Enhancing education quality through the digital school concept: a case study on a junior high school in Sukoharjo

Abstract. The use of technology in the field of education is a necessity. Now, the school is starting to implement the concept of digital school through the Information Communication Technology (ICT) program. The question is whether the program is effective enough to improve the quality of education. This study aims to describe the implementation of the digital school concept at Junior High School (Sekolah Menengah Pertama, SMP) Muhammadiyah Al-Kautsar PK Kartasura Sukoharjo and to identify the impact of its implementation. The research shows that SMP Muhammadiyah Al-Kautsar PK Kartasura Sukoharjo implements the digital school concept through Information Communication Technology (ICT) programs, reducing the use of books, utilizing laptops as learning media, and digital-based governance systems. The positive impact is an increase in school quality, as evidenced by the increase in registrants every year, as well as ease in management and improvement of infrastructure. However, the high interaction of students with technology also has negative impacts, such as changes in values, norms, rules, and morals due to globalization from the internet. Abstrak. Penggunaan teknologi dalam dunia pendidikan menjadi suatu keniscayaan. Kini sekolah mulai menerapkan konsep digital school melalui program Information Communication Technology (ICT). Pertanyaannya adalah apakah program tersebut cukup efektif untuk meningkatkan kualitas pendidikan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan implementasi konsep digital school di Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) Muhammadiyah Al-Kautsar PK Kartasura Sukoharjo dan untuk mengidentifikasi dampak dari implementasi konsep digital school tersebut. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa SMP Muhammadiyah Al-Kautsar PK Kartasura Sukoharjo menerapkan konsep digital school melalui program Information Communication Technology (ICT), pengurangan penggunaan buku, pemanfaatan laptop sebagai media pembelajaran, dan sistem tata kelola berbasis digital. Dampak positifnya adalah peningkatan kualitas sekolah yang terbukti dari bertambahnya pendaftar setiap tahun, serta kemudahan dalam manajemen dan peningkatan sarana prasarana. Namun, tingginya interaksi siswa dengan teknologi juga menimbulkan dampak negatif, seperti perubahan nilai, norma, aturan, dan moral akibat arus globalisasi dari internet.