Vietnam boosts tech use in education

THE HANOI TIMES — Online classes are proving to be a valuable resource for Vietnamese 12th graders as they prepare for the upcoming high school graduation exam.

Dinh Trong Thai, a 12th grader at Hanoi-based Lomonosov Education System, said students can easily access all materials, questions, and tests stored on an online platform, and that is the advantage of online education.

"I feel very comfortable studying online without the pressure of face-to-face classes. I can review the lecture if I don't understand, pause to take notes, or choose an appropriate study time when I can best focus on the lesson," Thai told The Hanoi Times.

In addition, online courses are often more affordable than traditional remedial courses, helping to alleviate financial pressures for many parents, especially students in rural areas.

Thanh Ngan's online English courses attract thousands of Vietnamese students. Many of them live in rural and remote areas and still have access to high-quality lectures via the Internet. By enrolling in Ngan's online courses, many students have made progress and achieved their learning goals without spending too much money.

Today's online learning is no longer just lessons delivered via Zoom or Google Meet. Many specialized online education platforms have developed comprehensive learning ecosystems that integrate lectures,  videos, tests, and assessments. In addition, many online instructors' live broadcast lessons create close and lively interactions, making them engaging for students.

"I like studying on an online learning site because it has a repository of lectures and documents. The lectures are arranged in a specific order, which makes it easy for me to search for them when I need to. In particular, these platforms also have online exercises that are similar to the real exam structure, which helps me review and know my level," said Nguyen Khanh Uyen My from a remote district in the central province of Quang Nam, a student in Thanh Ngan's online class.

Inevitable trend in education

Online schooling is here to stay. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed education as teachers and students have to adapt to remote schooling. Even though the epidemic is over, distance learning has continued and grown stronger.

Dang Thi Oanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Information Technology under the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), told The Hanoi Times about the positive results achieved in the education sector after strengthening the application of information technology and digital transformation for the period 2022-2025.

"We are currently developing online teaching models that will make it easier for teachers to interact with students and give assignments," Oanh said.

She noted that the term education technology (EdTech), which refers to the use of technology in education, has become a familiar term in Vietnam. With high internet penetration and the availability of online education platforms, the application of technology in teaching and learning has become easier than ever. 

According to MoET, online schooling is not only an alternative to face-to-face education during the pandemic, but also an important method to improve the quality of education from pre-school to university levels.

Both teachers and students have quickly adapted to the online teaching and learning methodology, supporting the application of digital technology in teaching and learning in the country.

According to statistics from Khan Academy, an American online education platform, in 2024, Vietnam has more than 204 million minutes of learning recorded on the platform with over two million learning accounts. This ranked Vietnam second in the number of online learners and moved up one place from 2023. Online platforms become the optimal alternative to help many students learn in a flexible and effective way.