Watch and Learn: PCTA Partners with DepEd, Knowledge Channel to Make Learning More Accessible in Remote Areas in the Philippines

Tweet

Education is one of the sectors that has been affected dramatically by the pandemic. Aside from the threat of Covid-19, students, families, and educators face other challenges such as limited to no internet connection and expensive Internet data costs. To reach more students even in remote areas, the Philippine Cable and Telecommunications Association (PCTA) has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Knowledge Channel to provide easier access to students through televised learning materials that will be aired on TV for students.

Together, the PCTA member-cable operators are serving 75% of the total cable TV subscribers in the Philippines.

“Many Filipino students living in remote areas are constrained by the accessibility and speed of Internet connection, and the high cost of data to stay connected. Learning then begins to feel like a difficult chore, and a hurdle to overcome. Yet, these households have television sets even before mobile phones and laptops. We are hopeful that we ease the challenges our students face as they will now have easier access to free educational content aired in cable television channels,” said Joel Dabao, PCTA President.

The partnership was sealed through a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the DepEd and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) to make full use of their cable TV systems activating their member operators participation in this national effort of airing DepEd TV programs for school year 2020-21.

PCTA members have agreed to air informational materials from DepEd TV that are standardized for academic institutions nationwide. “Many remote areas will be covered by this service, and we are privileged to serve as conduits of enriched learning during this trying time. Our mission is to ensure that no Filipino student is left behind,” furthered Dabao.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones lauded the agreement during the MOU signing, as it paves the way for the department’s access to television and cable for their distance learning program, with cable provider access of up to three channels to air content produced by the DepEd Central Office. These will be a valuable resource for students who do not have access to the internet and those who cannot afford to purchase gadgets such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets.

Aside from airing DepEd TV materials, PCTA also announced a partnership with Knowledge Channel which encourages PCTA members’ cable systems to include Knowledge Channel in their line-up and air its TV-based educational content.

The Knowledge Channel has long had a strong supporter in the PCTA since 2003. Elvira Lopez-Bautista, President and Executive Director of the Knowledge Channel Foundation, highlights that television can be a powerful tool for learning and will help Filipino children absorb not only their academic lessons but, also enhance values learning through engaging content.

“My fervent wish is that through this bayanihan effort with cable providers, distance learning will become more accessible, feasible, affordable, and most of all, enjoyable for every Filipino child,” said Lopez-Bautista. “With Knowledge Channel Foundation and PCTA working together, mas masaya matuto ng bago.”

“Now, more than ever, education should be at the forefront of our concerted efforts to build a society that is resilient even in the face of a pandemic. As we forge these partnerships, we let the bayanihan spirit prevail for the common good where we all work together for the future of Filipino children,” added Dabao.

For more information about the PCTA, visit www.pcta.org.ph

 

 

ABOUT PCTA

The PHILIPPINE CABLE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION (PCTA), INC. is the umbrella organization of nationwide Cable Television Operators and Internet Service Providers in the Philippines. Its membership roster includes the biggest cable operators in the country as well as the medium and small cable operators who, through their pain-staking efforts, have succeeded in bringing up-to-date programs, information, and technology to the farthest island in the country. To date, the PCTA has over 300 regular members. Together, the PCTA member-cable operators are serving 75% of the total cable TV subscribers in the Philippines. 

Public school teachers get specialized training from Globe

Tweet

Globe further enhances its support to the Department of Education (DepEd) by helping public school educators keep up with the demands of the new normal through free professional development training designed to provide teachers with essential knowledge and skills on digital literacy, blended learning and 21st century learning methods.

 

The program is part of Globe’s Global Filipino Teachers (GFT) initiative and is being implemented through a combination of webinars and downloadable self-paced materials for teachers to apply their learnings. GFT was launched in 2009 to deliver information and technology-based training to public school teachers across the country.

 

With the nation’s shift to remote learning, Globe found it essential to partner with Habi Education Labs and Teach for the Philippines, as both are well known for their exceptional work in forwarding 21st century learning in public schools nationwide. 

 

Habi Education Lab is a non-profit organization known for developing progressive approaches to teaching that helps foster creativity in the classroom. Their scope of programs include teacher development, learning experience design, and school innovation. Teach for the Philippines focuses its efforts on improving teacher quality and addressing education challenges at the system-level. Since 2012, TFP has grown into a nationwide movement that has engaged hundreds of new and existing public school teachers committed to work towards meaningful and positive change. 

 

The upcoming GFT sessions to be led by both organizations have been recognized by the National Educators Academy of the Philippines which ensures all attendees obtain the knowledge and skills that are vital in these unusual and challenging times.

 

“We want to create new learning opportunities from the crisis and help our teachers see themselves as agents of change as they transition into remote and blended learning modalities.  Through this professional development program, we hope to equip and empower them with the knowledge they need to become more effective in their role as educators,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications.

