Mobile teaching program “Text2Teach” to expand in Visayas and Mindanao

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

Of collecting brochures and other unnecessary objects

a friend has a weird habit of getting too much napkins from the dispenser even when he does not need them

Being new to a place certainly gives you the right to either be incredibly smart or stupid. It is alright to act like you have never been there before or you have not done it when you first went there.

I’m not talking about something green. I’m talking about collecting unnecessarily quaint or sometimes useful objects for my journal. You see, I am keeping a journal but instead of writing daily entries, I would stick candy wrappers, photos, boat tickets, purchase receipts, coffee cup logos, informal letters, table napkins, price tags and other oddities that should have found its way to the trash can by now had they not met me.

My friend found this interesting and so she started doing the same thing. So, off we went and started our weird collection that should probably tell a lot of interesting stories when we will see them again at 60.

Invariably, I would pick up a few oddities in a new place. If the place is not as quaint as I found it, I would collect brochures. I have brochures from banks, hotels, restaurants, malls, stores, and even from comfort rooms (or perhaps it was left by someone who had lots of them, but who cares? It’s still a brochure).

Collecting brochures may not be as vintage as collecting stamps but stamps do not carry the memories that brochures and other oddities do on the day you picked them. Stamps show tepid butterflies and people you barely knew. But brochures and other oddities remind you of that:

• overpriced meal or dress (P5++? That’s corruption already!)
• boat fare promos that happen only for three hours (Weesam, yeyy!)
• letters that tell you the teacher looks like a frog (pass to the person sitting next to you)
• weird candy you might never get the chance to taste again
• photos of you when you were too anemic for the white background
• coffee cup logos on napkins (because you brought the brand and not the coffee, be honest)

Maybe when I’m 60 and my house burns down, the firemen will have a hard time dousing the fire. But who cares? Stamps don’t save you from fire either. LOL.

price tags from different purchases. www.google.com

soon, all that will be left are the wrappers. www.google.com

weird jud!

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I have done/experienced the weirdest of things lately.

For this summer internship, I was expecting wads of radio or TV scripts, video and photo editing and mega-brainstorming. Or if I had been unlucky, stirring somebody’s cup of coffee, photocopying papers, holding an umbrella over somebody else’s head or holding a masking tape for hours.

But we have been lucky. My friend and I have a great boss and the people we have worked with for the past weeks are anything but snobs.

Now here are some of those weird things included in my internship tasks:

• Being humped in the leg by a mayoral candidate’s dog while we were waiting for her to dress up for a live interview
• Taking a photo of a billboard while holding on to a lamppost, in the middle of a traffic and a slight drizzle
• Photo session with a bunch of empty soap boxes
• Taking a picture of a halo-surrounded sun
• Crashing into a mayoral candidate’s lunch meeting for a photo release
• Waking up two days straight for a radio interview which never happened
• Sleeping in a restaurant’s couch (even when there wasn’t any form of ventilation) while waiting for a group of people
• Entering a church which will never open again for the next 25 years
• And many, many more!

All in the Queen City of the South! :)

On The Quiet World

I would like to share a copy of “The Quiet World” by Jeffrey McDaniel. When we did a short film once, we made this poem as basis for our storyline.

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The Quiet World
by Jeffrey McDaniel

In an effort to get people to look
into each other’s eyes more,
and also to appease the mutes,
the government has decided
to allot each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings, I put it to my ear
without saying hello. In the restaurant
I point at chicken noodle soup.
I am adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night, I call my long distance lover,
proudly say I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn’t respond,
I know she’s used up all her words,
so I slowly whisper I love you
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.

When i first read this poem, i wondered how everything would go if the same law will be implemented in the Philippines. How quiet would it be? How will things go? Will the country be more peaceful? Or even more chaotic?

But perhaps we will be more sensitive–to ourselves and to others. I think that if the Philippines becomes a “quiet world”, we can hear and understand better. We will hear the birds chirp, the song of the wind and of every falling raindrop.

Perhaps we should try, one day. Just once, to have a quiet world for a day. :

living a toxic life

I’m slowly getting used to this kind of lifestyle.
And I’m not 100% happy about it.

Going to a new place for a short period ultimately boils down to financial and physical instability. There are many reasons why I am living an extravagant and sometimes unwise lifestyle this summer. Here are some:

We seldom ride public transportation because most of the time, if not always, we walk. If we’re lucky, other people like our boss, a future public official and the friends of our friends let us hitch a ride on their A-class wheels. Besides, walking means less chances of getting lost.

The room is air-conditioned. Not being a fan of the big, noisy, squarish machine that cost us the huge ‘patong’ on our rent, I would wrap myself from head to toe with the inch-thick comforter I brought along. Oftentimes, I would also fancy wearing a bonnet—earning the latter its monicker, the ‘Kawatan Hat’.

Most of the time—meaning breakfast, lunch, dinner, we would eat outside. And since I would always reiterate the importance of not acquiring Hepatitis A, each meal of the day would cost each one of us at most P100-150. The home-cooked meal is even pricier and it will always be fried. Fried fish, fried hotdogs, fried longganisa, fried egg and fried ham. Forget the why-did-we-not-cook?-option. We do not have the balls, oil and pans for it.

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There are just too many malls. Since Cebu is progressing to become one of the most industrialized cities in Asia, a lot of ‘commercial boxes’ are sprouting out of the ground. Inside these commercial boxes are loads and loads of rainbow goodies which—in a way—answer Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I am one of those hags who just can’t get enough of one broomstick.

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Our lifestyle is somewhat toxic.
It’s the ‘I’m-slowly-getting-used-to-it’ part that scares me.

Wish us luck for one more month of a toxic lifestyle. :)