At the same time, 1,000 kilometers away, in the capital city of Hanoi, students and teachers also started a new academic year with the sound from the school drum. 

The ceremonies were broadcast through television and computer screens.

At that time, no one imagined that the online ceremony would be the start of a series of renovations in the educational sector.

Technology has created wonderful changes to the educational sector. “The Covid-19 pandemic turned out to be a driving force for the educational sector to go digital,” said the director of the Nam Dinh Education and Training Department, Cao Xuan Hung.

“Online teaching then suggested a big idea: why don’t we think of developing online teaching which would connect schools with schools, Vietnamese students with foreign students all over the world,” he said. “With the connections, supported by technology, students in remote areas with limited conditions will also be able to expand their international connections and make friends with international friends."

After that, online teaching with connections among localities and without geographical distance were launched in the entire province of Nam Dinh.

From a school located far from the central area of Giao Thuy district, fourth and fifth graders could confidently discuss and exchange information with the students sitting half a world away.

Pham Thi Ha, a teacher of English at Giao Thien Primary School, is the author of the initiative of arranging cross-border lessons.

Despite the challenges, including time zone differences, unstable internet transmission, lack of learning aids, and different English accents, global classes still occur regularly.

Ha’s lessons have inspired other teachers and educators in other cities and provinces, in large urban areas and the countryside.

On some Facebook groups such as the Vietnam Creative Teachers Community and Microsoft Global Creative Teachers Community, many teachers expressed their wish to organize similar globally connected classes.

At first, they had to familiarize themselves with many skills. However, they later realized that "nothing is impossible".

Using Skype to connect her class with native speakers, Nguyen Thi Thuy, a teacher of English at the Minh Dam High School in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, can reform her lessons and bring opportunities to students become a global citizen.

Technology can help solve problems which cause headaches to the educational sector.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, the entire Meo Vac district in Ha Giang province had 18 primary schools. Under the new national general education program, students have to begin learning English from the third grade with four teaching periods a week.

With 2,600 third graders, the students in Meo Vac needed 10,640 periods of English. Meanwhile, there was only one teacher of English for the primary education level.

In such circumstances, the local authorities decided to organize hybrid lessons, which combine between online and in-person lessons.

From Hanoi, more than 20 young teachers of English from Marie Curie School voluntarily gave English lessons to third graders in Meo Vac. The students in the mountainous area had three lessons a week with teachers from Hanoi, and the other lesson with Meo Vac teachers.

Teachers in 4.0 era

Nguyen Tung Lam, a respected educator, and the co-founder of Dinh Tien Hoang High School in Hanoi, acknowledging that technology can bring wonderful benefits, stressed the role of teachers has changed a lot.

“Teachers are no longer the only persons who transmit knowledge to students. They are just a channel that provides knowledge to learners,” Lam said.

In the ‘technological era’, all teachers need to innovate, though this is not an easy thing.

Ha Anh Phuong, an English teacher from Huong Can High School in Phu Tho province, stressed that for teachers, stopping learning means lagging behind.

Phuong is the first Vietnamese listed among the world’s 10 most excellent teachers according to Varkey Foundation.

Her school is located in a mountainous area, where 80 percent of students are Muong ethnic.

Thuy Nga