A new mobile-technology-assisted APP has recently been made available to young Chinese students in a hope to better tackle the modified SAT, a standardized test for college admissions in the United States.
The SAT will undergo its biggest changes in 2016 and the New Oriental Education and Technology Group's newly-upgraded APP has been designed with these changes in mind.
Meanwhile, the online practices, which Chinese students can do on their devices, are also a research outcome from the New Oriental company and its America-based partner, "Edupath".
Edupath CEO Michael Weiler thinks enabling students to practice the SAT with their mobile phone is a big progress, compared with using a digital whiteboard.
"The primary format that you see in online SAT prep is the digital whiteboard. I don't know how many you have ever used a digital whiteboard or watched a class that's taught using a digital whiteboard. I have actually tested that: I've sat teenagers in front of a digital whiteboard and watched them, I've sat adults in front of a digital whiteboard and watched them, and in most cases, it takes about 45 seconds before the student tunes out and is back on their phone. They can put you to sleep, and so we have learnt to see the technology through the eyes of our students; through the eyes of this, really this first generation of digital natives. And that's one of the key realizations that led to the transformation of successful tutoring into what's become Edupath."
According to Fan Meng, an official in charge of test preparation courses for the overseas exams in the New Oriental Education and Technology Group, the new APP, which focuses more on students' practice, self-evaluation as well as matching them with a compatible university, is not for free but costs 10 US dollars.
