Training on Text2Teach program held in Oro

A THREE-DAY trainers’ training on the Text2Teach Program was recently conducted at N Hotel in Cagayan de Oro, which was attended by at least 40 selected supervisors from the division and regional offices of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Mindanao.

The training was held in line with the agreement forged by Ayala Foundation and DepEd to enhance the teaching of core subjects through information communication technology (ICT).

The program has developed multimedia resources with integrated ICT based lessons in English, Mathematics, Science and Values for Grades 5 to 6.

As of July 2012, Text2Teach Phase 3 alone has reached 352 new schools, bringing the total number of schools using the technology to 557 since 2003.

For Phase 3, more than 1,750 school heads and teachers were trained on the technology and almost 57,000 grades 5 and 6 students have benefited from the program.

Aside from Ayala Foundation and DepEd, other agencies included in an alliance formed for the Text2Teach program are Nokia, Globe Telecom and Seameo Innotech.

As implementer of the project, the alliance believes there is a lot more to be done, particularly in the areas of making the project work in more schools, training more teachers and DepEd personnel, and making DepEd see the effectiveness of Text2Teach in achieving better education.

Text2Teach ensures that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs and improves all aspects of the quality of education. It also ensures excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

Specifically, Text2Teach aims to make a significant contribution to the quality of teaching and learning in grades 5 and 6 in underserved public elementary schools and communities in the Philippines.

It also hopes to use advanced mobile communications technology for education; encourage cooperation among the public, private and civil society sectors at the local levels; and complement the indigenous curriculum with high quality educational content delivered through a mobile network, and with integrated teacher training.

Among the project’s expected benefits are improved students’ performance in the National Achievement Test and in class; enhanced positive attitudes of students towards learning; and improved teacher competence and attitudes towards using technology as a teaching tool. (PR)