E-learning endorsed by experts for public schools

Saturday, 23 April 2011 17:00 Claudeth Mocon 

EDUCATION experts have introduced a new concept of learning aimed to address the decline in the quality of basic education in the country, the e-learning integrating information and communications technology in education.

 

The Bato Balani Foundation said the government should utilize available technological breakthroughs by public-private partnerships to address the decline in the quality of basic education in the country.

“We would like to update our policymakers with the milestones achieved by the private sector in the arena of information and communications technology [ICT] in education,” Ching Jorge of the Bato Balani Foundation said in a technology forum it spearheaded at Makati City recently.

During the forum, Ninia Calaca, director of the Education Technology Center at the University of Santo Tomas, showed a survey where 92 percent of the total number of respondents each owns a computer device; 85 out of the 92 percent have access to the Internet.

Students spend an average 4.6 hours daily using the Internet for social and educational purposes. With these findings, Calaca said interactive learning should be integrated in studies to further educate them with the advantages and proper use of information literacy.

“Nowadays, we cannot expect our students to just learn the 3Rs. Technology should therefore be in education,” Calaca said, referring to the foundations of a basic skills-orientated education program: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic.

Similar results were also echoed in a perception survey this year conducted by the University of the Philippines and the Diwa Learning System, an educational publishing company that produces materials using digital resources.

Improved knowledge in the cognitive skills of students using an interactive online material tipped 6.11 rate in a 1-to-7 scale grade; 6.12 for positive attitude on learning; and a 6.05 rate on computer-literacy skills among listed categories.

One product highlighted in the forum was Genyo, the first curriculum-based interactive multi-media course covering five major subjects in the basic education curriculum: English, math, science, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan or Hekasi.

In 2008 the program was launched in 42 schools nationwide—26 in the public and another 16 for the private— and has trained about 5,020 licensed teachers who will serve as learning integration specialists facilitating its use in classes.

“Back then, convincing schools to include ICT in their curriculum was an uphill battle for us because of the lack of infrastructure, Internet access and a general fear among teachers and school administrators to use technology in classrooms,” Jose Maria Policarpio of Diwa said.

“Now the government need not look far to realize that technologies in this sphere are already available. They can partner with the private sector to help implement these technologies more effectively with a wider scope,” he said.

Besides Genyo, Diwa also provides ICT resources through www.diwalearningtown.com where teachers, students and parents can acquire reading materials, activities and references free of charge.

(Claudeth Mocon)

Out-of-school youth to be given high-tech education

By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 22:03:00 02/13/2007

THE Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), in cooperation with the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) Education Foundation, have finally identified pilot areas for its eSkwela project that aims to provide ICT-enhanced education for Filipino out-of-school youth (OSY) and adults.

The program hopes to bridge the digital divide among the poor and remote communities in the Philippines by providing them with a free facility and learning materials.

If successful, the eSkwela pilot would be extended to major urban areas across the country.

APEC Education Foundation, headquartered in South Korea, provided a $200,000 grant for eSkwela that will be used to put up four pilot sites in Quezon City, Cebu City, San Jose del Monte and Cagayan de Oro City.

The CICT has also tapped the Department of Education (DEPED) to provide the materials for eSwela, primarily its Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) exam, a program for OSYs developed by the DEPED’s Bureau of Alternative Learning System.

The project provides recipient communities with 21 units of networked computers, relevant peripherals, one-year Internet connectivity, funds for site renovation, relevant educator’s training and e-learning modules.

The modules were developed by the Sandiwaan Center for Learning, another e-learning facility created in the former Smokey Mountain garbage dump site by Father Benigno Beltran.

The eSkwela recipient communities are expected to commit to the use of the instructional design within DEPED’s ALS A&E framework.

The Community is also expected to participate heavily in the project by managing the center operations by opening up venues for collaborative and engaged learning and providing support for community-based learner projects.

The eSkwela also has its own online presence at http://eSkwela.wikispaces.com. The program was announced to INQUIRER.NET by former CICT Commissioner Emmanuel Lallana in mid-2005 when he headed the CICT’s Human Capital Development Group.

'Skype school' brings knowledge to Indian village

By Ammu Kannampilly
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 23:09:00 04/05/2011

NEW DELHI—The electricity keeps cutting out, the Internet connection is crackly and the speakers don't always work, but Santosh Kumar knows that 20 pupils far away in eastern India are relying on him.

Once a week, Kumar uses the Skype computer programme to teach maths to children in Chamanpura, a poor village in the struggling state of Bihar, 600 miles (970 kilometres) from his two-storey house in the suburbs of New Delhi.

The free Internet service allows the class to see, via a projector, Kumar's tutorial which includes an animated tale about a greedy priest and a wily countryman to teach the students about numbers and the concept of infinity.

