Intel® Teach Philippines, through its training and curriculum adaptation arm, the UP National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED), in cooperation with the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED) and with the Department of Education (DepED), conducted its First Batch of National Training on Getting Started (GS) and Skills for Success (SFS) Courses last April 16 to 24, 2007 at the Information Science Laboratory of UP NISMED in Diliman, Quezon City. 

The Getting Started Course is a new teacher professional development program designed for classroom teachers in need of basic computer skills. At the same time, it introduces the teachers to 21st century teaching and learning approaches. The Skills for Success Course on the other hand, prepares Information and Communications Technology (ICT) teachers to implement a student curriculum that develops key 21st century learning skills with focus on technology literacy, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Twenty three Intel® Teach In-service Master Trainers and Regional Trainers from DepED, and two Pre-service Faculty participated in the said Program. This batch will form part of the pool of national trainers capable of delivering the two new Intel® Teach Courses.  The In-service group of trainers will be tapped as Regional Trainers in the DepED-organized training under the 2006 DepED Computerization Project.

Another batch is scheduled for training on May 31 to June 8, 2007 and two more batches are scheduled on July 9 to 17, 2007.

The Smart School International Conference held last April 16-18, 2007 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia was co-organized by the Ministry of Education in Malaysia to provide policy makers and educators with an international forum where ideas, practical educational experiences and policies can be presented and discussed on the results and outcomes of ICT utilization in Education. The conference was a learner-oriented experience, leveraging on and capturing practitioners’ actual first hand involvement. With over two hundred and fifty educators, government representatives and strategic industry partners from thirty-two countries, speakers from intergovernmental organizations were also invited to share multilateral cooperation and development strategies and programs on ICT and education.

Intel^® Teach Master Trainer Rosalie Bongon was likewise invited to participate in the three-day conference conference. Rosalie is an English teacher at San Francisco High School in Quezon City and was one of the MTs given recognition in the Intel^® Teach Awards for 21^st Century Educators held in Cebu City last September 2006. 

Rosalie’s notes on the conference

• The seminars included interesting topics such as “Learning Languages with Panache,” “Fun Formula for Math and Science Lessons,” and “Empowering Learners,” among others.
• The speakers stressed “ICT for education and not education for ICT.” This maxim encouraged educators to focus on students’ learning through discovery and curiosity. 
• Participants visited schools, spoke to students and school administrators and interacted with fellow educators during the conference.
• Rosalie was particularly impressed by her visit to Smart School, Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Bintang Utara.
• Also admired by Ms. Bongon was a speaker from Singapore who said that in their country, every child in school has access to a computer. To further promote ICT integration in the curriculum, they also encouraged competition and promoted recognition schemes in their schools.
• Rosalie adds, “Even our private schools do not have what they have.” 

Seeing it from the vantage point of a teacher aiming for students who are technologically literate and forward-thinking, Rosalie had firsthand experience of what cooperation for a single vision among the government, private and education sectors can bring about: instrumental change towards a society geared for the future.

The computer age calls for the adoption of new roles and the acceptance of greater responsibilities on the part of students, teachers, and the industry players. The Smart School International Conference was an opportunity for all educators and learners to share their experiences and best practices.

 

 

 

 

 

The Intel® Teach Awards for 21st Century Educators was held last 06 September 2006 at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu. A culminating activity for program participants in SY 2005-2006, the event recognized valuable contribution and collaboration of selected administrators, teachers and support providers in support of ICT use for classroom instruction.

The awards were based on the results of the unit performance assessment jointly conducted by the Intel® Teach Pedagogical Support and Planning and Management Teams that evaluated implementation of program activities at the end of SY 2005-2006. This event also capped the Rewards and Incentives program for SY 2005-2006 participants.

