University Extension Associate
Capiz State University
“Bridge the digital divide.” So goes the slogan of the iSchools project by the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines which is coursed through the Capiz State University (CapSU)’s Management Information Systems (MIS) Office.
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Computer teacher Zenaida Ong, electronics and communications engineer by profession (see photo), advises her second-year students to maximize the features of the open source software in layouting their school project in Basiao National High School (BNHS) in sitio Looc, Basiao, Ivisan, Capiz.
One of the flagship projects of Human Capital Development Group (HCDG) under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), the iSchools project supports the efforts of the Philippine Government and the Department of Education to incorporate ICT in education in public high schools. The purpose is not only to equip all public high school teachers and students with ICT literacy skills but also to “provide the beneficiaries access to relevant digital content and applications in education which they can use to enhance effective learning.”
PC recycling training
In June 2010, Bargo’s team led a PC recycling training seminar to some 28 high school teachers from seven national high school recipients in the province of Capiz. Teachers handling general course subjects were taught skills needed for the maintenance and troubleshooting of computers donated by the CICT. In the ten-day workshop held at the San Antonio Beach Resort in Baybay, Roxas City, teacher participants had to identify the basic parts of the computer, compare the application software and the operating system and install the basic computer system units and its peripherals and troubleshoot the computer problems, among other things.
Participating schools included the Jamindan National High School; Mambusao West National High School; Dumalag Central National High School; Ramon Arnaldo High School in Banica, Roxas City; Panit-an National High School; San Nicolas National High School in Pilar and Vicente Andaya, Sr. Memorial National High School in Sigma, all of the province of Capiz.
The training allowed participants to learn basic computer skills, computer hardware and computer software installation, PC data backup and PC recycling. More important, teacher trainees were also briefed on electronic waste management and the legal terms and conditions, laws and licenses all related to computer and internet use.
Computer and Internet Literacy Courses (CILC)
To complement the launch of iSchools in the province, CapSU launched the Computer and Internet Literacy Course (CILC) in September 2010. Bargo’s technical team facilitated the techno transfer from CICT personnel to the recipients in the public high schools. For the two batches of capability building activities, CICT provided the resource person and two laboratory assistants to teach the high school teachers on the operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of the computer workstations and facilities donated. School beneficiaries included the Yating National High School in Pilar, Pawa National High School in Panay, Basiao National High School in Ivisan, Lonoy National High School in Sapian, Dao National High School in Dao and Burias National High School in Mambusao, all of Capiz.
The second batch of recipients given CILC in April 2011 consisted of the Katipunan High School and Bagong Barrio High School, both of Tapaz and Mianay High School in Sigma, Capiz. During the CILC, experts from other state universities and colleges (SUCs) lectured to teachers and selected students on computer concepts and software applications, while the CICT team led the logistics and technical assistance for said activities. More important, the CILC training allowed teacher participants to present their outputs for critique and evaluation.
The Benefits of iSchool project
Under the iSchools project, each beneficiary was awarded one laptop, one Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) projector, one computer unit each for the use of the school library, faculty room and principal and 16 workstations for the use of the students. The donation also came with one air-conditioning unit for the computer laboratory, while the school recipients prepared the building and the basic fixtures and facilities as counterpart. Along with the costs incurred for the capability building activities and representation and transportation allowance, each school recipient was awarded approximately Php1M under the said project.
According to MIS Director Blas Bargo, who is also iSchools regional coordinator for monitoring and evaluation in Western Visayas, there is a need to periodically evaluate the performance and status of the facilities; CICT is also mandated to monitor the impact of the project to the far-flung communities where it has been provided. For Bargo, CapSU this year will lead the initiative to help the said communities for genuine accomplishment.
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BASIAO BENEFICIARIES
Under the iSchools project, MIS Dir. Blas Bargo (second row, third from left) has sought the expertise of Mr. Amel Magallanes, technical training coordinator (on study leave); Leo Anthony Navarrosa (second row, first from left), open source technical expert and Martin Diego Villaluna (second row, second from left), computer laboratory assistant to facilitate capability building and monitor the performance and status of CICT-sponsored iSchools which have been distributed to some nine public high schools across the province of Capiz.
