WHITE is the new black for schools next year - primary and secondary schools in Shanghai will replace traditional blackboards with new interactive whiteboards.

Developed by the British education technology provider Promethean, the "Activboard" is a computer-based system which can collect students' feedback so that teachers know how well they are learning.

Students will each have a remote control through which they can detail anonymously how much of the lesson they have understood.

The results show up immediately on the whiteboard so teachers can adjust the teaching plan if they need to.

The computer system will also allow teachers to write traditional text and provide audio-visual teaching materials to the whole class.

Chen Jiahu, the vice director at the Shanghai Audio-Visual Educational Studio, said that the whiteboard was a brand new way of incorporating modern computer technology into traditional teaching.

"We are studying the influence that new technologies can have on classroom teaching and student psychology," Chen said. "The Activboard will greatly help us with research statistics."

At present, the interactive whiteboard has been adopted by primary and secondary schools in downtown Changning District and Putuo District.