Smart provides summer training to over 1,000 teachers, students

MANILA, Philippines - From Android applications development to ICT integration and online content generation, knowledge was passed on to more than a thousand teachers and students during a series of summer education training workshops conducted by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

Faculty members of Information Technology (IT) and Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) learned the basics of Android technology to enable them to teach Android applications development as an elective. The Android Developer Training was held nationwide for 170 teachers from partner schools under the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) and Applied Developers Intro School (ADIS).

In addition, teachers from ADIS schools were updated on the concepts of ADIS, an elective based on the program given to newly hired employees of Smart. During the Refresher Training, the instructors also participated in discussions on how to reinvent ADIS to better expose students to the actual application of IT technologies in a telco environment.

Meanwhile, partner schools under the Smart Schools Program (SSP), Smart’s flagship education initiative, benefited from separate trainings on the use of ICT in teaching and in putting up a school website. 

The ICT Integration Training taught subject teachers and ICT coordinators from 29 public schools how to incorporate ICT technology and tools in the classroom and improve the learning environment for the students.

In the DPSA Training, teachers from 39 public schools plus select incoming grades 5 and 6 pupils were educated in local content generation and online journalism, and how to develop a website for their school.   The training is part of Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA), a community service project under SSP that encourages schools to contribute web-based information about their respective communities. 

Over at Cagayan de Oro City, 800 teachers, 37 principals and eight supervisors were oriented on the Dynamic Learning Program (DLP), a revolutionary way of teaching science and non-science subjects designed by 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Drs. Chris and Marivic Bernido.

As part of its commitment to help improve public school education under its Smart Schools Program, Smart sponsored the orientation of over 840 Cagayan de Oro public school heads and teachers In the Dynamic Learning Program, a revolutionary way of teaching science and non-science subjects designed by 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Drs. Chris and Marivic Bernido.

Another 70 Physics teachers trained in “Learning Physics as One Nation” (LPON), a subject-specific program created by the Bernidos which they patterned after the DLP.

The DLP Orientation and LPON Training support efforts to bring the Bernidos’ learning programs to more schools nationwide. 

For the Summer Storytelling sessions held in Cebu, Smart partnered with Sun.Star Superbalita, Cebu Daily News, and the University of San Jose-Recoletos. A total of 218 pre-schoolers from beneficiary Pardo Elementary School participated in the activity, which promoted interest in the Cebuano language among young kids.

Also held in Cebu was the Smart Summer Arts Camp/Workshop. Some 120 incoming grades 4, 5, and 6 students from 11 public schools in Cordova were taught to express themselves through drawing, painting, clay molding and performance arts. The activity was conducted by Smart employees, and other volunteers from partners STEC, CPC, Tsinelas Association, Inc., Krayola Arts Workshop, Beyond Arts Sake, and Binhi.            

The series of training seminars held year round by Smart all through the summer months promotes continuous learning as part of its education initiatives under the company’s social responsibility program Kabalikat.