ICT World Today article - RRC on eSkwela

This article was published in the Summer 2009 edition of the "ICT World Today" journal by the Korea Information Society Development Institute. The journal is distributed internationally.

It's entitled "Empowering the Underserved through ICT" - it starts off with a discussion of CICT's efforts in harnessing Broadband and Mobile Technologies then continues on how ICTs are being maximized to provide better access to quality education...one way would be through eSkwela.

Click on this link to view the article: ICT World Today - RRC

Hail! Hail! eSkwela is gaining ground in terms of advocacy - not only locally but also internationally.

Please stay tuned for the notice on the availability of the UNESCO-Bangkok's publication on eSkwela...coming really soon.

Bringing Alternative Learning Closer to OSYAs

How a husband-and-wife team brought the eSkwela Project to the out-of-school youth and adults of San Fernando, Camarines Sur

by Carl Bailey, Lenay Enseñado and Ave Mejia

For Joaquin “Jack” Olitoquit of San Fernando, Camarines Sur, what started out as a search for a plastic disc led to accidentally discovering the eSkwela Project, and ended up in him jointly establishing the first mobile eSkwela Center in the country.

No stranger to community service, Jack was at the forefront of addressing the plight of San Fernando’s farmers as a community organizer, having been a farmer himself. He was also involved in parish work; with his trusty motorcycle, he rode through rebel-infested areas to deliver medicine to the outskirts of Camarines Sur. Currently, he is a consultant of the municipal government, working on development and livelihood projects for San Fernando.

Jack is not alone in his passion for serving the community. His wife, Rose, is a DepED District Alternative Learning System (ALS) Coordinator; she spends her time going from one barangay to another as she conducts learning sessions for out-of-school youth and adults (OSYAs). In San Fernando, a fourth-class municipality where farming is the main source of livelihood, one third of school-aged children has dropped out of the formal education system or has not enrolled in high school after finishing Grade Six. They end up tending to farms and working in construction projects; some venture abroad as domestic helpers – just as their parents and grandparents did in years past. Through these hard-luck locals, the cycle of poverty continues its painful course.

The task of teaching OSYAs is not an easy one. Apart from the challenge of getting them to sign up as ALS learners, Rose has to make sure that the OSYAs stay on as ALS learners. She has to be creative and keep them motivated, with the hope that they become functionally literate, perhaps even acquire knowledge and skills equivalent to a high school education.

Jack witnessed firsthand how his wife takes on this challenge. He sees her sorting through worn-out print modules, spending her own money for photocopying additional copies once the modules become unusable. One night after supper, Jack asked how he can help her improve on these materials; Rose mentioned that the modules are available in compact disc (CD) and that it would greatly help her if she could obtain a clear master copy by printing the modules straight from the CD, and reproducing these instead.

By then, Jack could now do something to help his wife.

Trip to Manila

Jack immediately took the eight-hour bus ride to Manila in order to obtain the CD from the DepED main office. Upon his arrival, he was advised by the DepED - Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) to also go to the eSkwela Center in Roces Avenue, Quezon City where he can get a copy of the CD. Once he was at the Center, Angelyn Malabanan, an eSkwela learning facilitator, was generous enough to provide him not only a copy of the CD but also a walk-through on how ALS sessions are conducted there, albeit with a technological twist.

At the eSkwela Center, the learners use electronic, multimedia and interactive versions of the ALS print modules (the modules are converted and developed by CICT, DepED-BALS, and eSkwela’s partner State Universities and Colleges, or SUCs). ALS Mobile teachers and Instructional Managers, doubling as eSkwela learning facilitators, engage their learners in discussions and exercises through the Learning Management System (LMS) software. The learners treat Internet educational websites as an immense library, and create individual and collaborative projects using the Center’s computer and digital equipment, online resources and open-source software.

At that point, Jack was not satisfied in bringing just the CD back home to his wife. He has to bring the eSkwela Center to the OSYAs of San Fernando.

Before his return trip, he swung by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), where the eSkwela Project holds office, and sought assistance on how to set-up their own eSkwela. After meeting the eSkwela Project Team, Jack was now armed with the initial know-how on the basic setup requirements; he could not wait to share the concept of eSkwela to his wife as he headed back home.

Laptops instead of desktops

Upon bringing the news on eSkwela to his wife, who by then was equally interested to it, they have drawn up initial eSkwela setup plans - and realized that a mobile version of eSkwela would better serve the highland and coastal barangays of San Fernando. This was also recommended by CICT upon consulting with the eSkwela Project Team, who made recommendations on its infrastructure and technical requirements. Afterwards, the couple were on their way in figuring out where to get the laptop units for eSkwela.

