Basyang is the Least of their Worries

CICT’s iSchools Project conducts Project Design & Management Training

Braving the heavy winds and unyielding downpour of tropical storm Basyang, 34 project managers representing different State Universities and Colleges (SUC) converged to attend the iSchools Project’s Project Design & Project Management Training-Workshop. The training-workshop is being held in Costa Palmera Resort, Sto. Domingo, Albay from July 12-17, 2010.

The 34 project managers represent the SUCs that partnered with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) to implement the iSchools Project to its 320 recipient schools nationwide. Most of these project managers are professors, directors and even deans recruited from the Information Technology departments of these universities and colleges.

At the end of the training-workshop, the participants should understand the principles of managing a development project; and undergo a thorough workshop on project designing and planning. To validate this, attendees will have to come up with a development project proposal.

The training is somewhat bittersweet since the iSchools Project is facing an uncertain future inherent in every change in administration. It must be noted however, that the Project is currently undergoing the last phases of its implementation. Funds have already been transferred to some SUCs that will be implementing a slew of roll-out training in the coming months.

“It is true we are anxious about who will become the next CICT Chairman,” shares Toni Torres, iSchools Project Manager, “since he or she will have to face a lot of challenges right away.”

“Our fear is that without a CICT Chairman, the new government will neglect to push through with what we committed to our 320 recipient schools. We are hopeful that President Aquino will consider,” she adds.

Each recipient school will get 21 computer units, a one-year internet subscription, and a set of ICT training. The training covers basic internet literacy, elibrary management, laboratory management and web development.

Still, Torres remains undeterred.

“Even without the President designating a head for CICT, the iSchools Project and its allies will continue to deliver the services and training we promised our recipient schools.”

“In fact,” Torres adds, “we braved a storm for it.”

PC Recycling

Fortifying the School's Computer Laboratory

With the passage of time, ICT equipment will gradually become obsolete. This is a reality that will affect thousands of computer units currently housed in the laboratories of the public school system.

The iSchools Project of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology took a step towards addressing this trend by successfully concluding its PC Maintenance, Recycling, and eWaste management training-workshops. Thirty-two State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) nationwide implemented this training-workshop in their localities. The following aspects underlie the program:

Objectives of the PC Recycling Project

The objectives of the PCR are to build the technical skills of teachers that will strengthen their ability to maintain their own computer laboratories.

Skill-building of teacher-participants are geared towards enabling them to -

• Identify parts of computer system that may be needing service or replacement
• Trouble shoot basic computer problem
• Proper disposal of electronic wastes
• Apply creative recycling and reuse of non-serviceable parts into creating instructional material
• Draft an eWaste management plan for the school
• Participate in the online electronic depot whereby schools can exchange information as to the availability of parts that can be leased/sold to schools needing them

Under the program, the public high schools that were beneficiaries of different computerization projects were given the chance to participate in this iSchools initiative.

In fact, 1,392 teachers and school personnel representing 360 public high schools have already participated in the 10-day training program. As a result, an additional 512 computers resulted in a 67% revival rate of defective PC units used as laboratory materials. Through this initiative, electronic waste is minimized and value for money of computer equipment is maximized.

“Many High Schools have computer laboratories, but due to old age and continuous use, these computers are bound to breakdown and malfunction,” claims iSchools Project Manager Toni Torres.

“We have to do something so they can continue using their computers as tools for teaching and learning. This training is our answer to the wear and tear of computers,” she added.

The training is designed in phases. The first phase teaches the basics of computer systems, basic electronics, and troubleshooting. The next phase focuses on the actual troubleshooting, repair and maintenance, software installation, and a little of networking. The last four days are focused on eWaste management and proper disposal of electronic waste. It also includes a session on creative recycling, in which unusable parts are made into educational materials (mostly CPU parts) while the rest are converted through creative use.

Camp Blog 2010

Discovering and Harnessing Regional ICT Champions

Seeking to make good on its promise of “bridging the digital divide,” the iSchools Project will conduct Camp Blog 2010 this May 31 to June 9 at Nature's Village Resort, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

While past Camps offered only basic blogging as its forte, this iteration will address the different capacity-building needs of iSchools recipients be it students, teachers and school administrators. Camp Blog 2010 will conduct 3 simultaneous events: Camp Blog 1C, Camp Blog 2A and Framework Planning Workshop on Capability Building for Teachers.

Eventually, the iSchool Project hopes that these participants will become competent ICT-for-education champions in their localities.

