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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