Jack presented the idea to San Fernando Mayor Fermin Mabulo, who made no hesitation in throwing his support to the initiative, having been involved in ALS programs for indigenous peoples before entering politics. Mayor Mabulo immediately facilitated the request for the needed equipment.

Although they have secured the mayor’s support, local partisan politics made the request process more difficult than it should have been. They were only able to acquire two laptops in their initial request, barely enough to service one barangay. Nevertheless, by December of last year, they were able to test the eSkwela model and conduct demos to municipal officials – with the hope that they will see the benefits and opportunities eSkwela can bring to the OSYAs.

eSkwela Conference and CICT’s site visit

The couple found additional motivation to overcome the hurdles in their eSkwela implementation by receiving an invitation to CICT’s eSkwela Conference, having championed the project in their community. Held last April in Batangas, the Conference was a gathering of individuals and groups who are involved in eSkwela’s different project components. There they were able to interact with the other participants – LGUs, local DepED offices, civic, church and non-government organizations - who also share the same commitment and face the same challenges. The Conference’s forums, talks and workshops were all geared towards helping the project stakeholders work in synergy. As their conference output, Jack and Rose helped prepare an eSkwela strategic plan not only for their Center but also for their province the rest of the Bicol Region. But first things first, though – Jack and Rose had to start with San Fernando before they go beyond it.

Throughout the next three months, the couple and three DepED-Camarines Sur ALS mobile teachers / instructional managers – Lleza Orias, Helen Tunay, and Merly Lleva – underwent CICT’s training on the eSkwela Instructional Model. Through this training, they have also prepared the personnel requirements of an eSkwela Center, while waiting for their infrastructure requirements to be addressed. While it seemed that their request for equipment was falling on deaf ears, CICT made a timely intervention by conducting a field visit to Camarines Sur. The bottleneck that was partisan politics was partially remedied, and three more laptop units were issued to the proposed eSkwela Center – bringing the total units to five.

With the staff and equipment now ready, they can move on to the next step of conducting the eSkwela learning sessions.

eSkwela in San Fernando – and beyond

On June 29, the eSkwela Center of San Fernando formally started its operations. Not only is it the first eSkwela center in Camarines Sur and in the entire Bicol region, it is also the first to adapt the mobile model. Serving the OSYAs in an initial eight barangays (Buenavista, Del Pilar, Beberon, Lupi, Bocal, Pamukid, Planza, Sta. Cruz), the couple and the three ALS implementers are now full-fledged eSkwela learning facilitators and are able to optimally use the computers as a tool for learning. They have organized a schedule to cover each of the eight barangays. The LGU’s multicab is being used to transport the laptops from one barangay to another. In turn, the barangays chip in by providing for the electricity and a shaded or enclosed area as a stop-over station for the mobile eSkwela Center. While Internet service has yet to be made available in these remote barangays, they plan to hold some of the eSkwela sessions at the municipal hall’s premises in order to take advantage of the available Wi-Fi Internet connection. A wireless Internet broadband USB receiver will also be purchased so the laptops will have access to the Internet without leaving the barangays.

eSkwela San Fernando aims to serve ninety OSYAs for its inaugural year. While waiting for the additional laptops, the couple is currently busy engaging the rest of San Fernando and Camarines Sur to replicate the eSkwela model. They are now coordinating with CICT, DepED-BALS and its division office, the LGUs of San Fernando and Camarines Sur for the conduct of an eSkwela teacher training workshop in September, which will be participated in by seven potential eSkwela Centers in the province. They have also facilitated meetings with three public high schools in Lupi, San Fernando and Pamukid, eyeing the possibility of integrating eSkwela and sharing its computer labs to OSYAs.

Jack and Rose Olitoquit hopes that they have given the OSYAs enough reason to stay on as ALS learners through the technology-infused alternative learning at the eSkwela Center, and by gaining life skills or at most a secondary-level education, give them a chance to break the vicious cycle of poverty.

Which for Jack, is not too bad a bonus in what started out as his search for a plastic disc.

The eSkwela Project, a word play on the Filipino equivalent of "school", is a flagship project of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) through its Human Capital Development Group (HCDG), in partnership with DepED – Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS) and local community partners, that is envisioned to provide ICT-enhanced educational opportunities for Filipino out-of-school youth and adults. It likewise aims to help reduce the digital divide and enhance the capacity of these individuals to be successful participants in a global and knowledge-based economy. The initiative responds directly to a national development priority and will bring elearning opportunities and ICT for learning resources to mobile teachers / instructional managers and out-of-school learners in the Philippines in an exciting, innovative, and locally meaningful way.

