iSchools Project holds Camp Blog 1B

Camp Blog Revisited


Forty-six of the most promising public secondary students and teachers converge at picturesque Mimosa Leisure Estate for Camp Blog 1B. This edition, to be held from November 13 to 22, is the second of a series. The Camp was made possible through the iSchools Project and the Pampanga Agricultural College.

Camp Blog is a progression of content development activities using blogging to promote localized educational content. It has become an academic space where the best of traditional educational methods are made more palatable for more tech-literate learners.

Camp Blog is an opportunity for the different members of secondary public schools to find common ground. Teachers and students all share equal footing at the Camp since what matters are the unique perspectives and insights they offer.

The 46 participants were chosen from over a hundred applicants nationwide. To be included in this select group, they had to submit an essay that demonstrated their communication skills; subject expertise; adaptability to ICT; and potential to be ICT champions of their schools.

Participants were then grouped according to their specialization or preference -- English, Math, Science and TLE.

At the end of ten days, participants would have created digital educational content spiced up with their own unique ideas and experiences.

To aid them in this task, each participant was lent a brand-new HP 6530b laptop for the duration of Camp.

Professors from the University of the Philippines-Open University served as Subject Matter Experts (SMEx) that helped participants design their topic outlines based on the subject assigned.

Blogging professionals taught participants how to publish online using the Wordpress platform. They were taught skills in embedding multimedia and proper content organization to maximize what the platform offers.

Veteran journalists taught online research and writing techniques to help participants reach out to a new tech-savvy audience. At the same time, they acted as style editors tasked with helping participants define their voice among the clutter on the web.

Come November 22, the Camp's best blogs will be showcased at a public exhibit and awarding ceremony to be held at SM City Clark.

Antonette Torres, iSchools Project Manager, believes that Camp Blog is the natural progression of ICT-empowered schools.

“The first step was to receive the iSchools computer lab and training,” Torres shares.

She adds that, “the next step is to create digital materials meaningful to their schools as this requires a certain level of mastery of basic ICT skills and sensitivity to the needs of local learners.”

The iSchools Project is a flagship initiative of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, which aims to close the digital divide in public secondary education.

With an annual budget of P350 million, the iSchools Project has served 680 schools in the Philippines with internet literacy training and Internet laboratories, making it the most comprehensive ICT-in-education project in the country

Pampanga Agricultural College is the State Universities and Colleges (SUC) partner of the Commission in implementing the iSchools Project in the province.

iSchools Project nets award at Asia’s 3rd Government Technology Awards

The iSchools Project takes home the award for the Digital Inclusion category at the 3rd Government Technology Awards held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bali, Indonesia last October 9, 2009.

The Government Technology Awards is the brainchild of FutureGov, the largest regional organization of government, education and healthcare officials in the Asia Pacific. The Awards seeks to recognize outstanding government modernization projects across Asia.

One of the twelve categories available, the Digital Inclusion award distinguishes “projects and programmes that use technology to bridge the digital divide.”

The iSchools Project is one of the flagship projects of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), which aims to close the digital divide in public secondary education. With a budget of P350 million annually, the iSchools Project has delivered Internet laboratories to 680 schools and trained 12,400 teachers in internet literacy, making it the most comprehensive ICT-in-education initiative in the Philippines today.

iSchools Project Manager Antonette Torres believes that the effort to penetrate the underserved localities in far-flung public schools, the use of innovative adult-learning techniques and the emphasis on sustainability planning through community involvement were keys to the Project’s win.

To ensure sustainability, the iSchools Project mandates all recipient schools to attend a Regional Project Briefing, Community Mobilization, and a Sustainability Planning Workshop. Through this, school representatives would be able to articulate a concrete plan of action aimed at continuing their laboratory even after CICT’s withdrawal.

Torres further attributes success to the partnership between the CICT and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs).

