The story of digital transformation at Olympia

Covid-19 appeared and turned the away the world works in a negative direction. Education is also not outside the affected area: the students’ schedule are constantly being changed, experiential learning plans are constantly being cancelled or postponed for safety reasons. On the other hand, Covid has created a big push for the education industry in the process of digital transformation.

At Olympia, over the last ten years, we have continuously learned and applied information and technology in teaching and school operations. Speaking about the digital transformation process, the first factor will be the development orientation as well as the applied ICT platform. 2020 has marked a big step in the digital transformation process when Olympia chooses the model “A school of the future” for all its action orientations in the period 2020-2025. One of the five characteristics of the future school model is the application of IT in teaching and learning as well as school management and operation. Thus, Board of Digital Transformation was established, starting strategies to integrate digital technology into all fields, changing the operation style fundamentally and providing new values for all users in the school. All of the areas are beneficial from this digital transformation, from bus service, faceID roll call, plan management, operating procedures with Base Wework, Base Workflow, Base Request/Booking, Microsoft Office 365 licensed accounts to training how to apply IT in work for the staffs, teachers, and students. We also use a separate software for quality management and evaluation.

With such advanced technology platforms, developing the capability of teachers and staffs operating “a digital school” is also implemented. In December 2018, The Olympia Schools coordinated with the Department of Education and Training to organize an international seminar on mixed teaching. In particular, the flipped classroom model is included in the intensive training program by international educational experts for the teachers and leaders in the following school years. This model is experienced and reflected through teaching activities. A scientific discussion with the topic “Applying the flipped classroom model in teaching in middle school” was held in March 2021, which was also part of the school’s training series of digital transformation capabilities. Here, with the support of IT, the teachers have practiced teaching different subjects: Maths, Philology, Geography, Technology, English, and have obtained positive effects, together with sharing and drawing experiences. All that knowledge has been shared with the broad community of Olympian teachers to learn and develop together.

Olympia aims to build an educational program in which differentiated teaching and learner-centered teaching go in depth and a roadmap of building a learning culture is designed. The contest “Designing digital lectures – Creative teaching on IT platforms” was one of the practical forms. It created an atmosphere of responses and co-learning about IT to apply technology in teaching, encouraging creativity, innovation and improvement on the teachers’ IT capabilities. In turn, we gradually develop digital materials, digital lectures to serve teaching activities in any sitation. The contest was also a new, challenging academic playground for the teachers’ collaboration and professional development, contributing to building a lifelong learning culture of the Olympian community and creating opportunities for the pioneers of the school’s digital transformation process.

With such investments in and a detailed roadmap of digital transformation, Olympia is confident to create a suitable learning environment for Gen Z students – born digital citizens. This is the generation that needs to be prepared for life in a rapidly changing context.

 
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Nguyen Thi Thu Thao,
Member of Academic Council of Olympia, Master of Latin Language – Master of German, Dresden University of Technology, Germany