"The first time I did this, they were really excited by the technology, now they don't care," Kumar said. "It's normal to them."

Kumar, a successful 34-year-old engineer, grew up in Chamanpura village before battling his way to a place at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and on to a well-paid job in the Indian capital.

"It's an uphill task to bring education to villages," he said, recalling his teenage years when he would cycle eight miles to college in a nearby town.

Kumar's cousin Chandrakant Singh, also now a well-paid engineer, decided during a trip back to the village to set up a school for children aged between 6 and 12.

"I wanted to provide a world-class education to students in the remotest place on Earth," said Singh, who remembers studying at night under the dim light of a kerosene lamp.

Unfazed by the fact that Chamanpura has no mains electricity, or by the refusal of experienced teachers to travel to Bihar, Singh approached his friends for donations to fund the Chaitanya Gurukul boarding school.

He installed two power generators and organised training for 16 local teachers before hitting on the idea of using Skype to connect students with professionals across India.

"The world's greatest teachers don't want to go there, so I thought maybe we could use technology to help our students learn faster," he said.

The school opened its doors in April 2010, offering admission to 500 students, 50 of whom pay nothing, with the rest charged according to their parents' ability to afford fees.

The Skype lessons take place in the evenings after the day's regular classes and at weekends.

Kumar was on board from the beginning, adamant that he could help the students and give them more "clarity" on what they learnt in class.

"Some of them were curious, others got intimidated, I had to work with them to rid them of their fear," he said, pointing out many of them had never seen a computer before.

"Now it's like television for them, it entertains them and hopefully they learn something," he said during another power outage. "The technical problems happen often. It's extremely frustrating but we carry on."

During his maths lesson, some students appeared engrossed by the video, while others chattered inaudibly in the back rows.

But they snapped to attention during the question session, with everyone answering correctly.

"It's a very different way of teaching, it helps me remember what I learn better than if I just read it," Anmol Kumar Jaiswal, 11, told AFP via the two-way Skype link.

Pragya Parashar, a 12-year-old girl sitting behind Jaiswal nodded in agreement.

"I like these lessons, it helps me understand things better," she said shyly. "I also want to become an engineer like my teacher."

CJ Corona bags top honor at graduate school

abs-cbnnews.com

Posted at 04/02/2011 5:53 PM | Updated as of 04/02/2011 11:43 PM

 

MANILA (UPDATED) - Chief Justice Renato Corona led the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Graduate School graduates of 2011 during their Solemn Investiture and Quadricentennial Commencement Exercises on Saturday afternoon in Intramuros, Manila.

Corona, who graduated as Doctor of Civil Law, Summa Cum Laude, is the graduating class' valedictorian.

Corona, who started the program when he was already a Supreme Court justice, is among the 6 who finished summa cum laude among 400 graduates. 

His dissertation was on environmental law. Its title: "To Every One His Due: The Philippine Judiciary at the Forefront of Promoting Environmental Justice." 

In his valedictory address, he talked about his late mother Eugenia O. Coronado, who also graduated summa cum laude 70 years ago. She earned her bachelor's degree in Commerce, major in Accounting also from UST. 

 

Corona underscored the importance of education, as with it “come knowledge, understanding, and finally, the holy grail of wisdom and everything that makes us human.” 

 

“Education is not simply a matter of ingesting information or of committing facts and figures to memory but rather of forming and stimulating the mind not only to think but also to think correctly, and most important of all, to choose rightly, wisely, and well,” he said in his speech. “Education will mean nothing if it is directed at the mind alone. The heart has to be involved as well.” 

 

“We must accept the fact that our education, in specie aeternitatis, carries an unavoidable moral burden and a grave social responsibility – to God, to our fellowmen, to our country, to our society. That burden and that responsibility are etched in our soul. Our soul is that part of us that sees the dream,” he added.

 

Before UST, the Chief Justice studied in another school, Ateneo de Manila. 

 

He graduated with gold medal honors from the Ateneo de Manila grade school (1962) and high school (1966). He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree, also with honors, from the Ateneo De Manila University in 1970. 

 

He finished his Bachelor of Laws at the Ateneo Law School in 1974, graduating no. 5 in his class, and placed among the Top 25 during that year’s bar examinations. After law school, he received his Master’s degree in Business Administration at the Ateneo Professional Schools.

 

In 1982, he obtained his LL.M. degree from the Harvard Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. 

 

He taught Commercial Law, Taxation, and Corporation Law at the Ateneo Law School for 17 years. 

 

Former President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Corona as 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court May of last year. He was appointed to the highest tribunal on April 9, 2002. - with report from Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News

Copy and paste: Thoughtless posts spread at frightening pace, put youths in danger

Saturday, 02 April 2011 17:36 The Yomiuri Shimbun

Tokyo—“Your name has been exposed.”