Camp Blog 1C

This is a content generation activity for teachers and students which advocates blogging as a tool for education. While past Camps 1A and 1B focused on English, Math, Science and Technology Livelihood Education (TLE), 1C focuses on creating online content on Filipino history, culture and the arts – a first in Camp Blog history. Camp Blog 1C is highlighted by a heritage tour covering various places of interest in historic Negros Occidental which includes stops at Balay Negrense and the Ruins in Talisay.

Camp Blog 2A

This is the first advanced-level course offered by Project in its Camp Blog series. Teachers, who were particpants of Camp Blog 1A and 1B, will get to develop learning objects, which are essentially self-contained and reusable digital units of learning. Camp Blog 2A chose participants who continued to post relevant educational content in their blogs even after Camp ended. In a way, the iSchools Project rewards those that stick to the program and make the most use of the training given.

Framework Planning Workshop on Capability Building for Teachers (ICT4BE)

This activity will be the first time the iSchools Project will engage DepEd Superintendents and Principals from all over the country. Essentially the participants, who are mainly school adminstrators, will draft a framework that integrates ICT in the overall improvement of teachers in their various capacities be it teaching, classroom adminstration, development of education materials and even their own personal development. Essentially, the Workshop will be bringing the conceptual to the actual by defining a teacher's ICT competencies manifested through actual ICT tools.

About Carlos Hilado Memorial State College

Carlos Hilado Memorial State College is the State University and Colleges (SUC) tapped by the iSchools Project to host the event. Carlos Hilado Memorial State College is a public, state-owned college with its main campus in Talisay City, Negros Occidenal. It provides advanced technological, professional and vocational instruction and training in science, agriculture and industrial fields, as well as short-term courses. It is notable for being the only state college in the province of Negros Occidental.

About the iSchools Project

The iSchools Project is the main organizer of Camp Blog 2010. It is one of the flagship projects of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). Recognized at the 3rd Government Technology Awards in Bali, Indonesia, the project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. With an annual budget of P350 million, it has provided training modules and increased ICT access in public high schools, making it the most comprehensive initiative of its kind in the Philippines. Now on its 4th year of implementation, the iSchools Project has provided these services to 1,000 public high schools nationwide.

Stories From the Field

iSchools Project conducts writeshop for SUC writers

Thirty-five writers tapped from various State Universities and Colleges (SUC) from all over the archipelago will converge in the coastal City of Baybay, Leyte to undergo the Basic Online Writing Techniques (BOWT) training workshop from April 21-24, 2010.

The three-day workshop, hosted by the iSchools Project in cooperation with Visayas State University, will aid SUC writers in capturing the impact of the iSchools experience. At the end of the training, SUC writers will be expected to produce articles that chronicle the project's contributions to its recipient schools.

With three implementation runs tucked under its belt and another one at hand, the iSchools Project is close to its goal of “bridging the digital divide” by delivering internet laboratories and ICT literacy training to 1,000 public high schools all over the Philippines.

“We are fiercely proud of our project's contribution to school communities around the country,” declares Antonette Torres, iSchools project manager.

“The challenge now,” she adds “is for the writers to produce quality stories from the field, that best relay our message to a national-- even global audience.”

To meet this challenge, the iSchools Project tapped renowned professionals in the fields of journalism and photojournalism to develop workshop sessions targeting the specific needs of its 35 SUC Writers.

Two-time National Book Awards for Journalism awardee Jose Torres, Jr. will lay down the groundwork by reintroducing the concepts and practice of news and feature writing. With these basics covered, Torres will teach the writers how to tailor-fit their work for an online readership with a session on online writing.

To appeal to the more visual reader, a session on photojournalism will be led by respected photographer Jimmy Domingo-- who also lectures at the Photojournalism Program of the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University (ACFJ) and sits at the board of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism.

The BOWT is just one among the series of Content Development activities developed by the iSchools Project aimed to generate material for the web portal it will launch during the National ICT Month celebration this coming June.

The iSchools Project is one of the flagship projects of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the ICT4BE Program. Recognized at the 3rd Government Technology Awards in Bali, Indonesia, the project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. With an annual budget of P350 million, it has provided training modules and increased ICT access in public high schools, making it the most comprehensive initiative of its kind in the Philippines. Now on its 4th year of implementation, the iSchools Project has provided these services to 1,000 public high schools nationwide.

Unsung Heroes of the 2010 Elections

With the conduct of the recent national elections, the general public has attributed its success to the reliability of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines provided by Smartmatic.

