Globe Telecom recently launched the first Cebu Media Excellence Awards to recognize Cebu-based print, broadcast, and digital media practitioners who have excelled in the profession and practice of responsible and ethical journalism. The launching also coincided with the celebration of the Cebu Press Freedom Week.
In support of the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) request for telecommunication companies to lower interconnection charges, Globe Telecom submitted a position paper detailing its proposal on reducing fees for subscribers calling and sending texts outside their respective networks.
In the position paper, Globe proposed a 3-year “glide path” implementation method beginning January 31, 2012 to allow mobile operators more time to restructure business plans and models given changes in pricing schemes, as well as to help cushion possible losses in revenues.
The NTC pushes interconnection charges for voice calls be lowered to P1 per minute from P4 within the next three years. For text messages, NTC requests charges be reduced to P0.15 from the current P0.35 per text. According to studies, the Philippines has one of the highest voice termination rates in the Asia Pacific region, averaging at $0.10, with most countries only in the $0.03-0.05 range.
Under the proposal submitted by Globe, charging for interconnection charges for voice calls is at P2.50 on the first year, P2.00 on the second year, and P1.50 on the third year. For SMS, charging is P0.25 on the first year, P0.20 on the second year and P0.15 on the third year, which is congruent with the NTC’s proposal. For landline, charging is P2.00 on the first year, P1.50 on the second year and P1.00 on the third year.
“Globe is in full support of NTC’s call to lower domestic interconnect rates among telcos. In fact, Globe also supports mobile to landline interconnection and vice versa, where interconnection fees should also be reduced. This way, subscribers will experience lower service charges,” said Atty. Froilan Castelo, Head for Corporate and Legal Services Group of Globe. “So as to give ample time for Globe to adjust its tariffs and billing system, Globe requests the NTC to implement these new charges by January 2012.”
To date, Globe is the only mobile operator that has submitted a proposal to show cooperation to the NTC. Last April, Globe completed full interconnection with Bayan Telecommunications (BayanTel) and Digitel Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) in all areas of common presence and operations nationwide, benefitting subscribers who need not pay long distance rates to call another subscriber from a different network.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Yoly Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom
Tel. No. 730 2627
Fax no. 739 3075
E-mail: globe.corpcomm@gmail.com
Innovative mobile teaching program Text2Teach is set to go nationwide as it targets 850 new public elementary schools in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao for English, Math, and Science lessons beginning this year.
The plan was announced during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for Phase 4 of the program. Signatories are Department of Education Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano, Ayala Foundation Co-Vice Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Nokia Director for Community Involvement Gregory Elphinston, and Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu.
The fourth phase, to be implemented starting July, will finally make the program available not only in Luzon but across the country as the proponents work to bring Text2Teach to Visayas and Mindanao and to upgrade the 205 satellite schools from the earlier phases. By the end of Phase 3 in August, the total number of Text2Teach-enabled schools will have reached 555, benefiting about 40,000 pupils, and almost 1,800 school heads, teachers and DepEd officials.
Text2Teach Phase 4 also marks the beginning of a stronger partnership with the local government units. DepEd regional offices will play a vital role in teachers training while LGUs will provide bigger counterpart funding for the program. Phase 4 also sees Pearson Foundation returning to the program as a key component in developing new downloadable educational materials for English, Science and Mathematics.
Since its Philippine launch in 2004, Text2Teach has been aiding in improving the performance of students all over the country, particularly in the three basic subjects through downloadable educational videos using Nokia mobile phones and Globe internet connection.
Using the power of mobile technology, Grades 5 and 6 students can watch any of the almost 400 educational audio and video materials loaded in the Nokia N86 8MP phones and equipped with the Nokia Education Delivery (NED) application. NED allows teachers to download and easily access educational audios and videos on Math, Science and English specifically designed for the project, providing a highly effective visual aid for teachers. It also creates an interactive, student-focused learning environment in the classroom which makes the students eager to go to school.
Aside from the Nokia N86 8MP phone and educational videos, Text2Teach recipient schools also get a Globe SIM card provided with P150 worth of free pre-paid load monthly for one year, a 29-inch colored TV, 3-day teacher training and teachers guides.
Alma Abalos Fernandez, a teacher at Carael Elementary School in Dagupan City, pointed out that the effectiveness of the program is evident in helping students appreciate a complex subject like science.
“Before we had Text2Teach, I had to rely on my imagination. I gave a lot of examples and used a lot of visual aids to make sure they understand the subject. But with Text2Teach, there is a better appreciation of what is being discussed. You can also see that the students learn faster. Just show them the video and you capture their attention. The students also retain the lessons better because they can see actual images on the video. And we don’t have to spend much on visual aids anymore,” Fernandez related in the vernacular.
Aside from improved performance, Text2Teach also helps minimize student absenteeism since they are now excited to go to class and watch the videos.
