The School of Computer Studies (SCS) of the Institute recently concluded the latest training it held for deaf youths that is a short course on office productivity and internet applications.
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Training for the Deaf was conducted in partnership with the Life Project for Youth (LP4Y) Foundation.
Already on its fifth year, the training aimed to integrate deaf youths into the digital world and provide them the necessary computer skills.
It was facilitated by the SCS’s Department of Information Technology.
Around 18 deaf youths have benefitted from the extension activity that is part of the SCS’s continuing efforts of extending their expertise to the community.
This year’s new batch of LP4Y youths was taught basic keyboarding, Microsoft Word and Excel, and Google applications.
Faculty and student volunteers served as facilitators alongside a sign language translator.
Started by Prof. Lemuel Clark P. Velasco and SCS Dean Alquine Roy F. Taculin in 2011, the training has already produced empowered deaf youths who have pursued job opportunities.
“It is inspiring how we can build the confidence of the deaf,” says Prof. Velasco who continues to spearhead the program and has come to learn some sign language himself.
The two-week training came to a conclusion in a closing ceremony held at the Institute Boardroom on July 22, 2015.
“They have the strength that would help society as a whole and that would help them find their means of living,” said Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Dr. Jinky B. Bornales.
Olivier Le Galloudec, coordinator of the LP4Y Foundation, gave a keynote speech in which he expressed how touched he was “by the spirit of mission here, of helping others.”
“Our mission is for them to be autonomous, to help their families,” adds Le Galloudec.
The 18 deaf youths are benefactors of the Hear Us! Project under the LP4Y Foundation.
The institute’s partnership with the said foundation is a testament to the latter’s slogan, “I can’t, but together we can”.
The MSU-IIT College of Education (CEd), together with De La Salle University-Manila, UP College of Education, Mariano Marcos State University College of Teacher Education-Laoag , University of the East-Manila and University of Santo Tomas, organized the “ Information Communication Technology (ICT) Conference on Creativity and Innovation in Philippine Education” on November 21-22, 2014 at De La Salle University-Manila.
The UNESCO Bangkok identified the six HEIs as Resource Distribution and Training Centers (RDTC) in the Philippines and supported the said conference.
The conference aimed to showcase best practices, trends and innovations in teaching that foster creativity and innovation through ICT, enhance participants’ skills in ICT integration, plan collaborative research on integrating technology in teaching and learning, foster partnership with ICT educators from both local and national educational communities and map out ICT integration competency profile of Filipino Educators.
The conference featured two plenary sessions and five workshops. In the plenary, Dr. C. Scott Rader of West Carolina University talked about how he integrated ICT in his class and shared an Eight-Point Framework for Best Practice. Meanwhile, Dr. Lloyd Espiritu of DLSU caught the audiences’ attention by delivering a well-thought talk on “Cultivating an E-Learning Culture”. The workshops on 21st Century Learning Design, Flipped Learning and Screencasting, ICT Multimedia Integration for Teaching and Learning, Design Thinking and Engaging Digital Learners Using Free and Open Digital Technologies were facilitated by Ms. Maria Melizza Tan of UNESCO Bangkok, Mr. Jasper Vincent Alontaga of DLSU, Mr. Hartfried Schmid of UNESCO Bangkok, Karol Mark Yee and Clifton Esteban of Habi Education Lab, and Ms. Anna Cherylle M. Ramos of UST, respectively.
Conference participants included DepEd teachers and administrators and ICT educators from HEIs all over the country. The biggest delegations were from Mariano Marcos State University College of Teacher Education-Laoag, the MSU-IIT, and from the University of Santo Tomas.
Ms. Maria Melizza Tan, Programme Officer of UNESCO Bangkok Asia Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (APEID), welcomed the participants while Dr. Raymond Girard R. Tan, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation of the host university DLSU delivered the opening remarks.
The conference was the first of the many activities of the UNESCO RDTC Network in the Philippines.
This year’s batch of enrollees at the MSU-IIT LET Review Center completed a free, five-day Seminar-Workshop on Assessment and ICT Multimedia Integration in the 21st Century Classrooms in April and May.
The training would help prepare the participants for future jobs especially teaching where ICT skills and trainings could give them the edge in getting employed.
The same seminar-workshop was conducted twice, on May 26-30, 2014 and on June 9-13, 2014 at the CED ICT Laboratory and World Links Training Center to accommodate 74 participants.
The first three days of the training covered the Intel Elements Course on Assessment in the 21st Century Classrooms which offered an in-depth look at assessment so that the participants could plan, develop and manage student-centered assessments later in their own classrooms.
The last two days focused on UNESCO’s ICT Multimedia Integration for Teaching and Learning which gave participants a broader, yet more refined knowledge of ICT so they may successfully integrate multimedia resources in their lessons.
The MSU-IIT LET Review Center trainers or resource persons and facilitators were the CED ICT Team composed of Dr. Ruben L. Abucayon, Prof. Shelanee Theresa P. Ruales, Prof. Vita S. Caparoso, Prof. Amelia T. Buan, Ms. Roxan A. Consolacion, Ms. Avril Joy R. Ramayan, Dr. Rebecca M. Alcuizar, Prof. Joy R. Magsayo, and Mr. Jun Karren V. Caparoso. Ms. Vanessa B. Zabala, served as training manager.
The participants did not only learn new things in the training but also received certificates of completion during the five-day training, or an equivalent of 40-hour training credit. An ICT training may exempt them from taking the computer literacy examination of DepEd for teacher applicants. –by Jun Karren V. Caparoso, CEd for OC-OPI