She likens the nationwide implementation to a battlefield, with SUCs as the project’s “first line of defense and at the same time intelligence and field generals.”

“The SUCs played a very important role in the iSchools project. They assisted the CICT from coordination to monitoring; and in between of that continuum they served as lecturers, technical consultants, project coordinators and leaders.”

In taking home the Digital Inclusion category, Torres is generous in sharing the praise for everyone involved.

“This is not only a tribute to the Commission and the project team but also to the partners who have stayed with us through the years; our 37 SUC partners and all the supportive public schools who continue to work and believe in our aims.”

iSchools Project Announces Criteria for 2009 Funding Cycle

The iSchools Project has just released the criteria it will be using for selecting public high school recipients for the 2009 funding cycle. The project releases new guidelines at the start of every cycle based on CICT policy. Last year, the project focused on providing ICT access to the most remote public high schools in the country. This upcoming fund however, is directed at enhancing the ICT capability of the ‘next wave’ cities.

While the project is still intent on bridging the digital divide especially in far-flung locations nationwide, iSchools management sees this as the best response to strengthen the economic impact of ICT, in “support of the growing industry and the cyber corridor,” adds iSchools Project Manager Antonette Torres.

To be chosen as one of the 320 recipients of the iSchools Project, public high schools must fulfill the following operational and commitment criteria:

Operational

• Not be a recipient of previous computerization projects
• Have stable & sufficient supply of electricity
• Adhere to technical requirements: space, security, outlets, fixtures, etc
• Have access to internet connection in the area
• Designate an ICT coordinator and alternate/assistant
• Located in BPO centers of excellence, next wave cities and provinces

Commitment

• Integrate ICT in education
• Contribute in the ICT development of the community
• Strong support from school community and development partners
• Ensure optimal laboratory utilization

Fulfilling these criteria assures the iSchools Project that the chosen high school can sustain and benefit from the computer laboratory in the long run.

The iSchools Project is one of the flagship projects of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the ICT4BE Program. The project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, by providing training modules and increasing ICT access in public high schools. Now on its 3rd year of implementation, the iSchools Project has provided these services to 680 schools nationwide with an additional 320 schools intended for deployment.

Final MandE Training-Workshop readies team for nationwide rollout

The iSchools Project’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) team completed their final Training-Workshop last July 9-10, 2009 at Fernandez Beach Resort in the Island Garden City of Samal (IgaCos), Davao del Norte. The team, composed of 10 partner State Universities and Colleges (SUC) and CICT-iSchools Project Management Office (PMO) representatives, underwent a series of workshops to develop the framework and implementing guidelines for the monitoring and evaluation of 360 previous recipients of the iSchools Project.

The team is a collection of SUC partners who were not involved in previous project funding cycles. They were drafted to act as impartial coordinators in the planning and execution of this activity.

Moreover, tapping these partners for the M&E team is based on their strength as field mediators between the CICT and the recipient schools. They can best provide basic technical assistance to recipients. At the same time, they can provide the PMO with policy/ operational recommendations to improve project delivery.

Aside from monitoring the work of previous implementers, the team’s tasks involve evaluating the benefits of the project and ensuring that expectations of each stakeholder sector have been met.

Through these activities, the M&E team will determine whether the iSchools strategy of providing a combination of ICT laboratories and capability-building trainings has helped empower public high schools and improve secondary education in the Philippines.

Four training-workshops were conducted to prepare for this task: Basic M&E, Standardization, Online Forms Development, and the final M&E framework and implementing guidelines to adopt.

An M&E Manual is currently being finalized to contain the project framework, implementation and reporting guidelines to be observed by the team in the conduct of their activities. Rollout of M&E activities is targeted from September 2009 to May 2010.

iSchools Project Announces Criteria for 2009 Funding Cycle

The iSchools Project has just released the criteria it will be using for selecting public high school recipients for the 2009 funding cycle.

