Digital Transformation A Digital Learning Case Study
Digital Transformation A Digital Learning Case Study
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divided into four parts, which are digital teaching materials knowledge should be distributed via a participants‟ network, and
(including e-books, digitalized data, or content presented by most of the course activities take place in social environments
digital methods), digital tools (the learning activity is conducted where learners interact with each other and with the materials.
through tools such as computers, tablets, or smartphones), digital
delivery (the educational activities are conducted on the Internet), The reasons for people to take MOOCs are cited as because they
and autonomous learning, which means students‟ online or offline want to be educated in an area of interest, or because they want to
learning activities can be conducted by themselves. have a certificate to apply for a job or further their careers
(Baturay, 2015, p430) [6]. So, MOOCs have largely been utilized
According to a Deloitte Review article (Banerjee & Belson, n.d.) as stand-alone courses without credits. However, there have been
[3], digital learning and education is defined by three connectors, efforts to integrate MOOCs into traditional classroom settings
which are: (Israel, 2015, p104) [8]. In such an endeavor, many challenges
have been identified in the implementation of MOOCs for
Firstly, an integrated digital education ecosystem, where all undergraduate students, including: difficulty in grading and
stakeholders, including teachers, peers, administrators, and evaluating students‟ works, interaction between instructors and
individuals outside of the formal education system (mentors, learners, when instructors may feel they are speaking into a
employers) form a collaborative network to provide instructions vacuum without immediate students‟ feedback, low students‟
and guidance to the student at the center of the learning process. engagement in online forums and discussions, transfer of course
Secondly, an integrated student learning life cycle, in which in- credits (which relates to the issue of determining the course‟s
classroom and real-world learning is connected to suit the learning prerequisites) (Billington, & Fronmueller, 2013, p39) [7],
styles, needs, and potential of each student for a continuous (Zawacki-Richter et al, p249) [9].
learning experience.
3. IMPLEMENTATION
And thirdly, integrated technology solutions, which mean
providers of ed-tech solutions can draw on their own strengths and 3.1 Transforming from Traditional Learning
competencies to partner and provide integrated solutions. to Digital Learning at FPT Polytechnic
FPT Polytechnic is a member of FPT Education. Since it opened
Digital learning may happen in distance learning courses or
for business in 2010, FPT Polytechnic„s mission is to provide
campus-based courses. In the case of the latter, it may be called
good educational services based on the criteria: match with
“blended-learning” (Fry, Ketteridge, & Marshall, 2009, p86) [1].
student‟s competency; meet the demands of industries; and supply
Blended learning can be defined as the learning and teaching
standardized education services (n.a., 2012) [10]. Since December
process which incorporates both face-to-face and ICT-supported
2012, FPT Polytechnic implemented the advanced learning based
teaching (Lalima & Dangwal, 2017, 129) [4]. Some compelling
on IT platform- “LMS”. A Learning Management System (LMS)
reasons why an institution in higher education may choose to
delivers and manages all types of content, including video,
implement blended learning have been cited. The first reason is
courses, and documents. In particular, students can log in to join
that it provides improved pedagogy and easier access to
the courses, download the learning materials, participate in online
information. The learning content is available anytime, anywhere
quizzes/exams, and check the grade reports. Besides, instructors
with an Internet connection, therefore students can learn at their
can apply LMS to facilitate teaching and learning activities: create
own pace. Blended learning can also facilitate both independent
discussion boards among the instructor and students within a
and collaborative learning experiences. It helps develop a
course, provide online supports for students‟ inquiries and create
community and platform in which students can make questions
the feedback form of that course.
and interact freely (Okaz, 2015, p601) [5].
From 2010 to 2012, FPT Polytechnic found out several main
Another form of digital learning that is expected to transform
issues in traditional learning: (1) Students fall asleep in class (2)
education is MOOCs, which stands for Massive Open Online
Student hardly read the hard textbooks (3) Students almost touch
Courses. For higher education in particular, in recent years,
their smart phones in class (4) Students „competencies diversify
MOOCs have emerged as the latest prominent trend (Baturay,
and (5) Students‟ learning styles are various. Therefore, FPT
2015, p427) [6]. This is thanks to advanced Internet-based
Polytechnic consider whether transform from traditional learning
technology, engaging topics and presentations from faculty, and
to digital learning or not? After researching and evaluating the
funding for initial courses (Billington, & Fronmueller, 2013, p36)
resolutions for some time, FPT Polytechnic started launching
[7].
