(VOVWORLD) - Online schooling has become a growing trend amid a rush of technology. Using digital devices in teaching is just one example of the current digital transformation of education. How does SmartROOM, a comprehensive solution for online teaching, help the process? We talked to Nguyen Huy Du, CEO of DuCapital Holding and the inventor of SmartROOM, to find out the answer.
 The idea to design a solution for online teach began in 2018 but it was until the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, it can boom, said Nguyen Huy Du. |
Bao Tram: Can you describe SmartROOM simply and why did you create the app?
Huy Du: SmartROOM includes three components – a set of digital devices involving a camera, a loudspeaker and a microphone, an Internet-based platform for image and audio transmission, and an application to manage online learners.
In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, online teaching will be an inevitable trend, along with face-to-face training programs. The main purpose of developing this online teaching solution was to help teachers use Internet-based multimedia transmission technology to conduct lessons with optimal image and sound quality.
The increased use of IT applications at many schools is improving the IT skills of both teachers and students, so teachers can use livelier, more intuitive teaching methods and sharing information is easier.
Our app, for example, can help teachers present lessons using vivid sound and images, inspiring the learners and making the lesson easier to understand. And when there is a natural disaster or epidemic like the current COVID-19 pandemic that has continued for two years, our app ensures that the students’ schooling can continue uninterrupted.
Bao Tram: Is SmartROOM a finished product or just a beta version?
 Nguyen Huy Du, CEO of DuCapital Holding |
Huy Du: SmartROOM is a finished product in terms of technical devices and platform and is already being used by a number of education and training deparments in Nam Dinh and Dien Bien province for daily meetings and training programs.
But in terms of the software for managing smart classrooms, the app remains a beta version and will need regular upgrades to meet evolving requirements.
Features like registration for online learning, online submission of assignments, online roll-call, and online grade returning, are in principle similar to other products available in the market right now. But to adapt the app to the needs of each area, each locality, each school, and each group of students, we will continue to research and upgrade the app.
Bao Tram: What are the advantages and disadvantages of SmartROOM compared to other products like Microsoft Team or Zoom?
Huy Du: There are many foreign apps available in the market, like Zoom or Microsoft Team, which schools can use for their online teaching and learning, but SmartROOM is totally different. Those other apps are just smart phone- or computer-based platforms for transmitting sound and images, but SmartROOM is a comprehensive solution involving hardware, foundation software, and an app to manage online learners.
Because it was developed by a Vietnamese startup company, SmartROOM is relatively new to customers. That means it could still have a few bugs that need to be fixed with the help of the users’ feedback and opinions.
That might be called a disadvantage of SmartROOM but it is actually an advantage. We provide a comprehensive solution including devices, platform, and software. Other products in the market now only include one or two of the three components. When there is a problem, it wont be easy to determine the cause or who should take responsibility for resolving it. SmartROOM is a comprehensive product so we’ll be responsible for all of it.
Bao Tram: Thank you.