An 18-year-old high-school student in Tokyo went pale as he read this text message from a friend around midnight on February 27. Turning on his computer, he found his name all over the Internet, identified as the person who had posted questions from the entrance exam for Kyoto University on an online question-and-answer site.

A third-year student at an elite high school, the youth had applied to enter the prestigious university. On February 26 he learned that someone had posted exam questions on the Yahoo Japan Chiebukuro (pearls of wisdom) web site and “half in anger, half in ridicule,” he said, changed his account name on the social-networking site to aicezuki, the handle used by the person who leaked the questions.

Just two hours later, he switched his account name back. But during that short period of time, such information as the name of his school, his date of birth and even a photo from his primary school days had spread around the Internet.

The Tokyo student was cleared of any wrongdoing with the arrest of a 19-year-old test-preparation school student in Sendai for alleged obstruction of business by fraudulent means. However, the information that ran on the Internet will never disappear.

“I just changed the [account] name half in fun,” he said in a faint voice.

The recent scandal over the posting of the exam questions has highlighted another problem—young people’s lack of morals regarding the Internet and the need to provide them with guidance on the dangers in using it.

Both before and after the discovery that exam questions had been leaked, there were a number of high-profile cases in which young people made apparently thoughtless postings.

“I correct my answers by looking at the answers of the person [sitting] next to me....Perfect.”

This was posted by an 18-year-old student in the Kanto region on the “purofu” self-introduction site, a day before the Kyoto University case came to light.

Seen as a confession of cheating, it caused an enormous fuss as the Kyoto University case attracted public attention. Ordered to explain by school officials, the student reportedly said, “I lied out of the euphoria of my tests being over.”

The student received a warning from his principal. These young people have been called the digital-native generation, familiar with Internet technology since they were young children.

“They’re adept at using the Internet, but they aren’t aware that it’s open to the entire world,” said a 48-year-old teacher at a public high school in Tokyo.

Despite repeated warnings, students continue to post personal information on the purofu site, including photos, names and school names. After one student reportedly included such details as the schedule and location of the student’s school club activities on the purofu site, the student’s school uniform and bag were stolen.

The risks associated with using the Internet can also be seen in the widespread copying and pasting of information online.

Earlier this month, a 22-year-old university student in the Kansai region confessed on the purofu site that she copied a thesis from the Internet. An Internet uproar ensued, and the student was reprimanded by the university.

Last year at least five award winners in poem and essay contests for middle and high-school students were stripped of their awards because of Internet plagiarism.

“Copying and pasting is plagiarism, but kids don’t realize that,” said a teacher in his 50s at a private high school in Tokyo.

An “information study” curriculum was introduced in high schools in 2003 to teach morals in a society in which the Internet has become an essential tool in daily life. However, some school officials and teachers apparently have prioritized test-preparation studies. “Misguided competition on university entrance exams has exposed children to the dangers of Internet society,” the teacher said.

(The Yomiuri Shimbun)

DepEd to test two-month kindergarten program

Saturday, 02 April 2011 18:13 Claudeth Mocon / Correspondent

  

FROM April 11 to June 3, 2011, the Department of Education (DepEd) will implement an eight-week Kindergarten Summer Program (KSP) in all schools nationwide to universalize quality kindergarten education and to ensure that all Grade 1 entrants have developed the necessary learning experiences to prepare them for academic work.

 

“When young children are better prepared on the ways of school life, they develop a positive attitude in schooling. Thus, they value learning more, strive to excel and are more likely to finish basic education. This is what we want our young children to develop—value for education—through KSP,” Education Secretary Armin Luistro said.

Through DepEd Order 23, series 2011, the KSP, also called “A Strategy to Reach More Children,” the department is set to strengthen its campaign toward achieving its “Education For All” (EFA) goal by catering to children who will be Grade 1 by June 2011.

The program will cater to those prospective Grade 1 entrants without preschool experience by June 2011. These children could be aged or above five years and six months in April 2011.

Luistro noted that studies revealed that early schooling positively affects students’ completion of elementary and secondary education.

The Philippine Education For All  2015 Plan of Action cites that attaining success in the first grade encourages children to complete elementary education. This condition supports the findings of worldwide studies that children exposed to quality preschool experiences perform better in the higher grades.

To yield more EFA benefits, the DepEd-Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE) continuously expands and intensifies the Early Childhood Care and Development/kindergarten education coverage to all children aged three to five years.

BEE has implemented the Preschool Program since 1970. However, as of 2010, only 79 percent of the 2.4 million kindergarten children from both public and private schools had been reached.

This showed the low readiness level of Grade 1 children and the high incidence of nonreaders and dropouts prevailing until Grade 3.

“The DepEd recognizes all these. That is why as far as our EFA goal is concerned, we are serious in the implementation of the universal public kindergarten program for five-year-olds and this KSP for new Grade 1 entrants,” Luistro said.