“Blended Learning” at the end of 2012. Blended learning has been
According to Baturay (2015, p428) [6], MOOCs are characterized implemented by many universities in the world and has been also
by being open, participatory, and distributed. Firstly, being open expected to basically change learning habits of Vietnamese
means that anyone with an Internet connection can access and students. In blended learning, instructors direct their students
participate in a MOOC (sometimes even for free). The word whereas technology facilitates students‟ self-learning. As a result,
“open” here also has a meaning in terms of students‟ role, because students self-study online lessons and submit their homework
as they enter a course, they are thus invited to join an open (quiz, assignment, lab and so on) throughout LMS.
community of research and discussion for the growth of
Blended learning is a mixture of traditional face to face learning
knowledge within a field.
and the digital environment to make learning experience more
Secondly, MOOCs are participatory, because MOOCs are suitable, have more effectiveness and achieve better results.
facilitated by the participation in both creating and sharing According to The Gates Foundation, the benefits of blended
individual contributions, as well as in interacting with the learning include (n.a., 2010) [11].
contribution of other people.
• Approaching to more high quality and more diversified
Lastly, MOOCs have the characteristic of being distributed; as content;
MOOCs are developed based on the connectivist approach, the
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• More flexible in class sessions and program structures; facilitate students to engage in class activities and topic discussion
This can enable students to understand and apply knowledge of
• Satisfying for students‟ needs; online lessons effectively;
• Approaching to many sources, many assessments and • There are two main assessment methods:
testing tools enable students to their pace and learning styles;
Formative assessment: Quizzes on the online lessons,
• Instructors can pay more attention to the worse students participation in class activities, progress tests, and
as wells as monitor the progress of all students in their class. periodical evaluation of assignments/projects;
Summative assessment: Final presentation of
assignments/projects.
3.2 FUNiX Way – A New Approach to Online
Learning with MOOC
FUNiX the online university is a member of FPT Education,
officially launched on 13th December 2015.Starting with
bachelor‟s degree and IT certificates. From the beginning,
FUNiX‟s objective is to provide high quality education (equal or
higher than traditional in-campus education) with affordable, local
price (FUNiX, n.d.) [13].
Figure 1. e-TQM College Blended Learning Approach (n.a., With the vision of pioneering in Vietnam online education with
the worldwide quality and local price, initiating with IT degree
2018) [12].
program, FUNiX has migrated the FPT University‟s in-campus
To make students get on well with the blended learning, FPT Software Engineering program into the online platform, and
Polytechnic began implementing this method for English courses. developed an appropriate approach called “FUNiX Way”. FUNiX
The objectives of pilot blended learning in English course are to Way affects all the aspects of education, started from enrolment
reduce teaching hours, still cover the content of TopNotch and last until the learner finish the course, with re-enrolment for
textbooks, ensuring the student performance aligning with the next cycle. In short, FUNiX Way aims to help learners to
learning outcomes, and fostering the productivity of instructors develop the competency of learning online. FUNiX Way is best
and students. More than that, there are many successful best described by statement “Better asking than attending class,
practices of delivering English course by blended learning that motivating than teaching” (Dat, 2019) [14].
FPT Polytechnic can learn and follow during of implementation.
The biggest obstacles for online education is the completion rate
The Office of Curriculum Development built up the process of in each course. Low completion rate is caused by low motivation
developing blended learning courseware. The stakeholders of this because learners are lack of prompt supports as well as the
process are instructors, curriculum developers, the head of pressure from instructors and classmates in the online course. For
Curriculum Development Office, external specialist from other example, as watching any video, a question may come up, but a
universities/industries in the case of hiring them to develop the learner cannot have prompt resolutions, he/she can get bored and
courseware. tend to ignore it. Besides, for the self-paced learning, one can
constantly postpone the online tests/quizzes and the
Process
assignments/projects until the last minute and hardly complete a
video Review
Online Film course by the deadline. FUNiX tries to figure out its own
clips on and
lessons online resolutions for these problems, via the instant mentoring and
Articulat Upload
(ppt) lessons FARS (FUNiX Academic and Relational Support).
