Smart learning has been a neglected aspect of smart technology applications, which this work seeks to address. The book addresses the connection between smart cities and smart learning. Then, the second part introduces smart learning in various domains. Finally, Part 3 anticipates the trends of smart learning. However, the most intriguing aspect of the work is its focus on the Chinese perspective on smart learning in smart cities, as well as the possibility of comparing Chinese smart learning with other cultures.

The first part of the volume maintains that “the citizen’s livable experience is closely related to learning environments”; as a result, five environments are required: “self-learning,” “inquiry learning,” “learning in doing,” “learning in working,” and “classroom learning.” These five environments require four levels to be successful: “learner, supportive technology, core elements of learning scenarios, and logical laws for teaching and learning.”

Part 2 discusses smart learning in various domains. There are “ten best practices of [a] digital campus in China.” Characteristically, a smart classroom requires the proper equipment and spatial arrangement. Another platform is a corporate university. The smart learning industry in China has almost reached maturity, cultivated by “three business models: the digitization of traditional regular education, development of learner-centered learning platforms, and creating online schools for professional training.”

Part 3 considers the future trends of Chinese smart learning. The challenge is to equip “a new generation of governmental, corporate, and community leaders” who are knowledgeable in exploiting information technology.

With the increase in urban crowding, the authors argue that to be sustainable, a city must be a smart city; education is critical to sustainability: “A smart city is also a learning city, which [encourages] the competitiveness of urban [areas] in the global knowledge economy.” To be smart, the city must not only be smart but people-oriented.

Some of the most important takeaways: the bulk of Chinese smart investments are in language acquisition (p. 152), particularly in English, and an interesting experiment in robot teaching.

The “wisdom teaching assistant” robot of Huayu Education “replaces [physical] teachers in the classroom, reads textbook content ... and solves students’ problems.” Students remotely interact with foreign teachers by “video call through the tablet PC in the robot’s head.”  Most surprisingly, the author’s contend that this model will be the primary method “of K-12 classroom teaching in the next 5-10 years” (p. 157).

In addition to the summary and most important points, one of the biggest limitations of the volume is the dry recital of mind-numbing numbers. Tables of statistics and numbers are presented throughout, without context or a basis of comparison to elicit meaning about them. Readers will need a basis of comparison to understand the differences between urban and rural areas of China, and perhaps even more importantly between China and other cultures. There should be a Chinese and cross-cultural basis of comparison as a yardstick, which would help readers grasp the important research surveyed.  

The last section (Part 3) is the most limited, that is, there is a lack of multicultural points of comparison. This may indicate the relative lack of actual contact between Chinese educators and their counterparts in other countries. Not including references, there are only a few comparisons (in 14 pages) made between China and the United Nations (UN), India, the US, and Malaysia.

One additional point needs to be made as well. The excessive number of typographical errors is obtrusive and should have been corrected by an editor or the publisher. A representative sample includes: simple spelling errors, for example, “Therefor” (p. 9) and “butt” (p. 137); an orphan “d” (p. 23) unattached to surrounding words and standing by itself; vagueness, for example, “capitals” (p. 147) where the context appears to mean investment capital; not “staffs” (p. 121) but staff; mistakes of number, for example, “citizen” (p. 12) should be plural; a faulty city designation, not “shandong” (p. 85) but Shandong; incorrect word use, not “corporate” (pp. 124 and 126) but corporation; and oddly worded sentences, for example: “In which individuality means teaching students in accordance of their aptitudes and making the best use of the circumstance aiming at learning activity” (p. 131). Finally, articles are consistently misused throughout.

Notwithstanding, smart learning in China is timely and the value of the work reveals its importance, its emphasis on language acquisition, and its dramatic growth. Related works include [1,2].