As online education rapidly expanded, delivering interactive classroom experiences at scale became one of the most critical challenges for large education platforms. For TAL, a leading K12 education company serving tens of millions of online users, simply offering video-based instruction was no longer sufficient. The platform needed to replicate the engagement, responsiveness, and collaborative dynamics of physical classrooms in a fully digital environment.
To achieve this, TAL partnered with ZEGOCLOUD to build a real-time, low-latency communication infrastructure capable of supporting high-concurrency interactive classes while maintaining audio-video stability and synchronization. This partnership enabled TAL to scale innovative online teaching models without compromising educational quality.
TAL Company Overview
As an education and technology enterprise centering on innovative education and an open platform.
TAL has established 5 business groups:
- smart education
- education cloud
- content and education for the future
- K12 and comprehensive competence
- International and lifelong education.
It has 15 sub-brands, including Xueersi, xueersi.com, Izhikang, and First Leap. It invests in many educational institutions, such as Babytree and changingedu.com. Currently, it has opened branches in 55 cities in China and provides services to over 4.5 million offline students. It has over 36 million registered online users.
Challenges
Online classes’ audio and video quality directly impact teacher and student interaction. TAL expects high-definition, stable, and high-concurrency real-time interactive video and audio technologies to serve in multiple education scenarios:
- including the live streaming big class
- small interactive class
- international online small class to ensure ultra-low latency
- Audio-video synchronization for all parties in educational interaction.
Since a screen separates teachers and students, only a highly engaged learning environment will help students to learn more effectively. Take K12 students, for example. They are so young that they cannot discipline themselves as adults would. By learning with mates and mutual communication and encouragement, they will deliver a much better performance.
There are not enough good teachers, all based in developed cities and areas with limited influence. So, TAL has to address the problem of how to provide good education to more students at lower costs on the teacher side, while ensuring the quality of interactive education.
ZEGOCLOUD Solution
To support TAL’s digital transformation, ZEGOCLOUD provided a real-time online education solution optimized for ultra-low latency, audio-video synchronization, and high concurrency.
Ultra-Low Latency and Synchronization
ZEGOCLOUD’s real-time streaming architecture ensures stable audio-video synchronization across multiple participants. This enables smooth teacher-student interaction in both large and small class formats while maintaining high-definition video and clear audio quality.
Flexible Multi-Class Architecture
Through its modular audio and video framework, ZEGOCLOUD enabled TAL’s “super small-class” model. In this structure, one instructor and multiple assistants can manage dozens or even hundreds of virtual classrooms simultaneously. Assistants can enter and manage any classroom in real time, while students interact through multi-microphone technology that supports collaborative learning.
Educational streams are distributed efficiently across virtual classrooms, ensuring consistent performance even under high concurrency.
Scalable Resource Optimization
The super small-class model allows a limited number of instructors and assistants to engage thousands of students while preserving interactive quality comparable to traditional small-group settings. This structure improves teaching efficiency, standardizes instructional processes, and reduces overall operational costs.
Business Impact
With the support of ZEGOCLOUD’s real-time communication infrastructure, TAL was able to transform its online education model from simple video broadcasting into a highly interactive digital classroom environment.
The super small-class model significantly improved teaching efficiency. A limited number of instructors and assistants could simultaneously support thousands of students while maintaining interactive engagement comparable to traditional small-group sessions. This allowed TAL to expand access to high-quality education without proportionally increasing teacher resources.
The improved stability and synchronization of audio and video streams enhanced classroom flow, reducing interruptions and improving student concentration. In particular, K12 learners benefited from increased peer interaction and real-time communication, which helped sustain engagement in remote learning environments.
By combining scalable real-time technology with innovative classroom structures, TAL strengthened its ability to deliver inclusive, high-quality education across regions while optimizing operational efficiency.
Conclusion
As online education continues to evolve, delivering scalable and interactive classroom experiences has become essential for long-term growth. For TAL, building a real-time infrastructure capable of supporting diverse teaching models was not only a technical upgrade but a strategic shift toward more inclusive and efficient digital learning.
Through its partnership with ZEGOCLOUD, TAL established a stable and responsive online classroom environment that supports high concurrency without sacrificing interaction quality. This foundation enables continuous innovation in teaching formats while ensuring that educational accessibility and engagement remain at the core of its digital transformation.
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