For further inquiries, you may send an email to cict.eskwela@gmail.com or contact the eSkwela Project Management Office at +6329286105 local 21/22.

News: New Implementers Complete Trainings

Future eSkwela implementers participated in the Basic Training on the Alternative Learning System (ALS) last April 20-24, 2009 at the De La Salle University. The ALS Basic Training is a pre-requisite for organizations who want to put up an eSkwela center. It acquaints the participants as to how the ALS program is implemented with emphasis on the instructional strategies that can be used in educating out-of-school youth and adults.

A highlight of the training is the immersion at Baranggay Singalong, which allowed the participants to live the life of an instructional manager (IM). During the immersion, the participants talked to the baranggay council to gain their support for the ALS program and conducted house visits to find potential learners.

At the end of the 5-day workshop 25 individuals are now considered as IMs. The new IMs came from Relief Mission International, Manchester, Operation Big Brother, Gawad Kalinga, Camp Bridge School, Quezon City Jail, San Fernando, La Union; and Holy Trinity.

The new IMs, plus DepED - San Fernando, Camarines Sur, also attended a Learning Faciliators' Training held at DMAD Laboratory, CICT-NCC Building, last May 27-29, making them full-fledged learning facilitators capable of conducting eSkwela sessions in their own localities.

- Liset

ALS Training for Instructional Managers

Liset and I participated in the Basic Training Course on Alternative Learning System (ALS) for Instructional Managers (IM). We did this so that we can further understand the ALS curriculum and its approach to teaching and learning. It is important that we truly understand ALS so that our trainings in eSkwela will really be in accordance to the ALS approach with the application of information and communications technologies (ICT). I believe this is the first time that staff from eSkwela has undergone an ALS training. Prior to the training, all we know about ALS is confined in what we read in the published materials from DepED as well as stories and anecdotes from various eSkwela and ALS implementers. Now at least through this training we gained a better understanding of what the ALS approach is, as well as the duties and responsibilities of an ALS IM.

ALS applies the principles of adult learning for teaching and learning. ALS practices the experiential learning approach, which is also known as the 4 As*, namely:

1. Activity – Through a learning activity, learners experience and acquire new knowledge and skills.
2. Analysis – Learners need time to process or analyze their experiences. New knowledge and skills have to be linked to what they already know and can do.
3. Abstraction – Through processing and analyzing their new experiences and linking them with existing experiences, learners begin to demonstrate new understandings and apply new skills through generalization or abstraction.
4. Application – Through application, learners try out new skills and learning.

This is an essential approach because the learners that come to the ALS programs are adults and they bring a wealth of experience, which, when tapped properly, can make learning effective for them. The training design for the instructional managers also applied the same principles.

We found that the teaching and learning in ALS is very flexible. There are a number of learning strategies that can be applies such as structured learning sessions, tutorials, group study, etc. The DepED Bureau of Alternative Learning System also make use of a number of instructional materials. There are print modules, audio based instruction, and the eSkwela e-Learning modules.

One of the highlights of this training is the community immersion where participants went house to house in Barangay Singalong in order to do a survey of out of school youth and adults. Here we found that we have an alarming literacy problem. In about an hour of house to house visits on a rainy summer afternoon, we found more than 40 out of school youth and adults who have not finished basic education. In every house that we went there are about 2 members of the residents who have school aged children that are out of school, or adults who have not completed basic education. Among the reasons for dropping out of school was because of peer pressure and lack of financial resources. We see that there is really a need for a program like ALS and eSkwela in order to be able to bring education especially to the underserved. After all, education is a fundamental human right (UNESCO).

Another highlight of the training was the demonstration teaching of two of the participants. Both of them prepared interesting teaching materials and learning activities that apply the principles of adult learning.

Another significant highlight of the training was the role playing activity on counseling. Counseling is seen as a very important role that an ALS IM will play as part of his/her responsibility. Counseling is helpful during the recruitment and enrollment of learners, identification of learning needs, during the conduct of actual learning sessions, evaluation of learning and after completing the Accreditation and Equivalency Exam.

The training concluded with the awarding of certificates to the participants and the awarding of tokens to our trainers from the Department of Education National Capital Region, namely Dr. Virginia Silvestre, ALS NCR Chief, Dr. Felicino Trongco, ALS NCR Assistant Chief, Dr. Baltazar Gayem, ALS Supervisor of DepED-Valenzuela City and Dr. Diosdado Medina, ALS Supervisor of DepED-Muntinlupa City.