e on LMS
Storyline
3.2.1 Mentoring
In class lessons Review, and Upload on Mentors are either lecturers or engineers from IT companies from
(ppt) LMS all over Vietnam and some other countries. According to their
Other learning expertise they answer questions from learners, review the
materials assignments/project, and conduct the oral exams. Mentoring is
Review and Upload on operated via an app on Facebook, because all mentors and leaners
(labs, quizzes/tests, LMS
Assignments/Projects are familiar with using Facebook. The connection time is less than
etc.,) 3 minutes, and Q&A session is divided into 10-minute blocks of
chat. Learners can add more block if they want to continue or
extend the conversation. The mentors are encouraged to provide
Figure 2. The Process of Developing the Blended Learning their own point of view to learner‟s problems/inquires, based on
Courseware. their own knowledge and experience. At the same time, the
After that, The Office of Curriculum Development issues the learners also have opportunity to build relationships with potential
following guideline for blended learning in practice: employer, and many of them did find jobs or the apprenticeships
in the mentors‟ organizations (Dat, 2019) [14].
• Students self-study the new concepts and content
through online lessons on LMS by the time they come to class; 3.2.2 FARS
Besides interacting with mentors on learning content, learners can
• Instructors use in class lessons to check whether
get the continuously strong support during the course via a single
students can absorb the knowledge of online lessons or not,
contact point called Hannah, a FUNiX‟s learner support staff.
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Hannah conducts onboarding and look after the learner until 4. METHODOLOGY
he/she finishes the course (either complete or drop out). FARS is
the main framework for supporting learners, developed from 4.1 Scope of the Study
PARS which is based on situational leadership model (Dat, 2019) This paper mentioned the statistic data related to digital learning
[14]. from the vocational education - FPT Polytechnic (FPL) and the
cyber university - FUNiX Online University (FUNiX) which are
members of FPT Education in 2018.
5. FINDINGS
At the end of 2018, the FPL offered 10 vocational programs; the
Table 2 demonstrated about the number of courses and percentage
of courses that have been developed and delivered via Blended-
learning method.
Table 2. Blended-learning courses’ statistics implemented at
FPL
Figure 3. FARS Model (Dat, 2019) [14].
No. of Percentage
No Total Blended of Blended
3.3 MOOC Based Curriculum at FPT .
Group Program courses learning learning
University courses courses
Founded in 1988, FPT Corporation is now a leading organization 1. IT-related IT 33 14 42.424%
with 7 member companies operating in 4 business sectors programs (Application
including Technology, Telecommunications, Distribution & Software)
Retail, Education. FPT Corporation outlined its digital 2. Website 33 16 48.484%
transformation strategy and its ambition to become a leading Design
digital transformation enterprise in the next 10 years (FPT 3. Graphic 33 16 48.484%
Corporation, 2019) [15]. FPT Education is known as a dynamic Design
and developing member in FPT Corporation. Integrating with the
digital transformation strategy of FPT Corporation in 2019, FPT 4. Computer 33 14 42.424%
Education will its own digital transformation strategy for related Developer
members. In the scope of paper, the author mentioned about 5. Business- Public 32 25 78.125%
establishing MOOC based Curriculum at FPT University. Board related Relationship
of Directors (BOD) spent some time researching and evaluating programs
6. E-commerce 32 25 78.125%
best practices of MOOC based curriculum, then officially
launched this curriculum at the beginning of 2019 and finally
expect to run this curriculum in September 2019. MOOC based 7. Small and 32 25 78.125%
curriculum are selected due to many benefits for both FPT Medium
University and its students. Enterprise
Administrati
Table 1. Benefits of MOOC based curriculum on
For Students For FPT University 8. Hospitality- Tour 31 12 38.709%
related guiding
Learning the most updated and Implement digital 9. programs Hospitality 31 12 38.709%
modern contents transformation, keep up Management
with the technology trend
10. Restaurant 31 14 45.161%
Learn with professors of well- Develop instructors Management
known universities approaching to new contents
and new instructional Overall, at least nearly 40% of each program has been transferred
methods from face-to-face to blended learning method. Particularly; 3
Improve English skills, self- Optimize using the business-related programs reached the highest levels of the digital
learning skills and digital skills resources transformation (over 78% blended learning for each program).
