The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) trained a new set of master trainers for the Phase 4 of the implementation of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Infoteach Outreach program on 9-10 January 2017 at the UPOU Oblation Hall in Los Baños, Laguna. The 20 master trainers are Division Information and Communication Technology (ICT) coordinators and selected public school teachers from the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Divisions in Rizal, Cavite Province, Cavite City, Ilocos Norte, Laoag City, Cebu Province, Mandaue City, Santiago City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Davao City.
The participants were oriented on the format and logistics of the infoteach outreach program and their roles as master trainer. They were also trained on how to use and teach the module. The training was conducted using blended mode approach to allow participants to experience online learning.
Topics that were discussed during the two day training were Microsoft Productivity Tools and the Open Source Equivalents; Internet Productivity and Collaboration Tools; Green IT, Responsible Use of Social Media, Multimedia Literacy, Effective Communication Skills, and Global Citizenship. The training participants were also introduced to Basecamp, an online project management platform that the project will use to facilitate collaboration and monitoring of project activities. Lectures were given by Chancellor Melinda dP. Bandalaria, Asst. Prof. Roberto B. Figueroa and Asst. Prof. Myra c. Almodiel.
The online learning component required the participants to submit their training outputs through the Basecamp and share these materials with fellow participants as Open Educational Resources (OERs). The exercise was also envisioned to enable the participants to be familiar with the collaboration and monitoring platform. The online component of the training was implemented from 11-13 January.
The Infoteach Outreach Program is a collaborative undertaking of UPOU, PLDT, Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) and DepEd to enable the teachers and students acquire the digital skills for the 21st century teaching, learning and working. The program was further improved to make the training curriculum responsive to the external dynamics that impact on education. This 4th phase of Infoteach Outreach Program will capitalize on the digital skills of the participants and focus on the digital productivity tools, being responsible global citizens, and anchoring them to lifelong learning opportunities. (Eleanor Payawal-Manipol)
