PARAÑAQUE CITY, March 8, 2018 – Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones underscored the importance of integrating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in both teaching and governance for the delivery of quality, accessible, relevant, and liberating basic education for Filipino learners.
The Education chief noted this during the recently concluded National DepEd ICT Summit held from February 27 to 28 at The Blue Leaf Filipinas in Parañaque City, which was attended by around 700 ICT practitioners, leaders, policy-makers, achievers in ICT education, and other stakeholders nationwide.
Briones shared that through ICT, teachers may devise various teaching methods that will instill creativity and critical thinking in learners. She further conveyed her hopes for the time to come that schoolchildren will no longer be burdened to carry books in their backpacks because of ICT innovations.
“Ngayon napakarami nang technologies, napakarami nang gadgets, which make us do so many things and achieve so many goals and projects all at the same time… Kayang-kaya na nating mag-multi-task,” Briones stated.
Moreover, she highlighted how ICT can help fast-track the processes in the Department, “DepEd is a mammoth institution and with thousands of teaching and non-teaching personnel, technology may serve as an essential tool not just in teaching, but also in governance.”
“We’re going to overhaul the information system of the entire Department—the financial management system, accounting system, budget system, and all other processes,” Briones added.
Capacity building
To achieve these aspirations, the Secretary mentioned that teachers and non-teaching personnel handling concerns in ICT must undergo trainings, especially those who finished their education when technology was not as advanced as it is today.
“Malaking bagay ‘yung capacity building ng teachers and personnel. Kasi isipin ninyo, ‘yung Secretary, hindi masyadong marunong sa ICT eh… So even I, myself, have to upgrade my skills and knowledge in ICT,” Briones said.
Best projects
In the same Summit, the Department, through its ICT Service (ICTS), recognized and awarded innovations in utilizing ICT to effectively deliver teaching and learning, as well as provide efficient governance and operations, directly to learners, teachers, and other education stakeholders.
“We will also recognize best projects to reward those who innovate… Because after all, education is not just about memorizing facts, it’s also about being creative, about finding solutions to problems, and it’s about dealing, accepting, living and adjusting with change,” the Secretary pointed out.
The winners for the Best ICT Innovations for Teaching and Learning are Regions VII, XII (CARAGA), and IV-A (CALABARZON), while the winners for the Best ICT Innovations for Governance are Regions III, X, and VI.
Ways forward
Furthermore, Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua and ICTS Director Abram Abanil led the forum with all the Summit participants to gather insights and comments which will be used in the advancement of various ICT projects and programs.
“I don’t think we can survive without ICT. We will surely go back to the dark ages if we ignore ICT… We have to remember that ICT is primarily a tool which helps us in making decisions, in understanding the world that we live in, and in finding solutions,” Briones said.
“At the end of the day, it is still us—the users of technology—who are responsible for making things happen,” she concluded.
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