However, we tend to lose focus on the less dramatic – the unsung heroes of this May 2010 elections – the public high schools teachers, who by their tireless effort and proficiency in ICT, have been able shape the democratic exercise we all love and cherish.

Over the course of its three implementation cycles, the iSchools Project has distributed 14,280 computer units in 680 internet laboratories nationwide. By the end of August 2010, the 1,000th public high school would have received the same facilities.

The hallmark of the Project has always been the set of training activities accompanying the internet laboratory. The training ensures the sustainability of the laboratory in a three-fold manner, by getting the school community involved in the laboratory’s physical upkeep; by ensuring a cadre of ICT lab managers responsible for the technical upkeep; and by empowering teachers who integrate ICT in their daily tasks of lesson delivery and school management.

The iSchools Project has a unique set of training activities that cannot be found anywhere else. Each public high school is ensured to receive the following courses:

• Computer and Internet Literacy Course (CILC) as an introductory course to ICT-for-education purposes
• Laboratory Management and Web Development for its lab managers
• Library Management for the schools’ librarians
• Sustainability Planning Workshop (SPW) to develop a sense of community ownership and responsibility for the laboratory’s continued upkeep

To date, the iSchools Project would have delivered the training to over 6,000 public high school teachers nationwide. Now beyond the chalkboard, teachers have come to appreciate ICT as a tool that empowers.

By continually enhancing the ICT awareness, appreciation and competency of public high school teachers nationwide, the iSchools Project would have done its share in ensuring that even the next automated elections would be an even more efficient democratic exercise worthy of the Filipinos’ trust.

The iSchools Project is one of the flagship projects of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the ICT4BE Program. Recognized at the 3rd Government Technology Awards in Bali, Indonesia, the project aims to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. With an annual budget of P350 million, it has provided training modules and increased ICT access in public high schools, making it the most comprehensive initiative of its kind in the Philippines.

From Antiquity to Modernity

iSchools Lays the Cornerstone for Modernizing the Public School Library

What is a library? Is it an archaic structure that houses the life's work of literary giants and philosophers? Or is it simply a place where weary students can catnap in between classes?

These were among the questions that acted as scaffolding for the discussions during the Library Management Validation Workshop held from April 14 to 15.

The workshop's goal is to evaluate the iSchools Library Management and Information System or iLMIS software and its accompanying manual. After spending more than a year in the making of the project, the developers, manual writers, and evaluators met again to review the manual and suggest improvements.

The iLMIS is the open source eLibrary system to be introduced by the iSchools Project to all of its 1,000 public high school recipients nationwide.

The iLMIS was formed through a partnership between the iSchools Project and developers from the Laguna University under the Laguna Provincial Government through its Management Information Systems (MIS) office. The iLMIS hopes to improve library management by providing school administrators with an ICT system that simplifies and makes more efficient the process of storing, cataloging, and filing learning materials. Eventually, the system will allow materials to be shared with other school libraries within the greater iLMIS network.

The Laguna Provincial Government, through its MIS office, is mandated to develop systems and software applications for its concurrent units such as the Laguna University. After the MIS office successfully developed a Library and Management Information System (LMIS) for Laguna University, it decided to popularize and distribute said software to organizations willing to adopt it. The iSchools Project has thus adopted and promoted the LMIS to its partners nationwide.

Where will this leave librarians?

Will this digitization movement downsize and eventually eliminate librarians from the frame? Not by a long shot. This is the encouraging pronouncement of the iSchools Project.

“Librarians should see the iLMIS as a tool of empowerment. It will make them actual librarians– not just book filers,” reassures iSchools training officer Joed Alcid. “Through the iLMIS, librarians now become information managers.”

To lay the groundwork for actual software application, the project tapped manual writers from Cavite State University, Ifugao State University, and Bicol University. Quite aptly, the writers are familiar with the challenges facing librarians since they work for their university's high school libraries.

While the validation workshop is the first good nail driven in, Alcid concedes that the manual needs more hammering out. Both reviewers and writers agreed that there is a need to be more responsive to the demands of a 21st century library. Because of this, an additional chapter for computer and internet-based information and intellectual property rights will be built into the manual, just in time for polishing in the next review.

“Schools can now see that technology cannot replace librarians.” Rather, technology acts to further buttress the role of librarians. In the greater scheme of education, concludes Alcid, “technology serves to enhance, encourage, and support classroom learning.”

So, what is a library then?

According to blueprint, a library has functioned throughout history as the storehouse of knowledge that is shared. In these modern times, with the iLMIS, this knowledge can now be stored and shared beyond the physical confines of form, time, and place.

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 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 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

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.