The awards were co-presented by Hon. Jesli A. Lapus, Secretary of the Department of Education and Ms. Arlita M. Narag, ITPI Head of Government and Public Affairs. Ms. Cecilia T. Ubarra (ITPI) and Ms. Evangeline M. Arroyo (FIT-ED) co-emceed the event, and program partners and friends were further represented by Dr. Merle C. Tan (Director, University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development), together with Ms. Celia R. Balbin and Ms. Monalisa T. Sasing, CICT Commissioner Emmanuel C. Lallana, and DepED’s Ms. Marivic Abcede. Over 80 Intel®Teach In and Pre-service Master Trainers, Faculty and administrators attended the awards.

 

Congratulations to the Awardees!

Intel® Teach Champion Schools (for leading the 45 participating units in the successful implementation of program activities during SY 2005-2006)

                1. Congressional National High School (Region 4A)

                2. San Isidro National High School (NCR)

Special Awards

                1. Malabang National High School (ARMM) - Merit Award for valuable efforts of administrators and teachers in the active promotion of effective ICT use to facilitate enrichment of teaching and learning practice.

                2. Bauan Technical High School (Region 3) - Technology Planning Award for the development of a comprehensive Strategic Plan for ICT Use.

                3. Ms. Darlene Bonggon (Pedro Guevarra Memorial National High School) - Outstanding Technology-enhanced Unit Plan that promoted authentic learning of content and creation of technology-based products through student collaboration.

                4. Ms. Rosalie Bongon (San Francisco High School) - Outstanding Technology-enhanced Unit Plan that illustrated changes in student learning practices through technology use and interaction with other students.

The Champion schools received laptop computers while schools that were given special awards received desktop computers. Teacher awardees each received a 5-megapixel digital camera.

Seventy teacher education juniors from Saint Mary’s University (SMU) in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya participated in a Paint-an-Intel-Teach-Picture activity organized by the Information Science Group on January 19, 2007. These students completed the Intel^® Teach training in their Educational Technology classes the previous year. They visited UP NISMED to receive updates on the program as part of their educational field trip.

 

The Paint-an-Intel-Teach-picture activity had students depict their understanding of Intel^®  Teach using body gestures in “freeze” position, thus creating a picture. Grouping themselves by ten, the SMU juniors painted seven creative interpretations of Intel^® Teach to the amazement and amusement of the audience that included their dean Dr. Moises Asuncion, faculty-chaperons, and some NISMED staff. Ms. Celia Balbin and Mona Sasing of InfoSci, coordinators of the Intel^® Teach pre-service and in-service programs respectively, served as judges in choosing the “Best Picture."  A group member explained the picture as both judges went around. Two groups were adjudged best pictures and each member received an Intel^® Teach ID necklace as prize.

 

Since 2004, junior BEEd and BSEd students of the School of Education of Saint Mary’s University have been visiting UP NISMED to learn about Intel^®  Teach accomplishments and updates, discuss their experiences, and suggest improvements. During such visits, the InfoSci team would quiz the SMU Intel Teach graduates in order to assess their understanding and appreciation of the program.

 

Since November 2006, the Intel^®Teach Program through UP NISMED, has been implementing the Intel^®Teach Orientation Workshop for the Education Supervisors of selected DepED divisions.  As of February 2007, the Program already completed conducting the workshop on-site in 5 divisions and 1 school producing a total of 50 trained Education Supervisors and Department Heads. Among the recipient divisions were the Bulacan Province, Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, Calbayog City, Western Samar and the Congressional National High School. 

The Intel^®Teach Orientation Workshop for Education Supervisors is a two-day, division-based activity incorporated in the Pedagogical Support System of the Program for the selected Intel® Teach divisions. This was set up to address the difficulties of teachers trained on Intel^®Teach (Master Trainers or MTs) during unit implementation period and to sustain technology integration in the classroom.. The workshop was intended for the supervisors only, however, as part of the Congressional National High School’s incentive of being one of the high-performing schools under the Program, the school also received the same privilege.

