(Hong Kong, 11 February 2020) NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (“NetDragon” or “the Company”, Hong Kong Stock Code: 777), a global leader in building internet communities, acknowledges that the novel coronavirus has recently been a major concern for many. In order to support the call of China’s Ministry of Education (“MoE”) to “build online cloud classes to ensure students can study at home when face-to-face classes are not allowed’, NetDragon announces that, as a part of upholding corporate social responsibility, the Company’s online education platform One Stop Learning is introducing a new service plan to provide live-streaming of courses for over 10 million users free of charge. Meanwhile, NetDragon also offers online interactive education platform and resources to teachers and students in Hong Kong and Macau to continue virtual schooling for free.
On 1 February, the Fuzhou Bureau of Education published the “Guidelines on proper management of education for primary, secondary, and vocational schools amidst postponement of school semesters”. The guidelines state that NetDragon’s One Stop Learning is chosen as the official platform in support of Fuzhou’s “Continuous Learning amid School Suspension” mandate. NetDragon’s One Stop Learning platform will facilitate online learning of over one million teachers and students as well as several million parents, showcasing technical capabilities of NetDragon and its One Stop Learning platform in sustaining quality service.
On top of Fuzhou, One Stop Learning platform has also been aiding the Department of Education of Hubei Province. In collaboration with Hubei Province, NetDragon established the “Hubei Education Cloud Platform”, which has gradually rolled out free education services, including online lectures, online teaching videos and micro lessons, to over a million teachers and students in Hubei Province. The construction and testing of the platform were completed in merely three days and live trials were conducted in three cities, including Macheng, Xiantao and Yangxin on 30 January. The platform received enthusiastic support from the Center for Educational Technology of Xiantao City. One Stop Learning platform will extend its services to support online live stream schooling for nearly 30 cities, counties and districts in Hubei Province and ensure “Continuous Learning amid School Suspension” is well-implemented.
The service of One Stop Learning platform’s “Continuous Learning amid School Suspension” not only provides the latest information of the novel coronavirus and public health measures, but also supports features including teachers’ class preparation and teaching, online assignments and exams, live-communication between schools and parents, academic research, and operational management that allows users to efficiently accomplish their daily work.
In addition to One Stop Learning, NetDragon is offering its integrated software for lesson preparation and delivery, 101 Education PPT, to all teachers in China free of charge, to facilitate easy online lesson preparation and delivery. Supported on multiple platforms including PC, iOS and Android, 101 Education PPT is an integrated teaching software which comes with millions of readily-available teaching materials. Besides, Kami English, an oral English teaching and learning assistant system for K-12 students introduced by NetDragon’s subsidiary Chivox, is opening all online VIP-exclusive services free of charge to all students and teachers in primary and secondary schools across the country, as well as extending VIPs’ subscription period, to ensure students can carry on with their English learning during this school suspension period.
In Hong Kong and Macau, classes are also tentatively suspended until March or later. As such, Edmodo, a subsidiary of NetDragon, will continue to support online interactive learning during the period. On the Edmodo platform, teachers can share reading materials and educational videos with the class, along with online discussions to encourage independent learning among students, such that they can keep up with their learning progress. On the other hand, the Company also uses Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) to provide a free “cloud-based learning platform” to serve as a short-term solution for schools in Hong Kong with cross-border students who may encounter issues when commuting between Hong Kong and mainland China. This cloud can be utilised as a platform for teachers to share their lecture recordings and for students to retrieve learning materials; and coupled with the support of assignment delivery function on Edmodo, students can make use of these tools to facilitate their daily learning at home.
In the face of the novel coronavirus, we will continue our full support towards both students and teachers by rolling out more online education services. Knowledge is the key to a brighter future, and at NetDragon, we uphold this especially during such tough times.
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