Globe, PHINMA Education Collaborate on Closing Learning Gaps with Mobile Solutions

In the face of historic setbacks caused by the pandemic, educational institutions and schools around the world are trying to maximize technology, harnessing its power to ensure continuity of education, close learning gaps, and meet the diverse needs of students in today’s hybrid learning setup.

PHINMA Education has accomplished this goal, quickly pivoting to meet learning needs and collaborating with Globe Business to empower students to continue learning even amidst disruptions. 

Lacson to reduce poverty through education

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson plans to solve the country’s serious poverty problem by providing more people the opportunity to get an education.

In his latest video, the presidential aspirant, who has battled government corruption throughout his career in public service, points out that many young people are forced to drop out of school because of the need to help their families and because being in school is  proving to be a heavy financial burden. Thus, they remain mired in poverty because without a good education their prospects are limited so they often have to settle for jobs that do not pay much.

Globe builds teacher skills on early language literacy

Globe has launched another professional development training for teachers now focusing on early language literacy. Recognized by the Department of Education National Educators Academy of the Philippines, (DepED - NEAP)  this series of webinars coaches educators to effectively help very young students develop their communication skills through blended learning. This is in line with the DepEd campaign to improve teacher productivity and student performance.  

The training is led by Teach for the Philippines (TFP) under the banner of Globe’s Global Filipino Teachers (GFT) program featuring webinars that promote 21st century learning and digital resources for teachers. TFP is an award-winning non-stock, non-profit organization that works to provide Filipino children with inclusive, relevant, and excellent education.

World Vision alarmed by students selling sensual photos online to support their education

Child-focused agency World Vision raises its concern about reports published by the Philippine Online Student Tambayan (POST) about students selling sensual photos and videos online using specific hashtags. Reports also showed that students also held a “Christmas sale” of what appeared to be sexual exploitation materials encouraging buyers to “help” raise funds for their distance learning needs such as tuition, Internet connection and tech gadgets. 

Sharing the Gift of Education in the Now Normal

My Dream in a Shoebox continues to make dreaming for every Filipino child possible 

Education in the now normal continues to be a struggle for many Filipino children, especially those in the marginalized sector. The crisis and disruption brought by the pandemic do not only add to the existing education disparities, but also hamper the learning process and opportunities of the youth. Thus, ensuring learning continuity is imperative now more than ever.

As the education sector pivots and innovates from the impact of the pandemic, new approaches and different learning modalities have been developed to better support it. For My Dream in a Shoebox (MDIAS), education is the one thing that must not be taken away from a child, most especially in times of need. Last year, it shifted its gears to help answer the changing needs of students today.

As annual education campaign spearheaded by TeamAsia, MDIAS aims to equip less fortunate Filipino children with educational assistance and help them make their #BiggerDreams come true. Innovating its dream kits and scholarships for its 12th year, MDIAS transformed its Do-It-Yourself shoeboxes and adapted the calls of the Department of Education to cater to the needs of distance learning. Aside from school supplies, MDIAS has added calls for donations of solar-powered and rechargeable transistor radios, old or new tablets, old usable computers with mobile internet dongle, working printers with ink tank and refillable ink, and photocopy machine with affordable toners to help make learning sustainable for students and teachers in the now normal.

For partners of MDIAS like the Yellow Boat of Hope (YBH) Foundation, the pandemic has surely changed educational efforts. Seeing as the resources that beneficiaries urgently need are educational support to 

help them implement the Distance Modular learning approach, YBH quickly pivoted from their yellow school boats bringing kids to school to delivering educational modules to the doorsteps of the learners to ensure that no child will be left behind. Through MDIAS, their scholarship program for 100 vulnerable elementary school kids will continue. 

According to Father Didoy Molina, one of MDIAS’ beneficiaries from Christ the King Parish, school supplies given out to their parish scholars greatly improve their capacity to study, increase their confidence and performance, and enhance their self-esteem. He explained that the tools do not only help the children do well in their studies, but are also instruments of love and care shared with them by their parents and by the generous donors, telling them that they are cared for, and that their dreams are supported.

"I am looking forward to seeing more smiles and grateful faces as they receive beautiful boxes filled with school supplies, wrapped with care by generous donors. These memorable experiences really stay with me for life and inspire me to hope for our young people," Father Didoy shared.

For Bea Lim, Managing Director of TeamAsia and MDIAS Chief Dreambuilder, corporate social responsibility is not just about giving back to the community when things get tough. It is a continuous commitment to inclusive growth, progress and development that will ultimately lead to a stronger, sustainable and thriving society.

"This now normal we are in today highlights the importance of bayanihan and malasakit to work together to fight this pandemic and push for economic recovery with compassion, empathy, and faith that we can all get through this together," Lim emphasized.