As reflected in the monitoring and evaluation of previous batch of MTs,  teachers lack direct support from their administrators, thus, the newly trained supervisors and department heads are tasked to help, encourage and provide instructional support to these teachers in terms of content and pedagogy throughout the  implementation process of the technology-based Unit Plans.  They will serve as Support Providers to the Intel^®Teach trained teachers in their division.

The workshop proved to be successful in all the recipient divisions and school. The participants were very appreciative and enthusiastic to apply the new learnings and enhancement they received from the training. Some even wanted to have more trainings from Intel^®Teach. The major improvement they suggested in the conduct of the workshop was to increase the number of workshop days.  Ninety percent of them wanted to extend the training to 5 or more days to cover more time with the activities and to fully equip them with the necessary skills needed to be an effective Support Provider (SP) to the teachers.

This March and April, four divisions are lined up for the workshop. Three divisions in Mindanao: Davao City Division on March 19-20; Iligan City Division on April 2-3; Agusan del Sur Division on April 10-11; and the Alaminos City Division from Region I on March 19-20.  Moreover, the Program is currently coordinating with 6 more divisions (Muntinlupa City, Makati City, Batangas, Laguna, Pagadian City, and Lanao del Sur) for scheduling and finalization of the workshop.

           

Intel Technology Philippines, Inc., in coordination with the Department of Education, and in partnership with the University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NISMED), and the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED), and the) held the First National Intel Teach® Forum with the theme, “Fostering Collaboration and Commitment with a Broader Community” at the Science Teacher Training Center, UP NISMED, Diliman, Quezon City on December 7 to 8, 2006.

This activity merged the In-service Master Trainers’ Forum with the Fifth Pre-service Deans Forum for active participant-TEIs. It provided a venue for the Intel® Teach in-service and pre-service communities to meet and share implementation experiences, foster collaboration and deepen their commitment in achieving maximum student outcomes through technology integration.

To this end, plenary activities covered issues that addressed the emerging Intel Teach Community of Learning as a whole:

1. Updates on Intel Education Initiatives (ITPI Education Manager Yvonne Garcia Flores)
2. Introduction to the Intel® Teach Community of Learning (FIT-ED Director for Programs and Research Victoria L. Tinio)
3. Planning CoL Activities (FIT-ED,Victoria L. Tinio)
4. Strategies and Targets in Building the Intel® Teach Community of Learning (ITPI K12 Manager Cecilia T. Ubarra)
5. Telling the Intel® Teach Story: Casewriting Workshop (ITPI, Cecilia T. Ubarra)
6. Action Research workshop (UP NISMED Dr. Florenda L. Gallos )

On the other hand, parallel sessions were conducted to address the issues specific to In-service and Pre-service Program participants:

1. Implementing Technology-Enhanced Unit Plans in Math and Science Classes
2. Implementing Technology-Enhanced Unit Plans in English, Filipino and Araling Panlipunan Classes
3. Implementing the Intel^® Teach Pre-service Program
4. Technology Standards for Administrators and Introduction to Technology Planning (Deans Forum)
5. Implementation Support Scheme (Pre-service Faculty)
6. Enhancing Module Content and Delivery (In-service)

This design allowed for all the participants to finally get a picture of the depth and breadth of the Program since its inception in 2000. It also became the venue for initiating actual, direct contact and planning between In-service and Pre-service units.

On a lighter note, the Welcome Dinner was hosted by UP NISMED for the over 140 In and Pre-service participants on the evening of Dec. 7, 2006. Likewise, on the evening of Dec. 8, ITPI hosted a Community Dinner at the Albergus Restaurant in Quezon City. The social gathering was enlivened by entertainment numbers from the participants and a Raffle-Draw sponsored by ITPI.

