09/22/2011 | 11:22 PM
Videoconferencing giant Skype aims to connect one million teachers by building a social network for educators.
Skype said its "Skype in the Classroom" has so far signed up more than
16,000 teachers to its social network since launching a beta version in
December.
“Skype has been going on for many, many years, and teachers have been
finding each other and they’ve been finding ways to use the power of
Skype in the educational process for a long time. We really felt that it
was time to take this to the next level... moving from grassroots Skype
in the classroom to an initiative driven by Skype," said Skype CEO Tony
Bates on Wednesday at the Social Good Summit, according to a report on Mashable.com.
Bates announced the one-million classroom goal on stage after using Skype to video call a sixth grade class in New Jersey.
“If Skype can have 170 million connected users in eight years, can’t we have 1 million connected classrooms?" he said.
A free community
The "Skype in the Classroom" is a free community that allows teachers to
collaborate on projects and discover new teaching inspiration.
It is a "global initiative" in response to the growing number of teachers using Skype in their classrooms.
With the platform, teachers can create profiles that describe their
classes and teaching interests, and search a directory of teachers from
all over the world by student age range, language and subject.
Mashable said what looms as a most useful feature is a “project" tab
that helps teachers find partner classrooms for projects and ideas.
"One teacher, for instance, used the platform to coordinate a 'weather
around the world' unit. A middle school in Massachusetts regularly chats
with an Afghan youth peace volunteer group. Another was able to host a
virtual visit from Barbara Bush," it said.
About 900 similar projects have been posted on Skype in the Classroom so far, the Mashable report said.
“It doesn’t have to be a famous person. A busy parent could share their
skills from their office in the middle of the day," Bates said.
Additional improvements
Skype on Wednesday announced additional improvements to the platform,
including email notifications for projects, a Skype in the Classroom
“badge" that can be displayed on a blog, an “I’d like to do this" button
on projects that adds the teacher’s avatar to the project page, and an
“I’ve done this" button for leaving feedback.
It is also working on some of the suggestions raised at a recent virtual
panel with five teachers, such as a Skype in the Classroom widget.
ELR/VS, GMA News.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/233175/technology/skype-eyes-connecting-1m-teachers-in-social-network-for-education
Monday, September 26, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
House bill filed for ‘CyberEd’ program
Published : Wednesday, September 14, 2011 00:00
Written by :
A lawmaker who used to operate Internet gambling in the country now wants to institutionalize the implementation of a cyber education program for elementary, high school, and college education in the country.
Negros Occidental representative Alfredo “Albee” Benitez has filed House Bill 4993 to address the deteriorating quality of education in the country by utilizing information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for achieving higher standards of learning for the students.
Prior to becoming a member of Congress, Benitez headed of First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, the “master licensor” of “Internet gaming” at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Free Port (CSEZFP) in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.
Benitez’s bill, to be called as the “Cyber Education Act”, creates the Cyber Education Development and Management Corporation (CyberEd), which shall be the principal policy-making, planning, and coordinating entity in the implementation of government programs and action plans related to cyber education.
Benitez said the CyberEd Corp shall formulate a program for cyber education planning, research and development, and monitoring of activities in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
Under the bill, a nationwide Internet network will be established to connect the 17 regional network nodes in the country.
“This will provide a 100 percent Internet and intra-net connectivity to all public elementary, secondary schools and SUCs using up-to-date ICT,” Benitez said.
Benitez said the Digital School Project will be established to provide all public elementary, secondary schools, and SUCs nationwide with the necessary physical and ICT infrastructure for ICT-based teaching and learning.
“The private and the public school teachers and school administrators shall have access to quality and affordable laptops which is in support of the current Laptop for Teachers (LT4T) program of the DepEd,” Benitez said.
Benitez said some 10 million laptops shall be distributed by the CyberEd for the next ten years after the approval of the bill.
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/technology/7232-house-bill-filed-for-cybered-program
Written by :
A lawmaker who used to operate Internet gambling in the country now wants to institutionalize the implementation of a cyber education program for elementary, high school, and college education in the country.
Negros Occidental representative Alfredo “Albee” Benitez has filed House Bill 4993 to address the deteriorating quality of education in the country by utilizing information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for achieving higher standards of learning for the students.
Prior to becoming a member of Congress, Benitez headed of First Cagayan Leisure and Resort Corporation, the “master licensor” of “Internet gaming” at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Free Port (CSEZFP) in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.
Benitez’s bill, to be called as the “Cyber Education Act”, creates the Cyber Education Development and Management Corporation (CyberEd), which shall be the principal policy-making, planning, and coordinating entity in the implementation of government programs and action plans related to cyber education.
Benitez said the CyberEd Corp shall formulate a program for cyber education planning, research and development, and monitoring of activities in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
Under the bill, a nationwide Internet network will be established to connect the 17 regional network nodes in the country.
“This will provide a 100 percent Internet and intra-net connectivity to all public elementary, secondary schools and SUCs using up-to-date ICT,” Benitez said.
