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Opening Pages : Creating in Silence

« H E Pinoy Teacher :: email
posted Sunday, 18 September 2005

In the midst of the traffic and noise in Sta. Mesa is an oasis of peace and tranquility. I’m referring to the compound of the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA), the home of Educational Outreach through E-learning or EDO. They are the ones responsible for creating the interactive modules used in educating the out-of-school youths (OSYs) of the Sandiwaan Center for Learning’s (SCL) eLearning Project at Smokey Mountain.
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The SCL has been helping OSY’s of Smokey Mountain, in partnership with the DepEd’s Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems (BALS), towards passing an equivalency test for their high school diploma.  SCL adopted traditional-style classroom settings and used printed booklets in educating the youth with limited success.  When Fr. Ben Beltran, Smokey Mountain’s parish priest and founder of SCL, received second hand computers loaded with basic skills learning software, he put them to good use by placing them in the classrooms.  As a result, students came more regularly and were able to finish their lessons and half of them were able to pass the equivalency tests.

Seeing the advantage of computer-based learning on the students’ motivation and achievement, he initiated the eLearning Project last year with the goal of converting the printed booklets used by the students into multimedia, interactive modules.  It was at this juncture that Fr. Ben met Dr. Dylan Dizon, a US-based university professor who has intensive experience in the use of computers in education and in the development of digitized learning modules.

Teacher-training is an important component of the project to familiarize the teachers with how the modules were developed and how to use them effectively so that the student, though not expected to learn everything in the modules, would be motivated to pursue the course.   Teachers are encouraged to undergo the training sessions because Dr. Dizon has observed from sessions previously conducted that most of the teachers who attended lack basic computer literacy skills needed to effectively conduct the program and including DepEd personnel.

Private schools interested to acquire the interactive modules can buy them at prices way below commercial interactive CD-ROMs. However, the interactive are free for public schools and mission partners of SCL.

Let’s support this project by either buying the modules or becoming SCL’s partner in educating out-of school youths.

The Archdiocese of Manila’s project of exhibiting the winning digital art works is still looking for a sponsor to print and mount the art works.  The exhibit will be shown in schools around Metro Manila after which it will be brought to the different dioceses of the country.  So imagine the potential market that awaits a willing sponsor.  Do not hesitate to get in touch with me at openingpagemb@yahoo.com or drop by my website and leave a comment or message at http://techiepeachy.blogspot.com.  

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