A high-level training program designed to enhance the digital capabilities of special education teachers across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was held in Beijing from September 15 to 17. The initiative, officially named the National Special Education Digital Talent Development Project, was jointly guided by the Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, with technical support from the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The event was hosted by the National Special Education Digital Resource Center, which operates under the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences.
Under the theme "Leveraging Technology for Good to Advance Inclusive and Equitable Special Education," the program prioritized special education backbone teachers from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region while remaining open to educators nationwide. A specific focus was placed on recruiting teacher representatives from Xiong'an New Area, demonstrating a tangible commitment to serving the coordinated development strategy of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the construction of Xiong'an.
As China advances its goal of becoming an education powerhouse amid the ongoing digital transformation of education, special education faces the most diverse range of disabilities and the most significant individual differences among students. The demand for personalized and precise teaching in this field far exceeds that of general education. Crucially, it is also the area where artificial intelligence holds the greatest potential to realize the ideal of "one plan for each student." Figuring out how to make the national digital strategy take root in special education—a field that demands both precision and compassion—and exploring a replicable, scalable Chinese pathway is the defining challenge currently facing the National Special Education Digital Resource Center as a national-level professional platform.
Feng Hongrong, Party Secretary of the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, stated that this advanced training program represents a landmark action by the Center to fulfill its mission of cultivating a professional talent pool. It is a crucial step in the implementation of the National Special Education Digital Talent Development Project. The goal is to leverage the national platform's position to train a core group of "seed forces" capable of leading and radiating influence in digital special education, effectively translating the national digital education strategy into tangible outcomes in special education classrooms and developing Chinese expertise in AI-empowered special education.
Chen Yiqiang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that the Institute is focusing on building a new multi-agent collaborative "model networking" paradigm for special populations, facilitating knowledge sharing and capability aggregation. He emphasized the need to maintain independent control, security, and trustworthiness, and to strictly adhere to the boundaries of technology application. He expressed hope that this training program would serve as an opportunity to deepen collaboration between research institutes, educational think tanks, and frontline schools. Based on China's actual special education conditions, the goal is to forge an innovative path in special education digitalization with Chinese characteristics and achieve world-class standards.
Leveraging its self-developed special education large model and an intelligent agent platform designed for special education scenarios, the National Special Education Digital Resource Center has developed a series of AI-powered intelligent tools known as the "Zhiban" series. These include "Jingxiaorong," "Zhitetong," "Zhitkang," and "Zhitezhi," among others, each designed for specific special education scenarios. The "application experience" segment of this training program showcased the development and use of these intelligent agents, packaging AI capabilities into tools that special education teachers can directly use, allowing cutting-edge technology to be adapted to real-world special education settings.
This exploration is driving the transformation of training outcomes into practical teaching applications, realizing an integrated "learning-application" model. It ensures that the warmth of digitalization reaches every special child through the hands of teachers, while also pioneering a practical, locally grounded, and independently controlled pathway for AI-empowered special education. The training program was structured around four core modules: "Policy Guidance," "Competency Enhancement," "Practice Sharing," and "Application Experience," creating a comprehensive learning chain that integrates theory, practice, and application.
During the policy guidance sessions, Professor Xiong Zhang from Beihang University and Li Tianshun, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Society of Education, provided in-depth interpretations on implementing the "AI plus Education" action plan and promoting high-quality development of special education through AI. In the competency enhancement segment, Professor Wei Shunping from Minzu University of China and Associate Professor Liu Hongpei from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications delivered lectures on frontier topics, including enhancing teachers' AI literacy across five key dimensions and addressing AI ethics and safety. Jiang Xinlong, Associate Researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, guided participants through practical experiences in using AI model networking for the assessment and intervention of children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, transitioning from classroom observation to hands-on operations to vividly demonstrate AI's real-world effectiveness in special education settings.
The practice sharing module brought together compelling case studies from special education schools in Beijing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Shijiazhuang, with frontline principals and backbone teachers delivering in-depth presentations focused on practicality, replicability, and scalability. The National Special Education Digital Resource Center, approved by the Ministry of Education and built under the leadership of the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, serves as a national-level professional platform. Its core missions encompass building high-quality digital resources, developing industry standards, promoting cutting-edge applications, cultivating professional talent teams, and serving the high-quality development of special education nationwide.
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