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iSchools |
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The iSchools project is one of the flagship projects of HCDG. It supports the efforts of the Philippine Government and the Department of Education to incorporate ICT in education in Public High Schools. Its long-term goal is to contribute to the efforts of the Philippine government in bridging the digital divide by developing an Educational Digital Network that will equip all Public High School teachers and students with ICT literacy skills as well as provide them access to relevant digital content and applications in education that they can use to enhance effective learning.
iSchools focuses on strengthening classroom learning and instruction by expanding access to various sources of information. In so doing, the project hopes to enhance the capability of public high school students throughout the Philippines to successfully compete with their peers in the rest of the country (as well as in the rest of the world) for jobs and other opportunities in the expanding global knowledge economy.
The project aims to provide computer access (16 units per lab) and broadband Internet connectivity to all public high schools throughout the country by 2010. It also intends to establish Regional HelpDesks (for both hardware and software assistance) and Maintenance Shops to support beneficiary schools. Possible partnerships with Local Government Units and private sector groups will be looked into towards this end.
In addition to this, a set of Educators Training will be conducted to equip the stakeholders with necessary skills. This iSchools component includes the following:
1. Executive Conference / Workshop to get project buy-in and support from the school's administration by discussing program details and benefits,
2. Laboratory Management Training Program to equip lab managers and technicians with skills on networking systems and procedures as well as proper equipment maintenance,
3. ICT Literacy Training Program, based on the NILS and NICS-Teachers, to train faculty members on basic ICT literacy skills so that they will be able to effectively use ICT technology in their classes, lesson preparation, assessment activities/instruments, and record updates, and
4. Project Sustainability Training Program to train school stakeholders on how to sustain the project by their own means, in order to maintain/upgrade laboratory units or provide additional laboratories.
Furthermore, CICT-HCDG plans to organize activities to build a digital library of educational content applications that can be accessed and used by schools nationwide. Tie-ups with existing developers are likewise being looked into.
A mechanism for monitoring and evaluation will be imposed to ensure optimal use of the laboratories and to check if the projects terminal objectives are being met.
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