PHOTO CAPTION: Signing the Memorandum of Agreement for Phase 4 of the Text2Teach program are (from L-R): Nokia Corporation Directorfor Community Involvement Gregory Ephinston, Ayala Foundation Co-Vice Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, DepEd Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano, and Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu.
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For more information, pls. contact:
Ms. Yoly C. Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom
Tel. No. 7302627
Fax No. 7393075
Email address: globe.corpcomm@gmail.com
I think it is a conventional truth that when people receive their first paycheck, they are either attacked by their stingy side or by their shopaholic selves. Or, was it just me?
When Jen and I did, we met with another friend, Jimma, and had a date at SM. We decided to buy “vanity stuff”. Well, I don’t consider myself vain because I have many pimples and my face isn’t usually among my top priorities. I am still the ‘normal’ type. Or however do you want to call that. I just put on some powder, lotion and all the other basics, and I’m good to go.
But not this time.
I told my uptight self that I am aging and I have to be careful starting now. So off we went to a beauty shop and took a lot of bottles from shelves and paid for them. Now, our aesthetic selves will be pleased. How about a little food for the brain?
[Jennie and I belong to a circle of friendship that are addict to books—usually the Booksale versions where the prices do not go beyond P75]
As it turned out, she was looking for a book by Ricky Lee, “Para Kay B”. She told me that she really has to have a copy of that book. But since it cannot be found it Booksale, NBS had to be it.
When she found it, I said what about me? [Hell, I still have a lot of unread books.] My eye was caught by a yellow-covered book showing a half naked man—with this back turned—with wings. “Ang Ladlad” by two of the members of the Ang Ladlad Partylist. I like reading gay writing. I think that it has most of the honesty that this world has lost. And besides, I like to read works made by teachers. And the greatest part, it doesn’t cost much. [P 195 in National Book Store, SM City Cebu]
Let me tell you about the book next time. What I can now afford to share is that I didn’t regret buying it. And that it wasn’t a timely book. These guys are really good.
(There’s a photo of this book if you fancy scrolling down. :D)
When I was a kid, I used to fantasize about winning some grocery store-related contest and having the privilege of going on a 1-minuter shopping spree.
It has to be 1 minute, not an hour or two. If it will be, it wouldn’t be realistic anymore, no?
So anyway, I’d dream about where will I place my cart (and always it would be where the chocolates are) and where will I rush next if I had enough chocolates (the meat section). You probably would have understood the chocolate section, but what the heck with meat?
I thought that chocolates are too much for comfort: I would have to get something that rhymed with being practical. Hence, meat.
When I shared this with my friends, I learned that they also want to hoard food first. Well, this isn’t exactly what happened when the closest thing to winning a shopping spree landed in my hands in the form of a P1000 gift certificate. Free~
Yes, Jen and I planned on buying chocolates and drinks and some clothes and a few other luxuries, but only when we got home did I realized that it indeed was the closest thing I had next to winning a shopping spree. And…that I did not buy any chocolate.
We bought plates, microwavable containers (but no microwave), forks, bowls, mugs, toiletries, a pitcher, two shot glasses and two The Bars. No questions please. Hahahaha.
Although we paid for a little beyond what the gift certificate entitled, Jen and I were really satisfied with our purchase. We thought that we weren’t really that shopaholic when it comes to luxury. We realized that even though we did not take a bath while on the supermarket, nobody dragged us out. Also, we learned to give up some of the less important—the liquors have to stay of course—so we would not have to pay much.
from Google images
As I was writing this, I had two shots. Not bad for a long day. Definitely not bad for a cold weather.
Last June 14 and 15, I was privileged to be a part of a new innovation in one of the, if not the, biggest mobile giant in the country, Nokia.
It launched two new phones, the Nokia C2-00 and the Nokia X1-01. Each with a lot of new features, Nokia Philippines assures its market that they are not far behind the other companies which have launch similar dual SIM phones. For one, the new Nokia phones can remember the settings of up to 5 SIMs. One need not turn their phones off and switch SIMs. Just slide open, retrieve the SIM you want changed, and put in the new one. Easy and breezy. The phones speak convenience, cost savings, simplicity and style.
Nokia X1-01
Nokia C2-00
For more information about these phones, visit Nokia’s website, www.nokia.com
Finally, I was able to retrieve the header that my blogger friend, CoffeeConcepts girl, made for me. Hehehe!
Thankyou, Myk! :))
Yesterday was the most awaited day in every dormitory here in UPV Miagao. How can it not be when yesterday, almost all dormitories had their year-end parties?
And today, March 26, was Goodbye Day.
Almost everyone was going home. The night before, many colorful bags made of sack (I am not sure if this is what it is really made of)–the ones with colorful cartoon characters–were strewn along the hallways. Broken what-have-yous from mirrors to lamp shades were scattered about, decorating the otherwise clear, waxed floor. Noticeable also, is the thick dust collected after the sweeping done. (In our room’s case, the quarterly sweeping done…)
Manang Bibi is going to go wild. Hahaha!
