Business Mirror
Published on Monday, 07 January 2013 20:41 Written by Henry Empeño / Correspondent
SUBIC, Zambales—Noting the serious challenges faced by the education sector in coping with the lack of government funding amid rapid development of technology, the Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy) launched here an information and communication technology (ICT)-based training program to help high-school teachers improve and upgrade their skills in teaching.
Conducted in partnership with the Coalition for Better Education (CBE) and the One Meralco Foundation, the iTeach program teaches public school educators to integrate ICT in teaching basic subjects like English, science and math.
The program is part of the firm’s umbrella corporate social responsibility program dubbed “Katuwang Natin Sa Buhay” that aims help uplift the state of its surrounding communities, said Grant Smith, project manager of RP Energy.
RP Energy is a consortium composed of Manila Electric Co., Aboitiz Power Corp., and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp., which is developing a state-of-the-art 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula.
“The overall objective is for public school teachers in our surrounding communities to enhance their teaching skills and serve as mentors to other educators in the area,” Smith said in a statement.
Smith added that while local schools cope with the problem of fund lack, the rapid development of technology further leaves the education sector behind in terms of skills and capacity to carry out tasks.
Under the iTeach program, several teachers from Subic, Zambales and Olongapo City underwent a five-day training that include the use of ICT applications for classroom activities, online assessment through the use of rubrics, creation of virtual classrooms plus moderated discussion boards and demo-lectures of the modules prepared by the teachers.
Trainees were also taught to mentor at least three teachers in order to pass the assessment of CBE.
Smith said the teachers who pass the proficiency assessment automatically earn three units in a master’s program should they decide to pursue higher education.
As another incentive to encourage the promotion of ICT among local mentors, RP Energy also launched the search for the “iTeacher of the year” with Bernard Cambe of the Castillejos National High School becoming the first awardee for his presentation of an ICT-based education program focusing on the importance of solid-waste management.
The iTeacher of the Year award came with an ICT package worth P220,000 that includes 10 computer units and a centralized printer for Cambe’s school.
Cambe said the complete computer laboratory would serve “to spark change in our community by executing a community-based solid-waste management facility that will minimize our carbon footprint.”
The iTeacher of the Year award comes with an ICT package worth P220,000 that includes 10 computer units and a centralized printer for Cambe’s school, Castillejos National High School. source
In Photo: iTeach participants examine a computer module during the five-day RP Energy-sponsored training program designed to enable Zambales and Olongapo public school teachers improve and upgrade their skills in teaching ICT basic subjects.
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