The project releases new guidelines at the start of every cycle based on CICT policy. Last year, the project focused on providing ICT access to the most remote public high schools in the country. This upcoming fund however, is directed at enhancing the ICT capability of the ‘next wave’ cities.

While the project is still intent on bridging the digital divide especially in far-flung locations nationwide, iSchools management sees this as the best response to strengthen the economic impact of ICT, in “support of the growing industry and the cyber corridor,” adds iSchools Project Manager Antonette Torres.

To be chosen as one of the 320 recipients of the iSchools Project, public high schools must fulfill the following operational and commitment criteria:

Operational

• Not be a recipient of previous computerization projects
• Have stable & sufficient supply of electricity
• Adhere to technical requirements: space, security, outlets, fixtures, etc
• Have access to internet connection in the area
• Designate an ICT coordinator and alternate/assistant

• Located in BPO centers of excellence, next wave cities and provinces

Commitment

• Integrate ICT in education
• Contribute in the ICT development of the community
• Strong support from school community and development partners

• Ensure optimal laboratory utilization

Fulfilling these criteria assures the iSchools Project that the chosen high school can sustain and benefit from the computer laboratory in the long run.

The iSchools Project is one of the flagship projects of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the ICT4BE Program. The project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, by providing training modules and increasing ICT access in public high schools. Now on its 3rd year of implementation, the iSchools Project has provided these services to 680 schools nationwide with an additional 320 schools intended for deployment.

CICT Inks Deal with Smart; Forty Nine Public High Schools Get Free Internet

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with broadband service provider Smart Communications, Inc. at simple rites held at Cravings Restaurant, Katipunan Avenue this March 5, 2009. Public high school principals and partner State Universities and Colleges (SUC) implementers witnessed the event.As a result of this partnership, forty nine public high schools, all of whom are iSchools Project recipients, were awarded a year's worth of free broadband internet connection.

“One of the biggest challenges the (iSchools) project is facing is connectivity,” Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua, Chairman of the CICT, observes.

Chua elaborates, “less than half of them are already connected and that is the area that we really need help from the private sector.”

Smart Communications is more than willing to satisfy this request.

“What we're doing is creating a whole ecosystem that will allow access even at the grassroots level,” shares Salvador Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of Smart Communications, referring to the mutual value created with the forging of this partnership.

CampBlog 1B now accepting applicants

With the success of the first Camp Blog, the iSchools Project Management Office (PMO) is pleased to announce the opening of the application period for Camp Blog 1B, from June 12 to August 14, 2009. Camp Blog 1B will happen on October 16-26, 2009.
To join, interested teachers and students of iSchools Project recipient schools must answer all 4 essay questions found below:

1. Why should I be included in Camp Blog?
2. What are my experiences as a user of the web and other new media technologies?
3. What subject do I excel in? What specific topics do I like best about this subject?
4. What are my proposed strategies in maximizing the advantages of blogging for
teaching (if teachers) | learning (for students)?

Please observe the following guidelines in preparing your answers

· There should be a separate answer for each of the 4 essay questions.
· Each of the four essays must be short and direct-to-the-point. Ideally an answer must be less than 100 words long.
· The Camp Blog selection committee is more interested in the content of your answers rather than the form. Please make all your answers count.
· Previous participants of the first Camp Blog cannot participate in Camp Blog 1B.
· Deadline of submissions is on August 14, 2009. No late entries will be entertained.
· Please send your answers to your designated iSchools Project State Universities and Colleges (SUC) Coordinator. There will only be at most 12 applicants coming from each SUC Coordinator so please send in your entries ASAP. Applications
sent directly to the iSchools PMO will not be accepted.
· From the submitted list, iSchools PMO will then select 60 participants to join Camp Blog 1B.
· For questions, comments or suggestions, please contact
camp.blog.2009@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . We will not entertain direct submissions here.

