10 August 2010 — Ligao City in Albay was festive as 24 of its 49 public elementary schools received Text2Teach-enabled Nokia N86 8MP phones. These 24 schools can now use the power of the Globe mobile network in their classrooms. Each of these Nokia phones is loaded with over 300 educational audio and video materials that will run on an application called the Nokia Education Delivery (NED), a prepaid Globe SIM card, and a monthly load of P150 to support technical and helpdesk concerns of teachers.
Text2Teach in Ligao City is a public-private partnership implemented by Globe Telecom, Nokia, Ayala Foundation, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO-INNOTECH), together with the Department of Education and the City Government led by Hon. Mayor Linda Gonzalez.
In a community launch held in the Ligao City Gymnasium, Text2Teach packages were turned over to 24 public elementary schools. These schools were: Amtic Elementary School, Barayong ES, Basag ES, Baligang ES, Herrera ES, Paulog ES, Abella ES, Francia ES, Ligao East Central School, Maonon ES, Tupas ES, Oma-Oma ES, Bacong ES, Paulba ES, Cabarian ES, Tiongson ES, Busac ES, Tandarura ES, Tula-Tula (Grande) ES, Tastas ES, Allang ES, Cavasi ES, Tula-Tula (Piqueña) ES, and Culiat ES.
Besides the Nokia N86 and the prepaid Globe SIM card, the Text2Teach package also includes a teacher’s manual and teacher training to be conducted by SEAMEO-INNOTECH in two batches on August 11-13 and 17-19 and participated by about 120 school heads, teachers, and school officials to ensure the quality and standard of teaching using the Text2Teach Program.
Globe Telecom will also provide an additional Php1,000 load to each school if there are new or updated materials to be downloaded to the N86 mobile phones through its network.
Globe Telecom Head for Corporate Communications, Yoly Crisanto, pointed out, “Text2Teach has benefitted over 1700 teachers and more than 1 million students since 2003. It has 379 educational video and audio files and 480 lesson guides downloadable through the cellular technology of Globe. Globe’s commitment to the Text2Teach Program is long-term, as part of Globe’s mandate to be the leader in ICT education.”
Ligao City trailblazes
“Bicol’s first ever Text2Teach Program is in Ligao City,” the Mayor proudly announced during the well attended Text2Teach community launch. “Text2Teach came when I was in hot pursuit of an education program that could enhance our schools’ performance,” she said. Mayor Gonzalez also wanted to zero in on her city’s dropout and out-of-school targets.
The mean percentage score (MPS) in the National Achievement Test of the 13 schools divisions of the Bicol Region, which is Region V, falls far below 50% for the past several years. The NAT passing MPS is 75%, which most other regions in the Philippines have also barely reached.
Mayor Gonzalez first heard about the Text2Teach Program when the Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS) program of the Ayala Foundation was introduced to Ligao City. GILAS together with Globe Telecom has been bridging the digital divide in public high schools since 2005.
“Ligao is the first in Bicol where we combined GILAS and Text2Teach,” said Guillermo “Bill” Luz, Executive Vice President of Ayala Foundation. He pointed out, “Often we look at technology such as cell phones as a distraction in the classroom, but we, partners, see technology as a tool.”
Dr. Diosdado San Antonio, DepEd Director III for the Bureau of Secondary Education, delivered the keynote message on behalf of the DepEd Secretary, Bro. Armin Luistro. He noted that at the national level, the state of the secondary level is more dismal than that of the elementary level. “The secondary level has never been able to reach the 50% level (in the National Achievement Test). We need to use technology to improve learning outcomes.” With a slight jest in his tone, he said, “We will no longer ban cell phones in classrooms, because it will be after all useful when used by technology-savvy teachers.”
Text2Teach success story
Where there has been Text2Teach, absenteeism and dropout rates have lessened, performance in the National Achievement Test has improved, and enrolment has increased. This was the experience shared by users of Text2Teach from Dagupan City, Pangasinan.
“Students want to learn from Text2Teach,” said Dennis Tullao, a teacher from Carael Elementary School in Dagupan who, along with Carael ES Principal Manuel Ferrer, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Merlita Pasiliao and OIC-Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Donato Balderas, Jr. of the DepEd Schools Division of Dagupan City, travelled all the way to Ligao City to give a testimonial on the effectiveness of the Text2Teach Program, which was launched in January 2010 in 11 of the 33 public elementary schools in Dagupan.
