Then AI exploded. To be honest, I felt confused. Every day, I opened my phone and saw a new AI platform, another promise about what AI could do. Questions kept circling in my mind: whether my students and I have been becoming increasingly dependent on AI? How would the roles of teachers and students change in the age of AI? I felt uncertain and did not know where to begin.

Things began to change when I joined the project Inclusive Use of AI in Education in Vietnam, which aims to expand access to education through the application of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning. Together with my colleagues, I had opportunities to learn through many different activities. We attended online training sessions led by experts from leading teacher education universities across Vietnam. We also worked directly with specialists from Vinh University during training sessions held at our own school. Later, I was fortunate to be selected to participate in a mini-project at Vinh University. With each experience, some of the confusion I had about AI slowly began to fade.

After that journey, my perspective on AI changed completely. I became more aware of both its potential and its limitations. I also stopped experimenting randomly with countless tools and instead focused on two that felt practical and suitable for our context: NotebookLM and MagicSchool. These two tools are compact, practical, and most importantly, feasible for teaching activities in remote classrooms like ours.

One moment remains especially memorable to me. It was the first time I used a lesson plan that I had prepared with the support of MagicSchool and brought it into my classroom. The students were far more engaged than usual. The atmosphere was lively and energetic in a way I had not expected. At that moment, I felt that I was no longer simply trying to catch up with technology, but had truly begun to use it with confidence. The excitement in my students’ eyes gave me more reassurance than any training session or report ever could.

Today, I use AI more calmly and with control. I also believe that learning should be shared. Whenever colleagues ask, I am happy to share what I have learned and experienced.

AI should not belong only to big cities or well-resourced schools. When used thoughtfully, it can become a meaningful support for education in mountainous and remote regions as well. For me, technology has truly reached teachers and students in Que Phong — not through something distant or dramatic, but through small, practical, and very real changes in everyday teaching.

I am grateful that the project chose to place its trust in a remote school like ours, and that it has given me a path to enter the world of AI without feeling lost. What I have learned today will continue to be shared in the classroom, with colleagues, and with students. I also hope that, in the near future, teachers in remote areas will have more opportunities to continue learning about AI and receive greater support in innovating teaching and learning practices.

Que Phong, May 10, 2026

Author: Nguyen Van Khai,

Mathematics teacher, Que Phong High School, Nghe An province