For more information visit http://ischoolscampblog.wordpress.com

Thank you and good luck!

iSchools Project to Deploy 8,000 ICT Equipments to 320 Public High Schools

The iSchools Project of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) will begin the deployment phase of its current implementation cycle on August 7, 2009. Eight thousand ICT equipments will be delivered to 320 public high schools nationwide within a month.

Each of the 320 beneficiary public high schools will receive the following: 19 multimedia desktop computers (LCD screen), a server, a laptop, a DLP projector, a 3-in-1 printer, a router and a wireless internet camera. Each recipient school will also receive a one-year internet connection subscription which will follow by mid August to September.

Aside from the equipment, the 320 iSchools beneficiaries will also receive four ICT training programs.

Initially, 20 school personnel (teachers, administrators, and students) will undergo a five-day basic computer and internet literacy course to be administered by certified International Computer Driving License (ICDL) trainers from 37 partner State Universities and Colleges (SUC).

Specialized ICT courses such as website development using Joomla, laboratory management using the Linux platform and library management will follow. Two personnel each from the 320 schools will attend these courses.

Despite the scale of deliverables, Antonette Torres, Project Manager of the iSchools Project, is confident that deployment can be completed within the target date.

“Our strategy is to tap our SUC partners as representatives of the CICT in the regions,” shares Torres.

“They would be able to create relationships with the high schools in their localities while at the same time serve as our partners in bridging the digital divide, especially in the provinces.”

The iSchools Project is one of the flagship projects of the Commission under the ICT4BE Program. The project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, by providing training modules and increasing ICT access in public high schools. Now on its 3rd year of implementation, the iSchools Project has provided these services to 680 public high schools nationwide.

Final M&E Training-Workshop: Selected pictures

CICT Inks Deal with Smart; Forty Nine Public High Schools Get Free Internet

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with broadband service provider Smart Communications, Inc. at simple rites held at Cravings Restaurant, Katipunan Avenue this March 5, 2009. Public high school principals and partner State Universities and Colleges (SUC) implementers witnessed the event.As a result of this partnership, forty nine public high schools, all of whom are iSchools Project recipients, were awarded a year's worth of free broadband internet connection.

“One of the biggest challenges the (iSchools) project is facing is connectivity,” Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua, Chairman of the CICT, observes.

Chua elaborates, “less than half of them are already connected and that is the area that we really need help from the private sector.”

Smart Communications is more than willing to satisfy this request.

“What we're doing is creating a whole ecosystem that will allow access even at the grassroots level,” shares Salvador Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of Smart Communications, referring to the mutual value created with the forging of this partnership.

Camp Blog to Usher in Potential of Digital Learning in Public High School Education

Fifty-four of the most promising public high school students and teachers nationwide will converge at the Pampanga Agricultural College, Magalang, Pampanga for the first Camp Blog conference from May 18-28, 2009.The 10-day affair, which was organized by the iSchools Project, will equip a new generation of students and teachers with an appreciation of the benefits of digital learning.

Camp Blog will initiate hostilities with technical sessions which will frame high school education in light of advancements in 21st century digital learning. Discussions in this area will be led by Professors Bingo Espinosa and Katherine Esteves of the UP Open University and by Dr. Lloyd Espiritu of De La Salle University.

Professors Sol Hidalgo and Bambi Torrecampo will share their expertise in ICT-enabled teaching of Science and English subjects.

Camp Blog will then transition into equipping participants with the necessary skills to best position their content for online consumption. Skills such as online research and ethics, writing for the new media, online photo journalism and blogging will be taught by veteran media practitioners such as Katrina Stuart-Santiago, Joe Torres and Jimmy Domingo.

The event is envisioned as an annual reinforcement activity to the iSchools Project by “remaining consistent with the Project’s credo of bridging the digital divide,” states Antonette Torres, Project Manager of the iSchools Project.

Torres asserts that Camp Blog will achieve this through “the convergence of the best of traditional learning content requirements encountered in public high school education with the promise that digital learning modes afford.”

