Having the opportunity to visit and work at schools in Na Hang, Yen Son, Son Duong, Chiem Hoa districts, Tuyen Quang province, we were really surprised by the students' eagerness to learn. The main school day ended at 4:00 p.m., but most students still stayed for 30 minutes to receive tutoring and online learning guidance from teachers.

"The students who stay for extra classes are all ethnic minority students or from poor families," said Ms. Mai Thi Hien, a teacher at Tu Quan Secondary School, Yen Son District.

Love of learning overcomes all difficulties

With the desire to access lively, engaging lectures and review them many times to consolidate knowledge, students do not hesitate to take advantage of their study time. Lenh Anh Thu, Tu Quan Secondary School shared: "Learning Math on Khan Academy helps me absorb knowledge more thoroughly. For lessons that I do not really understand in class, I will review the lecture videos and do the exercises many times. Last school year, thanks to this learning method, I achieved a total score of 9.8 in Math."

Thu is one of the few students who has a phone to study at home. Most of her classmates will study on the platform during the last period on Saturday or stay at school to study extra during the week. There are not many computers in the computer room, so 2-3 students will study together and discuss their homework.

Like Tu Quan School, teachers at Nhu Khe Primary School, Yen Son District also apply similar methods to create conditions for students to study.

"Nhu Khe School has 70% of students who are ethnic minorities, and has a branch of immigrant students, so there are many difficulties. The school has 2 computer rooms, and on holidays, teachers come to school and let students use the computer rooms.

For classes, teachers check the learning progress and see that students review knowledge at home less because their parents work shifts and come home at night, so students do not have learning devices, so they will take advantage of the free class period in the late afternoon to lend them devices to study. In addition, for classes with 4 periods, the school will reserve the 5th period for students to go to the computer room to study for 20 to 30 minutes," said Ms. Dinh Thi Tuyet Loan, the school's principal.

Not only receiving help from teachers, students in difficult circumstances also receive support from their classmates. Luckier than their classmates because they have computers to study, Tran Trieu Doanh and Quan Trieu Vy (students of Nhu Khe Primary School) said: "I often call my friends to my house to study together and do the exercises assigned by the teacher. When studying together like that, we can discuss and find ways to solve difficult exercises."

Free online learning platform brings equal educational opportunities to students in mountainous areas

In our country, students are very studious. Whether in urban, rural or remote areas, mountainous areas..., they still have a thirst for learning. Vietnamese parents, regardless of their circumstances, are always willing to borrow money to give their children the opportunity to study. In addition, in the past 10 years, Vietnam's digital technology platform has been getting better and cheaper. That is the motivation for Mr. Pham Duc Trung Kien (Founder of the free online learning platform Khan Academy Vietnam) to localize the content on the Khan Academy platform to help students everywhere have the opportunity to learn Math, Programming... completely free of charge.

In addition, students can also learn English and practice for the SAT at zero cost. Many students in remote areas who do not have the conditions to study can now learn Math, SAT, and programming online with teachers and friends from all over the country...

"We always want to encourage students to study on their own anytime, anywhere, regardless of the circumstances. Educational equality will help them have the opportunity to reach out to the ocean," said Mr. Pham Duc Trung Kien.

Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Tuyen Quang province Nguyen Van Hien shared: "In the 2023 - 2024 school year, the whole province is determined to apply technology in education to improve digital transformation in the whole industry. Schools use many platforms and free international standard software to help students learn easily such as Quizz or Khan Academy. In which, the application of Khan Academy is highly agreed by teachers, students and parents. Besides learning Math, students have access to subjects in English or life skills subjects, thereby improving their self-study ability. This is a core competency that needs to be equipped for students to be able to learn for life and succeed".

Sharing the same view, teacher Nguyen Thi Minh Huong, Nhu Khe Primary School, said that online learning is becoming an inevitable trend. When each student is given the opportunity by teachers and families to participate in online learning for only 20-30 minutes every day, they will improve their ability in computer thinking and learn a lot of new knowledge. Therefore, the school and teachers will still try to create the best conditions for students to study.

Anh Quan, a student at Dam Hong High School in Chiem Hoa District, confided: Since participating in online learning on the free platform, I feel more proactive in studying. Every day, I spend 30 minutes to 1 hour reviewing my knowledge. I often study the basic lessons first, so that when I come to class and listen to the teacher's lecture, I will understand faster. In particular, my greatest joy is not only learning new math learning methods to apply to lessons in class, but also using that knowledge to teach my younger brother and support my classmates.

Although there are still many difficulties in learning equipment, students will still study on the same computer with friends and teachers, but each day with each lesson, they will gain new knowledge in Math, English, Natural Science, and skills such as Programming, Internet Safety... so that their dreams can be lit up from the roof of the "village school".