Since we were graduating, we cannot leave the dormitories until the 28th, or until we will have a place to stay over for the first weeks of the summer, before our graduation. Trust me, looking at the all the other dormers lug their bags around heading to the dorm doors makes me want to curse. I never got used to be the one left. But as it was, I cannot feel anything while all of my friends were posting statuses about “leaving” and “being left”.
What did my friends and I do all day?
Surf the Internet all day! :D We called it our “Kapehan Session“–sans the coffee. Never mind the ones who will go away, we have our chismis to make our days more enjoyable. :D
As in talking, coffee is better enjoyed in groups.
Yesterday saw the CAS Week Celebration, an event meant mostly to help the freshmen (for obvious reasons) and the seniors (because it’s their last year in the university). Although I wasn’t able to be there for the program, we went anyway because we thought we had classes.
Yeah, you can call us langka because we came anyway even if we knew that the CAS Week usually means abstinence from classes (but some teachers do not always follow this unwritten rule). But we decided to give our teacher the benefit of the doubt (and give ourselves the favor of not garnering more absences) and trudged to the CAS building.
Unfortunately for us and for our 6 pesos fares, classes were suspended that morning. Most probably, the teachers did not tell us about it because they all want us to be there. That was smart, heehee. :D
Instead, our teacher asked us to attend a Fun Teaching Session. These were informal “classes” on mostly GE courses. She told us that we could attend any FTS of our choice, but since we were late, we had no choice but to attend the remaining one wherein Tatay Mark is the “instructor”-much to our surprise.
Tatay Mark is more than smart. He is intelligent and is full of ideas you never thought you would hear if you have the habit of jumping into advance thoughts like me. Hehehe! We always see him as the scholarly one, one who is not physically healthy but emotionally and spiritually rich. He looked every inch the instructor that day. We (well, at least the five of us) all kept exchanging glances which says “Angayan gid siya mangin teacher”.
We were in awe of him, his knowledge about things and his command of the language. I am not sure if this FTS had been here before. I am not the attendee of these events except when I was a starry-eyed freshman. But I realized what I had missed. It was fun listening to your fellow student teach. Especially one as great as Tatay Mark.
We went home still thinking about the session (at least this was what I saw in my friends’ faces). When our Mommy Tin arrived, we told her about the session with Tatay Mark and she looked very disappointed that she was not there. We were all smiling as she lamented over the idea that she chose to attend the other FTS session instead of Tatay Mark’s. Better luck next time, Mommy!
P.S. We call Tatay Mark as such because we are a “family”. He, Mommy Tin, Wila, Bemjo, Jimma, Jennie and I. :))
[A thought came to mind while I was there listening to Tatay Mark's lecture. I would want to see myself in front of a group of students one day, speaking to them and listening to their views about things. Hmmm...]
(This was one of the articles which my laziness forbade me to posts. XD)
Just hours ago, I and my classmates attended a lecture-forum entitled “Going Undercover: Making a Commitment to Quality Journalism”. The speaker was Dr. Gary Swanson, a multi-awarded and distinguished journalist from the University of Northwestern Colorado.
He was a great speaker: full of great insights, great experiences and of great ideas. He enlightened us about good and bad journalism, journalistic responsibility, electronic journalism and the importance of citing sources. He also touched on digital enhancement and photo manipulation, making some of us a bit uneasy—needless to say guilty (but we don’t publish ours, just for the sake of private humor, hehehe).
Funny because I am not a frequent visitor of YouTube, but when I close my eyes while the forum is progressing, it’s like listening to a YouTube video, only the speaker is closer and much more..alive.
He inspired us, not only because our field (Communication and Media Studies) is one which is directly affected by his lecture, but also because he is right. “One of the best things about being alive is watching the world change”. And we, as future media practitioners, are the ones most privilege to see and/or make that change.
He lamented about how the great information overflow is challenging the thinking capabilities of humans. “In a world where information is available, how can we even think?” Indeed, he is true. Instead of our brains, our fingers have done the thinking job for us.
I, however, disagree with his ethnocentric self. He told us a story about how his Chinese wife fancied a squirrel because it was her first time seeing one when she migrated with him to the United States. Then, for rapport, he asked us: Do you know what a squirrel is? Do you know how it looks like?
DUH. (No need to elaborate here, I think.)
This was after he told us that “The people in the United States know very little, or nothing at all, about the Philippines”. We understand this bit. We are not a country which is known for being an economic entity or for nuclear weapons. But to ask us a question so contradictory of his earlier statement about information overflow is simply dumb. “How can he even think?” Nah, just kidding. But seriously, I could have stuffed the squirrel up to his ***. We have Internet and schools here, hello? One of them is shading your Caucasian head now while you lecture.
But except for that part, I guess its safe to say that we have learned a lot from him. That’s what’s more important anyway. “If you can walk away from here with just one thought, then I’ve done my job”.
Ethnocentricity aside, thanks a lot still, Dr. Swanson!
