Enabling ICT Literacy through Learning Action Cells

Enabling ICT Literacy through Learning Action Cells (Day 21)

by Rey Laguda

(This is the  20th day of 50-day journey of DepEd Undersecretary Rey Laguda as being serialized here with his permission, culled from his Facebook account - Blogger/owner)

It is really not enough to simply provide hardware and equipment to schools. While access to technology was provided, adoption and use was varied and was affected by many factors. It did not automatically translate to effective use for teaching and learning. There was a need to support provision of technology with ample professional development.

There have been numerous ongoing efforts of industry partners and groups to train teachers for productivity, teaching and learning objectives. However, given the number of teachers to be trained, it was just a huge challenge to cover the whole ground. Further, these partners were not operating or present in all areas of the country. So the Department of Education made a decision to complement this with internal training and development as well. The whole process entailed development of a program after consulting with teachers from the field, and experts from the bureaus and ICT service from the Central Office.

ICT Literacy Facilitators

Early Language Literacy and Numeracy Program

Early Language Literacy and Numeracy Program (Day 14)

by Rey Laguda

(This is the 14th day of 50-day journey of DepEd Undersecretary Rey Laguda as being serialized here with his permission, culled from his Facebook account - Blogger/owner)

To be able to read, write and count are three of the most basic skills every learner should acquire. These will help them advance through school and ultimately succeed in life. But learning these fundamentals doesn’t develop naturally. It takes careful planning and instruction at the right age.

This is where the manner of teaching is given importance. Reading, writing and counting has to be taught effectively at the right early age. One teacher emphasizes that the “quality of teaching in the early grades is crucial to the quality of learning in the higher grades.” And this is what the Early Language Literacy and Numeracy program addresses through the professional development of the teachers.

The ELLN program, which looks to complete its nationwide in-service training for teacher development especially for K-3 teachers, has brought a lot of opportunities for these participant teachers: from being able to express themselves and their ideas on teaching effectively to committing to do their responsibilities as “life-touchers.” The program reminds them that the profile of their students are paramount in defining appropriate teaching strategies.