We would like to begin 2006 by commending all the Regions, Divisions and Schools for the big step taken towards the completion of their Strategic Plans for ICT Use in Basic Education!I

In line with the Planning and Management Incentive Scheme developed for the program, we are pleased to inform you that the Strategic Plan drafts prepared by the following have been chosen for the 1st set of awards that will be given out this February 2006:

 Best Strategic Plan Draft

       1.   Division of Laguna       
       2.   Davao City National High School

Special Award - for notably prompt and steadfast efforts in completing the Strategic Plan Draft   

       1.   Malabang National High School

Furthermore, please be advised that the following regions, divisions and schools that submitted drafts in December 2005 will be given tokens of completion:

Divisions
1. Batangas Division
2. Bulacan Division
3. Laguna Division
4. Makati City Division
5. Pasig/ San Juan Division
5. Tarlac Division

Schools
1.  Anselmo A. Sandoval Memorial National High School
2.  Bagong Silangan High School
3.  Balagtas Agricultural High School
4.  Balayan National High School
5.  Bauan Technical High School
6.  Benigno Aquino High School
7.  Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo High School
8.  Congressional National High School
9.  Davao City National High School
10. Erico T. Nograles National High School
11. Fort Bonifacio High School
12. General Pio del Pilar High School
13. Governor Feliciano Leviste Memorial National High School
14. Juan Sumulong High School
15. Judge Juan Luna High School
16. Makati High School
17. Makati Science High School
18. Malabang National High School
19. Pedro Guevarra National High School
20. Quezon City High School
21. San Antonio National High School
22. San Francisco High School
23. San Isidro National High School
24. San Juan National High School
25. San Pascual National High School
26. Sta. Maria National High School
27. Tarlac National High School

The Planning & Management Support & Monitoring Team will be getting in touch with your divisions/schools for delivery of your tokens.

Once again, we would like to congratulate everyone for their resolute efforts in planning for effective and sustainable use of ICTs within the region, division and school.

Keynote Speech delivered by Department of Education Undersecretary Ramon C. Bacani at the Opening of the 2005 Master Trainers Forum.

Global technological advancements and the exponential growth in knowledge or the so-called ?knowledge explosion? have placed greater demands on the education system. The need to inculcate in our students the need to seek new information, to think critically and to take initiatives with the use of ICT has become more pressing.

 According to the UNESCO, ICT has the potential to:
- expand access
- promote efficiency
- improve quality of teaching and learning
- enhance training for the workplace
- improve the management of education
 
The Department, together with the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, the Commission on ICT, and other government and non-government groups, has been working on a National Framework Plan for ICT in Basic Education which is focused on these objectives.  This Forum is intended primarily to address the concern to improve the quality of teaching and learning. 

It has been observed that very often ICT is merely attached to existing classroom teaching and learning activities. ICT in the classroom still focuses on the drill and practice type of learning where the computers are seen as tutors or providing access to information rather than as tools towards engaging students in critical and interactive learning. The learning paradigm, likewise, has remained the same even if the learning medium has changed. For example, the learning paradigm adopted for PowerPoint presentations of certain concepts is still associated with the basic transmission of knowledge. As a result, the potential of ICT in education has not been optimized.

Systemic improvement in the education system has to be initiated. What policy directions need to be developed to initiate systemic improvement in the education system to ensure effective teaching with technology?

The curriculum has to be responsive to the times. The 2002 Basic Education Curriculum shifts in emphasis from technology literacy to effective application of ICT across the curriculum especially in Science and Mathematics. In other words, instead of merely learning the technology, we have to learn with the technology.  However, there seems to be a gap between what is prescribed and what is being implemented at the school level. There appears to be a need by schools for more guidance on this matter.

The roles of teachers and students in an ICT enriched classroom has to be clearly defined.  We need to ask the following questions: 1) Are teachers ready to recede to the background as students take center stage; 2) Are teachers convinced that ICT use will improve their teaching; 3) Are teachers confident about using the technology; 4) Are teachers willing to give up their traditional role of knowledge transmition and serve as learning facilitators. Teachers play a pivotal role in the integration of ICT in the curriculum while equipping students with ICT skills facilitates the effective integration of ICT in schools. Contextualization of the roles of teachers and students, therefore, will result in a harmonized implementation of ICT in the curriculum.

