Nyoman Haryantara, Weaving Digital Transformation from a Remote School in Badung
I Nyoman Haryantara is striving to contribute to the world of education by driving digital transformation from the remote areas of Badung Regency, Bali. Through the ‘For ED’ initiative, which focuses on changing educators’ mindsets in Badung Regency, he won the National First Prize for Pioneer of Primary/Secondary School Teacher Learning Communities in 2025.
“Digitalisation should not only touch urban areas. Sophisticated hardware must be balanced with digital ecosystem readiness and sustainable teacher capacity building,” said Haryantara in an interview with detikBali on Friday (1/5/2026).
Haryantara is a teacher as well as the Deputy Head of Student Affairs at SMP Negeri 4 Petang. He admitted to feeling restless upon seeing technology infrastructure that has not been optimally utilised by teachers.
Through the For ED Community, Haryantara designs intensive mentoring to help fellow educators transition from rigid mindsets to growth mindsets. He acknowledges that many senior teachers in remote areas have not yet optimally utilised technology.
“The biggest challenge in the Petang area is not network or infrastructure issues, but how we reach and change the mindsets of senior teachers. Inviting them to leave conventional methods is a cultural process that requires a personal, heart-to-heart approach,” he added.
This Google Master Trainer Level 3 avoids complicated technical terms to make it easily accepted by teachers across generations. He uses simple analogies to convince educators that technology is a tool that facilitates work, not an additional frightening burden.
“I always emphasise that this learning technology is actually not much different from the mobile phones that you use every day. If we can send short messages, then we can certainly use technology to teach in the classroom,” said the Technology Ambassador of the Bali Provincial Ministry of Education and Culture.
His hard work has now yielded tangible results with the birth of 14 candidate Google Reference Schools in Badung and the achievement of 75 per cent of teachers holding international certification. This collective impact has also contributed to a significant increase in Badung Regency’s education report card results in the literacy and numeracy categories for 2025.
“This success is inseparable from the collaboration between grassroots initiatives and full support from the Badung Regency Education Office. We implement an adaptive budget strategy, where most webinars are conducted independently thanks to the mutual cooperation spirit of the resource persons,” said the Coordinator of the For ED Community at the Badung Education Office.
Haryantara has also prepared a long-term roadmap to keep the transformation spirit alive even after the national championship euphoria has passed. He targets 100 per cent teacher certification in reference schools by utilising Google Indonesia-supported exam scholarship programmes.
“We already have a clear annual work programme timeline to maintain the community’s consistency rhythm and remain relevant. Our focus is to expand synergy with other learning communities so that learning occurs two-way and is documented through a digital magazine,” said the Chairman of the Bali PGRI Informatics APKS.
Haryantara urges the central government to strengthen learning communities based on school needs. He hopes the peer mentoring model he applies in Badung can inspire equitable quality education nationwide.
“The government does not need to always create new containers; just strengthen existing learning groups like KKG and MGMP to be more empowered. Mentoring must be changed to collaborative, centred on best practices so that quality education can be enjoyed by all the nation’s children,” he concluded.