Obtain valuable specialization International collaboration The other 7 programs reached the percentage of around 40% of
certificates awarded by Coursera and integration the digital transformation (2 of them which are Website Design
Have opportunities to study other Pioneer to make competitive and Graphic Design reached over 48% blended learning). The
Coursera courses beyond the advantages comparing to reason is that IT-related and hospitality-related programs
compulsory courses and recorded other universities integrated more technical and practices with lectures more than
by FPT University. business-related ones.
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Meanwhile, FUNiX is offering only one online undergraduate from April to June 2018. The results were 22%, 39%, and 16% in
program called Software Engineering which consists of 8 April, May, and June 2018, respectively.
certificates, each of them lasting from 4 to 6 months (self-paced
learning). After completing all 8 certificates, students will become From the negative results, it is found that there are main issues of
IT Engineer and receive a bachelor degree recognized by the FUNiX during the period of implementation. Firstly, Most of
Ministry of Education and Training (FUNiX, n.d.) [16]. Table 3 students lack of self-motivation to complete the online course.
demonstrated the number of online courses of each certificate. Secondly, the online supporters called Hannahs have not had
satisfied the learner‟s demands at right time. Last but not least,
Table 3. Online learning courses at FUNiX the content and assessment methods of online courses need more
improvement.
Number of
No. Certificate
online courses
1. Digital Passport 5
2. Mobile Application Developer 5
3. Enterprise Application Developer 5
4. Industry Attachment 5
5. Basic Software Engineer 5
6. IS Specialized 5
7. Pre-Graduate Certificate 5
8. Software Engineer Capstone Project 1
After achieved all those 8 certificates and 2 other compulsory
requirements (Certificate Military Education and Certificate
Academic English), students shall receive a bachelor degree
recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam
(MOET) (FUNiX, n.d.) [16].
Figure 5. Completion Rate for Certificate 1 learners by month
In order to track the effective of the digital learning methods,
(April to June 2018) (Dat, 2019) [14].
educational institutions measure some index such as Retention
Rate (for FPL) and Completion Rate (for FUNiX). 6. CONCLUSION
Figure 4 showed the Retention Rate by semester at FPL from From results of digital learning such as Blended learning at FPT
semester Spring 2017 to Spring 2019. It changed dramatically, Polytechnic and online learning with MOOC at FUNiX from early
especially in Spring 2017 and Summer 2017 there was the similar 2013 to present, it is recognized that FPT Education has kept up
rate (around 66%). From Summer 2017 to Spring 2018, it rapidly with trend of the digital transformation and has made competitive
increased by 12%, reached the highest level at the evaluation advantages in the context of Industry Revolution 4.0. However,
period (about 78%). However, the Retention Rate slightly there are remaining problems as implementing the digital learning
decreased to approximately 67% at Spring 2019 compared to at FPT Education mentioned in the findings. The author proposes
Retention Rate was 78% at Spring 2018. This ratio can reflect that feasible recommendations as following: (1) Optimize the platform
the slight ineffectiveness from Spring 2018 to Spring 2019, to strong support for learning and assessing student performance
therefore the academic department, Curriculum Development as engaging in both blended learning and online learning (2)
Division for Vocational program and faculties can analyze the Develop high quality human resources of building up blended
status and find out the main causes such as the boring content of learning courseware for vocational programs (3) Sign the contract
online lessons, inactive in self-studying online lessons, faculty‟s with Coursera to buy the MOOC courses for higher education
unreadiness for delivering blended learning course and the program as FUNiX and FPT University and (4) Provide the
platform not accessible at the peak hour. periodical faculty development programs to strengthen the
teaching and digital competencies. Beyond the scope of this paper,
Retention Rate at FPL since 2017 there should be further studies for digital transformation in the
supporting activities such digital marketing, digital documentation,
80.00%
Employee Service Portals (ESC) conducted at FPT Education in
75.00% the future.
70.00% 7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
65.00% Our thanks to ACM SIGCHI for allowing us to modify templates
they had developed.
60.00%
The authors are grateful for FPT University's School Management
55.00% Board, FPT Polytechnic's Curriculum Development Office,
SP17 SU17 FA17 SP18 SU18 FA18 SP19 FUNiX's Academic Department and related parties of FPT
Semester Education during the period of collecting and processing the data.
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