Educational digitalization is a trend in both domestic and international educational development. The importance of educational digitalization lies in its potential to improve the efficiency, engagement, and equity of education. However, it also encounters challenges in terms of macro-planning, support infrastructure, and regional balance, which necessitate proactive responses. As a crucial contributor to the process of educational digitalization, the community of educators, notably those teaching foundational mathematics, must adapt to the evolving landscape. By shifting their mindsets, enhancing their capabilities, and guiding students accordingly, they can effectively enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching, thereby making substantial contributions to the advancement of educational digitalization.
With the advent of the digital age, cultivating students’ digital media literacy has become an important educational mission. A standardized digital media literacy scale was developed to study the digital media literacy of primary school students in urban and rural areas. Through stratified random sampling, a total of 2,848 urban and rural primary school students participated in this research. Primary school students exhibited moderate proficiency in digital media literacy, with a notable deficiency in their ability to create and disseminate information effectively. Subsequent investigations revealed disparities in the level of digital media literacy between urban and rural students, which appeared in their proficiency to access and use digital tools, as well as their ability to understand and evaluate media messages. Parental education, parental mediation, and time spent using digital devices all have a substantial positive influence on students’ digital media literacy, with parental mediation having the greatest impact. Consequently, it is imperative to prioritize the development of higher-order digital media literacy skills in students. Efforts should also be directed toward enhancing the basic digital media literacy of rural primary school students while fostering parental engagement in students’ digital education. In this regard, the Chinese government, enterprises, and schools have launched measures to promote rural students’ digital media literacy and parents’ involvement in students’ digital education. Future research should prioritize investigations of the efficacy of these measures to ascertain their impact on the holistic development of digital media literacy among all students.
The digital transformation is driving profound changes in education and teaching, with immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), representing the future form of the internet, set to lead a new round of innovation in primary and secondary education applications. This study first elaborates on the connotation and typical characteristics of immersive technologies, analyzes their potential applications in primary and secondary education scenarios such as space, resources, curriculum, models, and evaluation. It then points out the key issues in the application of immersive technologies in primary and secondary education from four aspects: educational system, innovative technology, application orientation, and privacy ethics. Finally, from the perspective of multi-party collaboration among government departments, educational entities, industries, and enterprises, we propose application strategies such as top-level planning and design, core technology research, typical case cultivation, and regulatory governance. Such strategies aim to promote the deep integration of immersive technologies and primary and secondary education, shaping a new educational climate that aligns with the talents demands of the digital era.
