It was full house yesterday in the SLR-CLT Computer Clubhouse in Purok San Lorenzo Ruiz, Brgy. San Juan, Taytay, Rizal. More than 30 learners came to the center and all of them had one-hour of hands-on time on the computer. It was of a bit of a challenge because a lot of them just wanted to play games in the computer and were not really thinking of learning a new skill. So I think I need to find some sort of compromise so they can have fun playing educational computer games and learn something new at the same time. I think if you know and are conscious of what needs to be done, then eventually you will be guided and find ways to achieve your goals. But then now, it bothers me that it's only me setting the goals for the learners, which to me sounds more traditional teaching and unconstructivist. I think the constructivist way, follows the rule that learners are self-guided and are able to set their very own learning goals. And that is what I need to do in the SLR-CLT Computer Clubhouse, as the learning facilitator. I need to motivate and encourage learners to take control of their learning, to be more responsible and committed to self-learning, rather than wait for the 'teacher' or mentor to think for them. This poses more questions for me as a trained educator on the value of lesson plannng. My point is most teachers are trained to plan instructional goals for their students and this can be usually seen in the first part of any teacher's lesson plan. Most lesson plans, say "At the end of the class, the student must be able to ..." to do this and do that and then the teacher uses Bloom's taxonomy to complete the lesson plan's objectives. Now my question is - "What if it's not just the teacher saying what needs to be done and it's now the learners who will do the goal-setting on their own? How would teachers react to this and how would this change teaching strategies? I think this is the trend that has been going on for some years now especially in the Western countries. Some would call it the constructivist approach in teaching, and some others would extend it more to a constructionist approach. I think it's high-time in this country for teachers to adopt to new and innovative approaches in effecting learning inside and outside the classroom!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Out-of-schoolers in Central Visayas take equivalency test under DepEd’s ALS program | Sun.Star
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
NEARLY 20,000 out-of-school children, youth and adults in Central Visayas took the Department of Education’s (DepEd) accreditation and equivalency test last year.
Of the 19,570 persons who registered to take the test last November, 11,065 were from Cebu Province and 2,587 were from Cebu City.
The test, whose results will be announced next month, is one of the programs under DepEd’s Alternative Learning System (ALS), which also offers basic literacy program to out-of-school children, youth and adults.
Those who pass the test are granted equal rights as those who graduate from the formal education system. They are given a certificate of completion signed by the DepEd secretary.
In the 2010 national accreditation and equivalency test, the divisions of Bohol, Cebu Province and Cebu City were among the 10 divisions nationwide with the most number of test passers.
Successful
Central Visayas has been recognized by the Accreditation and Equivalency National Ranking Committee as one of the most successful regions to implement ALS, with 222 community learning centers operating in the region.
The National Government is strengthening ALS to achieve the goals of the Education for All (EFA) movement, a global commitment to provide quality basic education to all children, youth and adults.
It has six goals that include expanding early childhood care and education, attaining a 50-percent improvement in adult literacy and achieving gender equality in education by 2015.
Last year, DepEd 7 appointed 26 mobile teachers who will teach basic literacy to out-of-school children, youth and adults in the region.
The ALS encompasses both the formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills, such as those acquired at home, church, media and environment.
Based on the functional literary education and mass media survey conducted in 2008, over 49 million Filipinos, or 62 percent of the country’s population then, were not able to study or finish elementary and high school.
As of 2010, ALS has catered to over 340,000 Filipinos, according to the Bureau of Alternative Learning System.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on January 10, 2012.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The first ALS eSkwela in Pasig!
Last Friday, January 6th, I went to the Constructing Learning Through Technology(CLT) learning center in Brgy. San Antonio(BSA E-Room), Pasig City and attended the meeting between the barangay officials and the people from the Department of Education(DepEd) office of Pasig City. The latter explained to the delighted officials of Brgy. San Antonio all about the Alternative Learning System(ALS). Before lunch, the DepEd installed the digitized modules of the ALS in the computers of the BSA E-Room. It's more fun to learn using those digitized modules of the ALS rather than the printed ones. Anyway, congratulations to Kat Pauso, center manager of the BSA E-Room, barangay officials of Brgy. San Antonio and the BSA E-Room for officially becoming the first ALS eSkwela learning center in Pasig City, Metro Manila! What a great start for 2012!!!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
ALS news I found on Christmas Day
Monday, December 26, 2011
EFA Goals | UNESCO
Six internationally agreed education goals aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.
Goal 1
Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged childrenGoal 2
Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality.Goal 3
Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmesGoal 4
Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.Goal 5
Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.Goal 6
Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
ALS Coalition
I found an interesting Facebook group last Christmas Day. I quickly asked to join them and posted a Merry Christmas greeting on their wall. The ALS Coalition said that it is "a movement of implementers and service providers on the Alternative Learning System that reaches out to out-of-school children and youth, and non-literate adults."