Through the years, My Dream in a Shoebox has equipped over 400,000 children across the Philippines  with the necessary tools they need to chase their #BiggerDreams. With the communities facing even greater challenges today due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MDIAS wants to make its impact not only bigger, but more efficient and safe. MDIAS is open to more individuals and corporate partners to join them in giving more underprivileged children the gift of education and to help in making their dreams come true.

For more information on making #BiggerDreams come true, log on to www.teamasia.com/shoeboxcampaign, call +639178813724, or email shoebox@teamasia.com.

Recreate the way you learn with Globe’s Prepaid Wifi Internet Kit for Education

The start of the academic school year proved challenging for students, parents, and educators. After years of face to face interactions in classrooms, everyone had to adjust by going online. This has placed great pressure on everyone involved, especially when connectivity issues begin to impact the overall learning experience. To address this crisis, a growing list of learning institutions have partnered with Globe for its Prepaid Internet Kit for Education.

“Learning institutions have realized that a reliable internet partner is an effective tool for education. Globe is helping them seamlessly adapt to the changing times with an affordable and reliable device that will help both students and teachers in distance learning,” says Mark Abalos, Globe Segment Head for Education.

The prepaid kit comes with a WiFi modem that can support online learning. For just P999 per device, students have access to Globe’s nationwide LTE and 3G networks. Each kit comes with a free 10GB data allocation valid for seven days. It is easy to install and has no monthly fees, so students can plug in the device and get started on online classes. It can connect multiple users so families can share it.

A look into education’s new normal-DepEd shares insights on the first weeks of classes

Various industries in the Philippines are already on their slow but steady path to recovery and that includes the education sector. Despite the compromises and major changes made in the educational system to navigate through the now normal, the Department of Education (DepEd) has successfully opened classes for SY 2020-2021. 

“DepEd recognizes the challenges of the school year ahead, but if we opted for an academic freeze, we would have lost many months of the childrens’ learning,” said DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones. “The opening of the school year has generally been very successful, and we will continue to face any challenge that lies ahead with great resolve to continue education in the country.” 

World Vision ensures a bright future for the most vulnerable children thru Give Hope campaign

Months have passed since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and it is still a great risk to a lot of lives today. But even though children have not been significantly affected by the virus, they continue to be extremely vulnerable to the negative impacts.

Last May 2020, World Vision conducted a rapid assessment and the study revealed that 92% of the household respondents’ livelihoods were disrupted, with the daily or casual laborers as those severely affected. This resulted to 60%-68% of the households being unable to meet their family’s daily requirements to survive.

The assessment showed that food security has worsened during the pandemic as their average food spending was further reduced from Php 1,797.06 to Php 1,184.82. This shows the importance of immediate planning and implementation of projects/ activities that will cater to our kababayans in need.

Teachers, students get free access to CHED online learning portal

Globe has partnered with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in offering free data access to the agency’s online learning portal for Globe and TM customers in line with the government’s thrust to provide quality educational resources to teachers and students especially under current circumstances.

PHL CHED Connect, https://phlconnect.ched.gov.ph , was developed by CHED to maximize the use and increase availability of educational materials, raise the quality standards for educational resources, enhance opportunities for self-learning at home, and support multi-modal approaches to learning.  It contains higher education course materials in text, media, and other digital assets that are useful for teaching, learning, and research purposes. Subject matters covered include humanities, architecture, business, engineering, IT, mass communications, criminal justice, agriculture, forestry and fishery among others.  

With free data charges, Globe and TM customers can access pages and information within the platform via their mobile phone, tablet, or personal computer without worrying about internet cost.  However, links on the PHL CHED Connect page that direct to websites outside the domain may incur standard data charges. 

Kapuso star Bianca Umali visits children affected by Taal Volcano eruption

Kapuso star Bianca Umali joined child-focused NGO World Vision in Laurel, Batangas last February 7 to visit and help distribute learners’ kits to about 400 school-aged children from Grade 1 to 7. Each kit contains a school bag, school supplies, and art materials to help hundreds of children who temporarily stopped schooling due to the eruption.

As World Vision’s Youth Ambassador for Education, Bianca Umali hoped to inspire the children with a message of hope amidst difficult times brought by Taal Volcano eruption. 

Advocates of AgriBusiness and Education Technology win World Vision Philippines’ first-ever Social Innovation Challenge

The agribusiness Plantsville and the education-focused organization Edukasyon.ph emerged as winners in Social Innovation Challenge (S.I.C.), World Vision’s competition for innovators creating sustainable solutions to challenges identified in real communities.

Plantsville, represented by November "Tina" Canieso-Yeo, is a joint effort with local government units (LGUs), eco-tourism organic bee and cinnamon groups that seek to flourish organic farming among youth by planting more “Food is Medicine” products, comprised of “healing foods” such as cinnamon and honey.

World Vision’s Social Innovation Challenge aims to address community problems in the Philippines

World Vision is seeking out creative Filipinos to create the most meaningful solutions to some of the country’s overlooked community challenges.