Schools should be given more autonomy to select appropriate systemic approaches to facilitate the integration of ICT across the curriculum. Since every school is different, school heads should initially adopt strategies and approaches to make ICT part of the daily routine and task of teachers, provide teachers with a platform and support for the integration of ICT across the curriculum and provide pedagogical support for the teachers.  In line with our Schools First Initiative, schools should undertake a school improvement planning process and the integration of ICT in teaching and learning activities should be a major focus in this planning process in order to fully reap the benefits of ICT in basic education.

There is a need to shift pedagogy as a result of the integration of ICT in the curriculum. The shift in pedagogy will provide more autonomy to the schools to optimize the use of ICT.  This, however, can only be facilitated through the appropriate professional development of teachers in the context of their respective workplace.

In support of the aforementioned policy directions, what should be the focus of the professional development of teachers?

Continuous training of teachers on the use of ICT in teaching and learning should be a built-in in all staff development programs. Professional development of teachers will more likely succeed if a built-in process on the integration of ICT in teacher training is achieved.

More peer and school-based training on ICT integration should be conducted where more experienced peers or mentors act as trainers. This strategy will ensure that the teachers are trained within the context of their workplace.  We recognize however the difficulties associated with performing mentoring roles at the school level, as evidenced by the mentors selected and trained under our National English Proficiency Program. Therefore, the school-based in-service training program in particular and the school improvement plan, in general, should identify measures which would support and facilitate the work of designated mentors.

Relatedly, training of teachers on ICT integration should be customized depending on the socio-economic context to ensure ICT integration and acceptance.  Our schools vary significantly in their resource endowments especially with respect to ICT resources.  Science high schools and, probably, the provincial high schools are well-resourced while other schools have very inadequate resources not just with regard to ICT but in more basic school requirements.  In the same manner, the socio-economic status of students families affect the availability of ICT resources in the home.  Ideally the home environment should reinforce whatever is taught in the school not just in the area of ICT education but in all aspects.

A buddy system should be set in place where novice teachers are allowed to work with trained master teachers in an ICT-enriched classroom.  In our hiring guidelines, the Department has indicated its preference for teacher-applicants who have already been exposed to ICT as well as those who are English proficient.  However due to the limitations in the pre-service teacher education program, many newly-hired teachers have limited exposure to ICT use in teaching and thus it is essential that they undergo training in this regard.

Lastly, teachers should be trained within the context of classroom objectives and activities to ensure the development of skills on the integrated use of ICT in teaching and learning. 

Systemic improvement in the education system has to be initiated to provide key foundation and framework to ICT in education. The policy directions enunciated provides for the development of a systemic approach to support the integration of ICT in education particularly the curriculum.

I am happy to note that teacher training programs such as Intel? Teach to the Future have prepared the blueprint for success in the area of staff development. It is the desire of the Department that programs such as Intel? Teach to the Future will continue to open opportunities to collaborate on the professional development of teachers along the areas of training modalities, standards and content.

My felicitations to the organizers of this Forum especially to Intel Technology Philippines, Inc., the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development, and the National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development.

Lastly, I would like to thank the participants to this Forum for their continued support to all ICT professional development initiatives. Your presence here is the best indication that we will succeed in our endeavor to use ICT in education to improve the teaching and learning process in the classroom.

Thirty two public high schools, 10 schools divisions, and five regional offices of the Department of Education are drafting Medium Term Strategic Plans for ICTs in Basic Education under the 2005 Intel? Teach to the Future Program.

A series of Strategic Planning Workshops were conducted by FIT-ED in July and August 2005 to provide participating Regional Directors, Division Superintedents, School Principals, ICT Coordinators, and other designated respresentatives with the knowledge and tools necessary for preparing a roadmap for effective and sustainable use of radio, television, computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web to enhance the delivery of education services. A round of writeshops followed in October and November during which the first drafts of the strategic plans were reviewed and revised. A total of  46 strategic plans are expected to be completed before June 2006.