---

*From the “Handbook for the Instructional Managers in the Nonformal Education Accreditation and Equivalency (NFE A&E) System” by the Department of Education Bureau of Alternative Learning System, Pasig City, Philippines.

Resources for the promotion of literacy

Google, LitCam and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning have collaborated to form The Literacy Project, a website containing various resources on reading and education.

In this website one can search for books, scholarly articles, videos, and innovative projects that promote literacy through the help of Google's information search features. One can also link up with educators, organizations, clubs and groups that engage in reading as well as child and adult literacy.

For more information you may visit the website of The Literacy Project at http://www.google.com/literacy/.

Shaping the Future Through Synergy

All roads led to a summer getaway at the heart of Lian, Batangas on the 31st of March.

Participants from all over the country - implementers, learners, community partners and donors, eSkwela regional coordinators, State Universities and Colleges (SUC) content developers, and module guide developers - trooped to Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel to attend the 2nd eSkwela Conference organized by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and co-sponsored by Batangas State University (BatSU).

Top Left: eSkwela Conference organizers - CICT and BatSU- get busy as participants start to register at the lobby of Matabungkay Beach Resort and Hotel. Top Right: eSkwela Project Manager Maria Melizza Tan delivers eSkwela Project Overview. Bottom Left: eSkwela Project Manager Maria Melizza Tan, Dr. Lloyd Espiritu of De La Salle University, IdeaCorp Chief Executive Emmanuel C. Lallana, Commissioner Consuelo S. Perez of CICT-Human Capital Development Group, Batangas State University President Dr. Nora Magnaye and eSkwela Project Officer Christina Maureen Salang pose for the camera. Bottom Right: Commissioner Perez awards Certificate of Appreciation to Keynote Speaker Ms. Evangeline Lourdes Arroyo-Bernas, Southeast Asia Policy Officer of World Wide Fund for Nature - Philippines.

The first day of the three-day event was certainly charged with energy and excitement. Almost 170 participants, many of them meeting for the first time, were expectant to get together with their fellow attendees and learn from the Conference. You could easily see eagerness from the participants, even if they just had a grueling trip from their respective residences, as well as from the organizers, who have prepared for almost three months for the Conference.

Top left: eSkwela Conference participants set action plans. Top right: Facing the open forum were Prof. Patricia Arinto of the University of the Philippines - Open University, eSkwela learner Bianca Nina Densing, Instructional Manager Irene Barzaga and eSkwela Project Officer Christina Maureen Salang. Bottom left: Rotary Club of Marikina South member Alerta Paz presents the Adopt-a-learner Program of eSkwela - Kalumpang. Bottom right: eSkwela Conference participants pose with Director Carolina S. Guerrero of the Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems - Department of Education.

From the first ocular inspection to checking of the conference venue, finalizing list of participants to sending out invitation letters, design of Conference collaterals to securing all equipment, finalizing room arrangements to checking meal preparation, task briefing to dry run, distribution of evaluation forms to check out and reimbursements, the eSkwela Project team with the help of our BatSU counterpart labored to ensure the success of the Conference.

Top left: Participants are all up for fun (under the sun) during the eSkwelympics. Top right: Module guide developers dance to the tune of "Sway" during the luau. Bottom Left: Congressman Rozzano Rufino Biazon of Muntinlupa City delivers a message during the third day. Bottom right: eSkwela Project team and BatSU staff relax after the Conference.

And true to the objectives of the Conference, the event became a venue for dialogue and interaction among the different eSkwela partners and stakeholders. Concrete ideas and steps for improved project implementation were generated, and working relationships were also strengthened. The participants were able to set action plans, participate in knowledge exchanges, identify success factors, and shape the future through synergy.

2nd eSkwela Conference

Everyone's excited about the 2nd eSkwela Conference to be held week after next in Lian, Batangas.

The team is in the thick of preparations - coordinating heavily with the counterpart team from the Batangas State University, finalizing the program of activities, list of participants and Resource Persons.

Exciting. Stressful. Frustrating at times. Confusing, too.

But we are confident that we'll pull through with flying colors. Right, team?

It matters a lot that we believe in the project that we have come to love...and know that we can rely on each other to make things work, despite the numerous constraints and challenges.

To all the invited participants, we promise you an informative, fun-filled 4-day event! See you there!

- mel