The child-focused organization’s latest project, the Social Innovation Challenge, is allowing innovators all over the country the opportunity to compete for seed capital to fund ideas that address obstacles faced by Filipino communities.

For this year’s edition of the challenge, World Vision is putting the focus on two community problems: (Challenge #1) climate change effects on soil that hurt the livelihood of almost 1,000 farming households in Sogod, Cebu¸ a small upland barangay where almost 50% of the population depends on agriculture; and (Challenge #2) 500 out-of-school youth in Brgy. Bucana, Davao City due to their families' lack of sustainable livelihood.

World Vision Inks Partnerships with Corporate Donors to Support Children’s Programs

World Vision Philippines together with several corporations continues to help thousands of Filipino children in need through partnerships aimed to support the organization’s child-focused projects in the Philippines.

In line with the back-to-school season, World Vision and Procter & Gamble (P&G) Philippines launched the “Pag-asa sa Basura” campaign, a sustainable waste collection and recycling system targeting several areas in Metro Manila. The pilot implementation of the project will be done in 25 schools in Malabon and Quezon City.

ASEAN Partylist Wants At Least One Professional For Each Family

Personally I would really appreciate candidates that gives value to education above all priorities. Because it is still education that will form the public of more informed and skilled citizens of the country. Despite our country has one of the highest literacy rate in the world, it fails largely on subjects like science and math. There is also a growing number of high school graduates that are not able to continue with college education.

There are a lot of factors, but the government is not directing the right policies that will help in creating more professionals and skilled workers for the growing economy. The ASEAN Party list comes forward to the cause of creating more opportunities for students to pursue their tertiary education through various policies they would like to present to congress.

Teaching Teachers through Technology

Today’s generation grew up in the age of technology that it has become a natural tool for learning. While traditional methods equip students with the knowledge they need, the use of technology enables students to apply what they’ve learned in a real-world setting. However, more than how technology has transformed learning, the bigger challenge is how educators today who are less tech-savvy than their students can maximize the potential of technology in the classroom.

How inclusive education benefits children with varying sets of needs

Curiosity runs wild in children. As they explore the world around them, they ask endless questions about people, places, situations and things they see. They have this sense of wonder that both rouses their imagination and engages all their five senses, eventually fueling their creativity.

At this point in their children’s journey of discovery, parents and guardians must seize the opportunity to point out life lessons and values that could help shape the little ones’ character and moral foundation. 

However, in modern families where both parents juggle being professionals and maintaining a household, they can only do so much to explain ideas and concepts so kids can see life a bit more clearly.

10 Pesos Is All You Need To Send A Scholar To School

We all want to help people in need yet we feel we don't have the large resources to build schools and institutions that will help the needy, who if given the opportunity would potentially be productive citizen in the future that will also help their families out of poverty.

We can actually be all HEROES, be a powerful agent of change with just 10 pesos. Yes, the cost of your merienda, your fare, a bottle of soft drink, and a wide variety we usually spend or sometimes gets lost yet we just let it go easily. Why not use the same amount to send a student to quality schools. This project is called the HEROES PROJECT, spearheaded by musician Mike Chan, along with his OPM friends brought together an advocacy that brings their passion and the mission to provide education to deserving students.

No more ‘burning of midnight oil’ for studes in Misamis Oriental

Thanks to free solar-powered lamps, hundreds of learners in Misamis Oriental can now extend their study time without burning the midnight oil.

Under the “Ilaw ng Pangarap Mo, Sagot Ko” project, the Department of Education (DepEd) Misamis Oriental Division has generated enough funds through various activities to provide solar-powered lamps in 368 homes that are either un-energized or are in remote and off-grid areas in Misamis Oriental.

According to DepEd Misamis Oriental Schools Division Superintendent Cherry Limbaco, division personnel and teachers organized a rummage sale and sold second-hand clothing and products. They also offered fresh vegetables and fruits at the Schools Division Office and at various schools. This fundraising campaign has lasted from October to December 2015.

Quality learning for children of all abilities

For some children, their life would always be different from the rest of the world. Some cannot find the right words to speak their hearts’ desires, others curiously ask what each color looks like, while some walk to their everyday tasks, trusting the touch of a companion and the friendly sound of nature to lead their way.

They are different, they are unique, and they are unlike anyone else.

Still, like all children in the world, each child is a promise waiting to be fulfilled. A promise of a celebrated and colorful life, experienced and seasoned with everything the world has to offer. Each child has a chance to live and be the person they wish to be—whatever they are capable of doing so, physically and mentally.

Education starts at home

Children lack access to decent education when they lack access to decent home.

Access to proper education has recently been hampered due to various socio-economic factors, such as lack of proper healthcare, job opportunities for parents and notably, adequate housing.

In the Philippines, more than four million families live in unsafe, unsanitary and unhealthy places which they call ‘home’, hindering the learning environment of the children living in these conditions.