Camp Blog will be open to all students and teachers of public high schools who were previous recipients of the iSchools Project.

The iSchools Project is a flagship initiative of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology – Human Capital Development Group (CICT-HCDG). The project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, by providing training modules and increasing ICT access in the public high school sector. To date, the iSchools Project has endowed 360 computer laboratories across the Philippines.

Camp Blog to Usher in Potential of Digital Learning in Public High School Education

Fifty-four of the most promising public high school students and teachers nationwide will converge at the Pampanga Agricultural College, Magalang, Pampanga for the first Camp Blog conference from May 18-28, 2009.The 10-day affair, which was organized by the iSchools Project, will equip a new generation of students and teachers with an appreciation of the benefits of digital learning.

Camp Blog will initiate hostilities with technical sessions which will frame high school education in light of advancements in 21st century digital learning. Discussions in this area will be led by Professors Bingo Espinosa and Katherine Esteves of the UP Open University and by Dr. Lloyd Espiritu of De La Salle University.

Professors Sol Hidalgo and Bambi Torrecampo will share their expertise in ICT-enabled teaching of Science and English subjects.

Camp Blog will then transition into equipping participants with the necessary skills to best position their content for online consumption. Skills such as online research and ethics, writing for the new media, online photo journalism and blogging will be taught by veteran media practitioners such as Katrina Stuart-Santiago, Joe Torres and Jimmy Domingo.

The event is envisioned as an annual reinforcement activity to the iSchools Project by “remaining consistent with the Project’s credo of bridging the digital divide,” states Antonette Torres, Project Manager of the iSchools Project.

Torres asserts that Camp Blog will achieve this through “the convergence of the best of traditional learning content requirements encountered in public high school education with the promise that digital learning modes afford.”

Camp Blog will be open to all students and teachers of public high schools who were previous recipients of the iSchools Project.

The iSchools Project is a flagship initiative of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology – Human Capital Development Group (CICT-HCDG). The project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, by providing training modules and increasing ICT access in the public high school sector. To date, the iSchools Project has endowed 360 computer laboratories across the Philippines.

Training Prepares iSchools Project Writers for Web Publishing

Twelve participants from partner State Universities and Colleges (SUC) were taught the essentials of writing and producing multimedia packages in the recently concluded Advanced Online Writers Training held in Calumpang Resort in the picturesque town of Argao in Cebu from February 2-6, 2009.

The training equipped participants with the skills to help communicate the message of the iSchools Project to the larger audience of the world wide web. Veteran journalists and educators Yvonne Chua and Luz Rimban taught participants how to formulate stories into audio and visual formats through sound slides, audio and video presentations. Chua and Rimban are two of the main proponents of the VERA Files and teach journalism at the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University.

For their final project, participants produced video features on the iSchools laboratories of Ocaña National High School in Carcar and Talaga National High School in Argao. Six videos resulted from this activity, all of which highlight the project's impact to the school community.

The participants who have completed the course include:

• Angelica Serrano of Batangas State University

• Bernadette Lelina of Eastern Visayas State University

• Bobby Gerardo of Western Visayas State University

• Christian Calma of the iSchools Project Management Office

• Dexter Ontoy of Cebu Normal University

• Frannie Belarmino of Camarines Sur State Agricultural College

• Gerard Atienza of Capiz State University

• Gerard Salonga of Tarlac State University

• Gilda Deguma of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College

• Jelyn Alentajan of Polytechnic State College of Antique

• Magdalene Cesar of Visayas State University

• Theody Sayco of Central Luzon State University

With the conclusion of the course, the online writers can now create and publish multimedia content for the iSchools web portal.

The iSchools Project is a flagship initiative of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology - Human Capital Development Group (CICT-HCDG). The project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, by providing training modules and increasing ICT access in the public high school sector. To date, the iSchools Project has endowed 360 computer laboratories across the Philippines.

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