“Before, students were content with drawings, flashcards, and charts. Now, students are being entertained while learning,” said Tullao. He noted the decrease in absenteeism and the improved academic achievements of his students compared to when Carael Elementary School did not yet have the Text2Teach Program.
Ferrer reinforced his teacher’s testimonial with statistics. “The principal looks at learning outcome. The impact of Text2Teach is that we have improved in the 2010 National Achievement Test in the core subjects of Science, Math, and English by at least 3%-8% compared to our scores in 2009.” He also noted that Carael ES, which is supposed to be just second to the central school in Dagupan’s District IV in terms of population, now has a higher enrolment than the central school for this school year, higher by 50 students. “Parents enrol their children in our school (rather) than in the central school,” he enthused. He credited this rise in enrolment to the reaction of the parents to the Text2Teach Program in Carael ES.
“We first introduced Text2Teach to the parents before the students, so parents were given a proper orientation about the program. Now, when we call for a PTA meeting, they attend easily,” Ferrer noted.
He added, “Text2Teach is our pride in Carael Elementary School. Even if we are in a far flung area, we can avail of this learning technology.”
Not only have students benefited from the Text2Teach Program but also the teachers. Dr. Pasiliao commented, “Teachers no longer have a hard time to search for teaching materials on the Internet. They just text for them through the program.” She gave Text2Teach a thumbs-up. “We are recommending it for the whole municipality of Dagupan, for all the 33 schools of Dagupan,” she said.
Dr. Balderas attested to the difference between schools with Text2Teach and those without. He said, “In the 11 schools in Dagupan with Text2Teach, the attitude of the learners is different. Their National Achievement Test scores in Science, Math, and English also have a significant difference.” He explained that the underlying philosophy in Text2Teach is that if more senses are involved, there is more learning. “Text2Teach caters to the minimum attention level of the students,” he said.
A Partnership
The contribution of the private sector alliance to the initial Text2Teach Program in Ligao City is more than Two Million pesos, which is 70% of the cost of the project. During the launch, Mayor Gonzalez turned over to the Text2Teach alliance a check amounting to Seven Hundred Thirty-Eight Thousand pesos, representing the local government’s counterpart funds to implement Text2Teach in Ligao City.
This check covers the costs of the teacher training and the 29-inch colored television sets provided by Kolin Philippines and delivered directly to the 24 schools a week before the launch. The Text2Teach-enabled Nokia N86 is to be connected to the Kolin television set to view the downloaded educational materials and lesson guides.
Patrick Gonzalez, a Chilean and based in Nokia Finland as Head of Community Involvement for Europe did a live demonstration of how Text2Teach is used. He chose to download a Grade 6 Science lesson on “Sweat Glands” produced by SEAMEO-INNOTECH. He explained that lessons are about 4 to 5 minutes in length and are installed in Globe servers in Manila. The request to download goes to Manila. Once downloaded, the teacher can show it to the students. “Through Text2Teach, we are delivering educational videos through mobile technology even in remote areas like Ligao. We want to bring the latest in education to rural areas using high-speed technology,” he said.
During the launch, Jenny Lim, Head for Community Involvement of Nokia Asia Pacific, stated, “We are committed to harness mobile technology to achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals agreed on by over 180 countries.” UNESCO leads the global EFA movement in meeting the learning needs of all children, youth, and adults by 2015. She also thanked the partners in making Text2Teach technology a part of everyday learning, delivering up-to-date media content via mobile phone.
Ayala Foundation’s Bill Luz pointed out that over and above the public-private sector partnership, “the most important partnership is with the communities, which involve the teachers, school heads, and parents.” In response, Ms. Shirley Buban, President of the Association of Barangay Captains in Ligao, delivered a message of commitment from the communities.
Mayor Gonzalez, in her message, welcomed the alliances and the educational innovation brought in by the Text2Teach Program. She said, “A developing city like Ligao still depends on external funds in prioritizing the fundamentals of development, namely education.”
The private sector alliance behind Text2Teach is targeting to reach 350 more schools by 2011.
Each school received the Text2Teach package that include a Nokia N86 mobile phone, a Globe SIM card and a 29-inch television set.
Shown in photo, from left, Patrick Gonzales, Nokia Head Community Involvement – Europe; Jeffrey Tarayao, Globe Head of Corporate Social Responsibility; Diosdado San Antonio, Director III, Bureau of Secondary Education. They were among officials and guests present in the Text2Teach launch in Ligao City.
The Text2Teach team with representatives from the 24 beneficiary schools
Phone Teacher. The Text2Teach program uses the Nokia Education Delivery application to easily access and download educational materials.
