HKIS Technology, 1982-2007
David Elliott taught Computer Science and was the Technology Coordinator at HKIS from 1982 to 1987. After he retired, he was called back and is now the Director of Technology at Concordia International School Hanoi.
At HKIS, he taught technology through AP Computer Science and designed technology programs for admin staff, faculty and students of all ages. He was closely involved in the development of the school’s online Bulletin Board System and the “My DragonNet” community communication system in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The My DragonNet system proved to be an invaluable tool during the SARS crisis in 2003.
Rosann Kao, who was College Counselor at HKIS from 2001-2011, worked closely with David. She taught sex education and found that some of the boys were reluctant to talk about the topic in her classes. However, reported Rosann, David noticed that they did talk about it while they gathered around his computers in the library, so he invited her to go and listen. She said, “He helped me to see that you don’t teach just one subject in one class – the boys were listening in my class, but they didn’t feel ready to contribute actively in my class. But they did talk about the subject when they were working on their computers. So David knew what was going on in my class!”
Alumnus Justin Hardman ’99, who worked at HKIS from 2006 to 2012 in various roles, ending up as Director of Technology, shared his thoughts about David: “I can’t imagine anyone whose warmth, humanity and vision for education more reflect the meaning of the HKIS mission and SLRs. I was lucky to be David’s student in programming, then a colleague and now a friend. David believes in empowering students generally, but in particular through technology. The trust he put in students in managing complex and important school systems truly made HKIS a cutting-edge school with technology, and was also instrumental in those particular students’ high school experience.”