdisciplinary field has great potential and arouses my learning willingness to study in depth.

Upon completing my master’s degree, I intend to be an e-learning designer or trainer in the domestic education industry which is in great need of talents, applying my acquired expertise and techniques and eventually cultivating myself an expert capable of breaking through unsolved difficulties. I believe that my qualities fit in well with what MA in Education and Technology at University College London requires and fosters and I cannot wait to meet you and your colleagues in London next year.