“The world-wide web is a treasure trove brimming with various information and communication technology or ICT tools that can be utilized to address the degenerating state of mathematics and science education in the Philippines,” said Mr. Rick Bahague, national coordinator of the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU). “It is just a matter of appropriating it to our schools’ local conditions and helping our teachers gain access to it.”
The CPU, alongside the IBON Partnership in Education for Development (IPED) with the support of IBOP-Asia Program, held a workshop last May on the trends and development of mathematics and science education in the Philippines at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. The event was organized as a contributive effort to the development of instructional materials as a means of aiding high school math and science educators to more effectively teach their fields.
ICT for Education
Participating high school teachers that came from as far as Masbate and Aurora listened to the inputs of speakers from various science departments in UP Diliman on their experiences and techniques in teaching different fields of science and mathematics. Speakers from CPU and other IT-based formations such as the Diliman Interactive Learning Center and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology shared various means of maximizing ICT for educational purposes.
“National Achievement Tests have shown that mathematics and science continue to be the most difficult subjects in the elementary and high school education. Studies of the UP National Institute of Science and Mathematics Education Development even conclude that a large number of Filipino students cannot apply the concepts they learn to real life,” lamented Mr. Bahague. “While the problem is primarily rooted in the way the education system works, we stakeholders in education can provide short-term help through efforts like this.”
Basic S&T in-a-Box
CPU is currently in the process of searching for and developing ICT tools that will address the difficulties in teaching particular topics that were pinpointed in the teachers’ workshop. “There already are various teaching and learning aids readily available in the open source community that we can build upon and develop to appropriate it to our local needs for free,” said Mr. Bahague. “We are looking into creating a comprehensive virtual package of tools called the Basic Science and Technology Box to aid in teaching basic sciences,”
The Basic S&T in-a-Box is a project in cooperation with the Ateneo School of Government and IBOP Asia that when finished will be a compilation of FOSS and learning modules based on resource materials from the Department of Education’s basic education curriculum. “As we need to develop a scientific culture in our youth, this project aims to make computers and science enjoyable for students,” added Mr. Bahague.
In its effort to empower non-profit organizations from various sectors such as education, labor, human rights and the environment with open source software and new media, the Computer Professionals’ Union will be conducting a training camp called the Digital Campaigns for Organizations near the end of July to guide them in integrating these tools in their campaigns.
# # #
References:
http://www.opensciencebox.org
http://www.cp-union.com