In line with the implementation of KSP, permanent kindergarten teachers and those who were hired under the DepEd Subsidized Kindergarten Program during the school year shall handle the Kindergarten Summer Classes. A class shall have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 25 enrollees.

In cases where the prospective enrollees are located in remote barangays, which are four kilometers away from each other, an itinerant teacher shall be assigned to handle classes in two adjacent barangays, with each class having at least eight enrollees.

Luistro directed all schools to conduct an advocacy forum or meetings with the local government units and parents to orient them on the importance of the program and thus draw in community support.

They shall also prepare the Kindergarten classroom to ensure a child-friendly, safe and motivating learning environment by seeking support from the local government and other stakeholders in making the learning environment as attractive, conducive and effective as possible for children to gain an optimum summer kindergarten experience.

Enjoy summer while learning

Friday, 25 March 2011 23:28

It’s almost the end of the school year and parents are at a quandary as to what they’d like their children to do during their spare time after a full 10 months of wracking their brains with heavy school work.

“For our kids, summer is usually all about playing, whether on the PC or outside of the house. They stop thinking about school for about two months and focus their energies on just play. What we wanted is even if they play during summer, they should also be learning, even if not that heavy as in school,” says one late 30's mother.

“Our worry is that their brains become stagnant because of the summer lull, and that their brains would be at a standstill once they go back to school. For a Mom like me, it’s my worry every school opening,” another mom of 2 kids stated.

Research shows that among kids, memory lapses account for wasted effort and time in school, particularly during the first few months after the summer vacation. Fortunately, NumberWorks’nWords, an international learning center for Math and English, offers a solution that maximizes kids' learning by making them “enjoy” learning. “We help kids master and advance their skills in Math and English, thereby enabling them to start the next school year with their minds primed from the get go to effectively learn new material in school. Our innovative and enjoyable approach keeps kids coming back for more sessions, even after the school year starts,” according to Professor Dan Handy, Managing Director of NumberWorks’nWords.

Professor Handy also pointed out that NumberWorks’nWords’ goal-oriented system has been fine-tuned for over 25 years since the first center opened, and that the system is individualized for every student age or disposition. He said the system, which includes meaningful motivation through competition and personal merit certificates to document crossing checkpoints and passing levels tests, allows tutors to approach problems from multiple angles very efficiently.

The beauty of NumberWorks’nWords' formula is that it makes kids fully enjoy the learning process. Even though the subject matter is serious and the practice is hard work, this does not mean they can’t enjoy doing it. At the same time, kids get the benefits of the center's purpose-built software created by the company’s own software designers and educators, informed by child-psychology research and experience meeting students' needs. “Our goal is to promote success through the use of games and other activities as learning tools. Attending Math or English sessions at NumberWorks’nWords will most certainly help keep kids’ minds sharp even during summer, in preparation for the next school year. They learn to love Math and English, and they will really enjoy doing it!” adds Professor Handy.

Their system excels at solving many of the worries that face so many parents to promote a love of learning early in childhood. With a free evaluation and trial lesson, this proven after-school Math and English system targets exactly what goals parents can watch out for, while each lesson continues to identify needs to improve achievement levels. When asked to comment upon the summer slogan of the mathematics program, “This summer, take a bath in math,” Professor Handy replies with a personal story. His late father used this saying as inspiration to sit down after school at the kitchen table to get his homework done. The rhyme, in addition to being funny, gets across the idea to parents that immersion is necessary for learning, and that it can be done as quickly as bath time. It fits well with how quickly the Numberworks'nWords system allows a caring mentor to set goals for your child, monitor progress and provide you with regular insights via progress reports.

Their trained tutors address all levels from kindergarten (age 3) to Year 10/11 of high school. With centers located in Alabang, Greenhills, Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City and at the Market! Market! Mall at Bonifacio Global City, the tutors and system combine to ensure that children will really learn effectively yet remain cool while enjoying their summer vacation. “In fact, kids will really enjoy learning; they’ll end up asking for more Math and English work. For parents, they can rest assured that the system is reliable and affordable too,” adds Professor Handy.

This is the best thing any kid can have while staying mentally alert for school during summertime! “Compared to ‘traditional schooling-based’ and ‘skills-learning but paper-based’ tutorials, our system and tutors can meet child needs simultaneously and go beyond them, using the power of computers and hands-on tutoring to provide content material and positive reinforcement so they can reach new levels

of learning. Our daily tutorial lesson plans along with pinpointed weekly homework assignments help build the tutor-student relationship, as well as the students' self-awareness,” adds Professor Handy.

Furthermore, the curriculum is designed to build confidence with successful learning experiences and provide concrete measures of progress. “We know what works, and we know that great teaching is cool.”