Benitez said the Digital School Project will be established to provide all public elementary, secondary schools, and SUCs nationwide with the necessary physical and ICT infrastructure for ICT-based teaching and learning.
“The private and the public school teachers and school administrators shall have access to quality and affordable laptops which is in support of the current Laptop for Teachers (LT4T) program of the DepEd,” Benitez said.
Benitez said some 10 million laptops shall be distributed by the CyberEd for the next ten years after the approval of the bill.
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/technology/7232-house-bill-filed-for-cybered-program
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Website unveiled to track condition, facilities of PHL schools
08/24/2011 | 07:39 PM
The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Ateneo School of Government have launched the initial implementation of checkmyschool.org, a technology-based mechanism that helps citizens track the condition, services, and facilities in the country’s public schools.
By logging in to checkmyschool.org, the public can have access to information on a particular school’s budget, enrolment, teaching personnel, furniture, textbooks, classrooms, toilets, test performance and proficiency ratings, among others.
The site facilitates interaction and allows users to send comments, photos, videos and additional information. The public may use the information like an independent third-party monitor of government performance in providing education services.
According to DepEd secretary Armin Luistro, the initiative takes advantage of information and communication technology to promote transparency and social accountability in public sector governance.
“Because it allows the public to send feedback on a particular school condition, it brings education-related concerns into the bigger arena of public scrutiny and appreciation," said Luistro.
The pilot implementation of checkmyschool.org, which runs from August 22 to September 2, 2011, involves volunteer orientation, validation of information on available school services, reporting and closing.
The pilot sites are National Capital Region, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Rizal, baguio, Benguet, Tacloban City, Leyte, Zamboanga City, Pagadian City, Cebu City, Iloilo, Davao City and North Cotabato.
Checkmyschool.org is a joint undertaking of DepEd and the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific where the Ateneo School of Government serves as secretariat.
“Through this information-sharing project, we hope to enjoin the public and the private sector to contribute in closing education resource gaps that continue to hound our public schools. At the same time, it will give us feedback on how we can give better service to our stakeholders," Luistro explained.
Preliminary information in the website came from the different units of DepEd such as the Basic Education Information System, Physical Facilities and Schools Engineering Division, Instructional Materials Council Secretariat, Procurement Service, National Education Testing and Research Center and the budget office.
Updates on school information will come from school administrators, volunteers, and organizations in each local school.
The public may give feedback in many ways. They can validate or invalidate the accuracy of reported services, express satisfaction or dissatisfaction, or suggest ways to improve performance or offer to assist the school.
“Direct feedback from citizens is always welcome because they reflect the immediate, on- the- ground needs of schools," Luistro added.
To date, some 8,000 of more than 44,000 public elementary and high schools nationwide are included in the initial run of checkmyschool.org. — Newsbytes.ph
The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Ateneo School of Government have launched the initial implementation of checkmyschool.org, a technology-based mechanism that helps citizens track the condition, services, and facilities in the country’s public schools.
By logging in to checkmyschool.org, the public can have access to information on a particular school’s budget, enrolment, teaching personnel, furniture, textbooks, classrooms, toilets, test performance and proficiency ratings, among others.
The site facilitates interaction and allows users to send comments, photos, videos and additional information. The public may use the information like an independent third-party monitor of government performance in providing education services.
According to DepEd secretary Armin Luistro, the initiative takes advantage of information and communication technology to promote transparency and social accountability in public sector governance.
“Because it allows the public to send feedback on a particular school condition, it brings education-related concerns into the bigger arena of public scrutiny and appreciation," said Luistro.
The pilot implementation of checkmyschool.org, which runs from August 22 to September 2, 2011, involves volunteer orientation, validation of information on available school services, reporting and closing.
The pilot sites are National Capital Region, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Rizal, baguio, Benguet, Tacloban City, Leyte, Zamboanga City, Pagadian City, Cebu City, Iloilo, Davao City and North Cotabato.
Checkmyschool.org is a joint undertaking of DepEd and the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific where the Ateneo School of Government serves as secretariat.
“Through this information-sharing project, we hope to enjoin the public and the private sector to contribute in closing education resource gaps that continue to hound our public schools. At the same time, it will give us feedback on how we can give better service to our stakeholders," Luistro explained.
Preliminary information in the website came from the different units of DepEd such as the Basic Education Information System, Physical Facilities and Schools Engineering Division, Instructional Materials Council Secretariat, Procurement Service, National Education Testing and Research Center and the budget office.
Updates on school information will come from school administrators, volunteers, and organizations in each local school.
The public may give feedback in many ways. They can validate or invalidate the accuracy of reported services, express satisfaction or dissatisfaction, or suggest ways to improve performance or offer to assist the school.
“Direct feedback from citizens is always welcome because they reflect the immediate, on- the- ground needs of schools," Luistro added.
To date, some 8,000 of more than 44,000 public elementary and high schools nationwide are included in the initial run of checkmyschool.org. — Newsbytes.ph
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