Brochure Rev Mar2009

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

At its heart, eSkwela is a collaborative project, borne of its parts – a partnership among CICT-HCDG, local communities, LGUs and NGOs, TESDA, and Department of Education-Bureau of Alternative Learning System (DepEd-BALS). eSkwela Centers are established due in most part to the active involvement of the local community.

Tapping State Universities and Colleges and a number of content experts, CICT takes care of the social mobilization, development of rich, multimedia content and corresponding Learning Management System, capability building, and monitoring and evaluation. The community stakeholders take responsibility in providing the infrastructure for the Center - specifically the space/site, renovation of proposed space, utilities including Internet connection, electricity and security – as well as the means to sustain the Center operations. DepEd-BALS and NGOs, on the other hand, come in by designating dedicated mobile teachers / instructional managers, and center staff for the learning centers.

EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS

The four pilot eSkwela Centers catered to a total of 563 learners in their first year of implementation. Of these, 356 took the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Exam given in February 2008, with 204 of them passing. The average passing rate of 57.30% (with a high of 73.42% passing rate in one of the eSkwela Centers) also surpassed the 36.61% average passing rate of the four regions and the 29% national passing rate.

Currently, there are nine eSkwela Centers (four from the AEF grant, and five community-led centers in Ormoc City, Zamboanga City, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Kalumpang, Marikina City and Tanauan, Leyte) and forty more initiatives led by local communities in varying stages of implementation. An ICTbased Alternative Learning System for out-ofschool youth and adults

Even with just nine current sites, eSkwela is the largest initiative of its kind in the country, and the effects of their efforts are felt where it matters most: in the marginalized poor, with housewives, with the disabled – sectors that have traditionally gotten the short shrift in the one-size-fits-all arena of formal education.

And even the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) took notice. On June 2008, the eSkwela Project received a Certificate of Commendation from the UNESCO ICT in Education Innovative Awards 2007-2008.

HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER

Now that we have stable centers to model from, we are looking for local partners, such as local government units, non-government organizations, civic groups, and schools that are willing to work with us in bringing ICT-supported quality education to the Filipino people.

Those who are interested in bringing eSkwela to your community may contact the Project Management Office or log on to http://Skwela.wikispaces.com for more details.

Project Management Office CICT-NCC Building C.P. Garcia Avenue U.P. Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines Telefax: +63.2.920 7412 Email: [email protected] Website: eSkwela.wikispaces.com Blog: eSkwelablog.blogspot.com

MEET F L O RD EL IZ A DA BUET , 3 6 , A W IF E A ND M OT HE R F R OM BUL ACA N. At

teachers

At 14, she dropped out of school, citing lack of family

design activities that facilitate active

finances as her reason. Flordeliza eventually got

participation of learners in the learning

married and had children, all of whom are now of

process. Students at the center learn

school-age. At present, she runs a household with her husband, raises her brood of three, and operates a small home-based business, whilst going to school, in an eSkwela Center near her place, to, in her own words, “make something of herself.”

Flordeliza says: “I knew I had to do this for myself – my eldest child is 15, and graduating high school soon. I

PRO J ECT OB JE CT IV ES

an eSkwela Center,

lessons through the use of a Learning Management

System,

e-learning

modules, interact with teachers and

INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

fellow learners through a combination of face to face discussions and the

At the heart of the eskwela

use

project is the Instructional Model,

of

and

online

learning

management system, and work with

a blended type of learning-

fellow

centered instruction, which aims

activities

students

on

collaborative

and

projects

that

are

want my kids to be able to say that their mother has a

relevant to their personal lives, their

diploma, even a high school one, so that we won’t be

families and their communities.

looked down upon – so that nobody can be snide and

to build a learning environment where: -

say, ‘Well, your mother didn’t even graduate high

•

To support the efforts of DepEd to integrate ICT in

school.’ And it gives me confidence – even now, as a

process

• •

To help BALS produce and use interactive multimedia

•

conversations, with anyone, anywhere.”

Philippines in an exciting, innovative, and locally meaningful way. Flordeliza is not the only one determined to finish her schooling, through the eSkwela program, and get a pursue

higher

education,

or

join

-

of-school youth and adults

workforce, among other personal reasons why out-of-

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), through its Human

school youths and adults go back to school.

Capital Development Group, was able to secure a grant from the APEC Education Foundation

communication, collaboration and assessment through the of e-learning modules and a

or AEF (Korea) for the establishment of eSkwela Centers in four (4) pilot sites, namely: Quezon

disadvantaged youth and

Transforming lives one at a time CO M MU NIT Y e -L EA RNI NG CEN T ER F OR Ou t-o f-S ch o o l Yo u t h a n d Ad u l t s

social and economic backgrounds, go to different eSkwela Centers across the country and undergo learning sessions that will enable them to acquire relevant life skills, prepare them to rejoin the formal education system, or review for the Accreditation and Equivalency Exam, which, if they pass, would provide them with a Certificate equivalent to an Elementary or a High School Diploma.

learning management

City, San Jose del Monte, Cebu City, and Cagayan de Oro City.

system -

The succeeding e-Government Fund allocations received from the national government was utilized for the further development of e-learning and livelihood modules, further enhancement of the customized instructional model, regional road shows for the community-led Center rollouts, training for the educators and implementers of the eSkwela Centers nationwide, and

Out-of-school youth and adults, who come from diverse

technology resources are used for learning,

the

by providing

teachers facilitate selfpaced learning

PRO J ECT HIST OR Y

diploma,

adults with access to ICT

-

opportunities to mobile teachers / instructional managers and out-of-school learners in the

learning materials for outTo reduce the digital divide

relevant to his/her experience

The initiative responds directly to a national development priority and brings e-learning

To help BALS broaden access to basic education

learning activities that are W HAT W E D O

student, I have knowledge that I can use in

the teaching-and-learning

learners engage in

stringent monitoring and evaluation for the continuous improvement of the project.

learners learn life skills by doing individual and collaborative projects and activities