From three old computers left in the warehouse, teacher Hoang Duong Hoa wrote an inspirational story about the journey of "eradicating illiteracy" in technology and building the belief in conquering knowledge for ethnic minority students.
Bringing technology to every school
Recalling the first days of arriving at A Ngo school to take up his duties more than 5 years ago, Mr. Hoa could not help but feel sad when witnessing the mountainous school on the Vietnam - Laos border still lacking in many aspects. The climate was harsh, the people's lives were difficult, the classrooms were cramped, and there was almost no teaching equipment. At that time, the whole school only had 3 old computers taken from the warehouse, with outdated and slow configurations. However, the first IT lessons brought a lot of excitement and a desire to explore technology in the Pa Ko children.
“In the first lessons, many students looked at the computer with both curiosity and fear, not daring to touch the keyboard or mouse. Most of them had never seen a computer in real life,” Mr. Hoa recalled.
“From not daring to touch a computer, students have participated in programming competitions, creativity competitions, and Tourism Ambassador competitions and won prizes. This is the greatest gift for a teacher like me who brings technology across mountains and forests to students in the highlands.” Teacher Hoang Duong Hoa, A Ngo Primary and Secondary School (La Lay Commune, Quang Tri Province)
Then, each IT lesson was started by Mr. Hoa with the simplest things like instructing the students to turn on and off the computer, move the mouse, and type each letter. He patiently guided each operation, each small mistake, so that the students could write their names, type a few lines of text, or scribble… Things that seemed normal were a whole new world for students in the highlands.
“Every small step forward for the students, from being able to type their name, write a short paragraph, doodle on the Paint app, to confidently presenting ideas on PowerPoint,… is a great source of happiness for me,” Mr. Hoa shared.
A Ngo Secondary School has 4 campuses, the furthest campus is 10km from the main campus, the road is mainly slopes and streams. In the early years, only Mr. Hoa was in charge of teaching IT to all students. Every day, he had to cross dozens of kilometers of forest roads to teach IT to each campus, sometimes he taught 3 campuses at a time. There were no computers at the remote campuses, so each class he had to carry 5-6 laptops.
Mr. Hoa's biggest worry is teaching in winter. "Winter here often rains for 4-5 months. Every time I carry a computer, I am always nervous. I use a large plastic bag to cover the computer, put it in front of me, and try to keep my balance. The biggest fear is that if it rains or falls and breaks the computer, the students will not have the equipment to study," Mr. Hoa said.
The motivation for Mr. Hoa to firmly hold the steering wheel is the support of the school's Board of Directors, the eagerness and anticipation of Pa Ko students for each IT class. That is the priceless spiritual medicine for Mr. Hoa to overcome all difficulties to sow "technology seeds". "While waiting for class time, many students just stand outside the window looking in, especially during the classes practicing 10-finger typing or drawing on the computer", Mr. Hoa said.
Leading Pa Ko students to conquer information technology
Since October 2020, after the historic flood in the Central region, the school has received support and additional computers to its teaching equipment. By 2022, the school continued to receive additional funding, becoming one of the first schools in Dakrong district (old) to have a relatively complete computer room. Thanks to that, Pa Ko teachers and students have less difficulty in their journey of exploring and conquering information technology.
Teacher Hoa's tireless efforts soon bore fruit. After only one year of "opening" IT at A Ngo school, his students confidently conquered competitions. In 2021, two students he guided won second prize in the "Quang Tri Province Tourism Ambassador" contest with a vivid video introducing the beauty of local culture. Since 2022, he has started teaching programming and has continuously had students win Encouragement prizes at the Provincial Youth IT Competition.
What is a matter of pride is that all the prize-winning students are Pa Ko. “They made their products with confidence and national pride. That is what I always wanted, information technology to become a bridge for them to step out into the world while still preserving their identity,” said Mr. Hoa.
Not wanting his students to stop at competitions, Mr. Hoa always innovates teaching methods: reducing theory, increasing practice; encouraging group work; guiding students to research application software, using the Internet to find documents, and nurturing a love of technology.
The most difficult thing about teaching IT in ethnic minority areas is the language barrier. “IT is closely linked to English, while for many students, the common language (Vietnamese) is almost a foreign language,” he said. This difference creates a double barrier, making the acquisition of knowledge extremely difficult. There are groups of students preparing for IT exams, teachers teach continuously for 5 weeks, but when they return, all the knowledge seems to have fallen away. Teachers and students have to start almost from zero.
To best impart knowledge to students, Mr. Hoa chose to "go against the majority". While many schools focus on teaching advanced Excel or PowerPoint to 8th and 9th graders, he directs them to the world of multimedia creation: learning to take photos and edit videos. "This content is more intuitive, vivid and closer, easily arousing interest. When students are excited, they will actively explore and overcome barriers to conquer technology," Mr. Hoa shared.
Digital transformation core
Many people in La Lay previously hardly used smartphones because they did not know how to type Vietnamese and found the operations complicated. After being proficient in IT at school, students went home to show their grandparents and parents how to use smartphones, how to send messages with accents, search for information, and look up services.
Pa Ko children have become the “nucleus of digital transformation” for their families and communities. Thanks to that, La Lay commune has changed the biggest obstacle in digital transformation: the habit of using smart devices. “More than 600 students of the school, most of whom are Pa Ko, now have systematic access to information technology,” said Mr. Hoa.
Not stopping at what has been done, in the coming time, the teacher will continue to research and apply modern technology, especially artificial intelligence, to teaching subjects to make the lessons more vivid and intuitive. He hopes that those lessons will help Pa Ko students not only keep up but also confidently integrate with the development of society.
Mr. Hoa is currently a member of the commune's "Community Digital Technology Team", directly participating in popularizing digital skills for people, supporting the implementation of cashless policies, integrating documents into the VNeID application, guiding people to complete national public service procedures...
Rescue the students
Teaching ethnic minority students, teacher Hoang Duong Hoa understands that imparting knowledge is not enough; one must be patient, understanding and truly accompany them to help them grow.
The story of Thuy Duyen - a student of the Young Informatics team, who won the third prize at the district level, the consolation prize at the provincial level and is an excellent ethnic minority student - once made the teacher worried and lost sleep. She was lured away from home to work in the South because of the prospect of "having money and a fancy phone". In the early days, she still sent information about home, then cut off all contact.
Through many different channels, the teacher tried to ask for the address, then connected to ask for support. Teacher Hoa asked someone to work with the factory owner, affirming that using underage workers under 16 years old like Duyen was a violation of the law. Thanks to that determination, Duyen was sent back to her family and returned to school. Now Duyen is in 10th grade, always grateful to the teacher for guiding her through the impulsive days of adolescence. Duyen often texts to ask, confide, and share with the teacher. For teacher Hoa, that is the most meaningful gift every November 20th season.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/diem-tua-tri-thuc-vung-dat-kho-bai-3-xoa-mu-cong-nghe-cho-hoc-sinh-pa-ko-post1797733.tpo
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