 

The webinars cover topics such as parental engagement where teachers and parents can work together for home-school partnership (October 27); teaching reading in the context of distance learning as part of early language literacy (October 28), and new approaches in instruction using digital learning (October 29).  The first webinar on Cybersecurity and Wellness was held last August.

 

The Global Filipino Teacher Series is open to all teaching and non-teaching staff of DepEd in the National Office, Regional Offices, and Division Offices, and to all public schools nationwide. The webinars will be streamed via the Globe Bridging Communities Facebook Page, and will be shared by DepEd on the main DepEd Philippines Facebook Page.

 

As a long-time advocate of quality education and sustainable development, Globe is committed to supporting the United Nations Development Goal No. 4 which promotes inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. 

For more information about Globe’s sustainability efforts, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/sustainability.html

URC goodies are now available at Shopee

Tweet

Piattos, C2, Nissin Cups, Cream-O, and other products of Universal Robina Corporation (URC) are now available in Shopee. 

URC Shopee Mall has a wide variety of treats from Filipino favorite snacks Presto, Magic Crackers, Chippy and Mr. Chips, to chocolatey treats like Cloud 9, Swiss Miss, Hello!, and the morning partner Great Taste Coffee. 

Grab these URC goodies online by visiting its store at Shopee

Visit the Universal Robina page on Shopee and start adding these tasty snacks, beverages and treats to your Shopee cart. Also visit the URC website (www.urc.com.ph) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/urcphilippines) to learn more about its products. 

 

NOVUHAIR Petite: Less is more

Tweet

The reality of adhering to the different pandemic-related health protocols until this global health crisis is under control while slowly relaxing the expansive social restrictions to bootup the economy refers to our “new normal”. 

ADP Pharma Corporation introduces to the island of Luzon the new NOVUHAIR® Petite, the fit and clear-cut choice to meet the ever-changing needs and essentials in facing the challenges and the impact of the new normal.

Read more: https://bit.ly/37Iar5U

But why choose NOVUHAIR® Topical Scalp Lotion?

• Formulated with 19 of nature’s finest and standardized herbal extracts and essential oils that work in synergy to help prevent and reduce the progression of hair loss

• Clinically proven safe and effective by a clinical trial designed by and for Filipinos 

• No harmful chemicals such parabens and sulfates 

• Proudly Philippine-made, FDA-registered, compliant to the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive and USA Cosmetic Guidelines

• Comes in a 200mL bottle good for about 4 months use 

NOVUHAIR® Petite will be available online and offline soon for the special price of ₱1,990 good for 2 months, highly recommended to those experiencing excessive hair shedding and to those who have been clamoring for a smaller pack for trial purposes. Sounds good? 

NOVUHAIR® products are available at all Mercury Drug stores and other leading drugstores nationwide and online at Lazada, Shopee  and regaloservice.com.

May this new offer help you feel secured and happy despite the woes of hair loss during this pandemic crisis and gain so much more value in your life. 

Lenovo™ ThinkSmart™Collaboration Solutions for Zoom Empower a Distributed Workforce

Tweet

Today at Zoomtopia™, Lenovo announced in cooperation with Zoom Video Communications, Inc.  that ThinkSmart Hub and ThinkSmart View will be offered with Zoom Rooms1 and Zoom for Home1 respectively. 

The new Hub announced last month offers smarter collaboration for conference rooms of all sizes with richer audio featuring full duplex speakers and four omnidirectional microphones integrated into a sleeker all-in-one compute device.Built on the Zoom Rooms platform, the Hub lets participants communicate via video2 or voice and content can be easily shared in real time. ThinkSmart Viewis a dedicated personal business collaboration device announced in January this year and is designed to enhance a home office setup. View is now available with Zoom for Home to help unlock individual productivity by enhancing the Zoom experience in a purpose-built solution. Always ready to start ad-hoc or scheduled video meetings, View can sync with a user’s calendar and status, share content and includes a whiteboard function for live annotations.

Built for a Distributed Workforce

Video collaboration has seen exponential increases in user demand with Zoom’s daily meeting participants reaching an all-time high of 300 million by April 20203. An increasingly distributed workforce will only see demand increase as remote workers require more efficient home office unified communications devices and companies accelerate digital transformation strategies providing more intuitive and efficient meeting room tools that are easier to setup and manage.

Zoom Rooms tackles the three primary pain points of meeting room collaboration: By focusing on usability that helps users quickly join meetings with one-touch conferencing start, offering high quality video and providing easy content sharing, Zoom Rooms delivers an effortless user experience in the workplace.Zoom for Homeon ThinkSmart View brings that intuitive and immersive collaboration into the home through the dedicated personal device.

ThinkSmart Hub for Zoom Rooms

The sleek all-in-one design Hub offers a one cable system I/O function that provides power, ethernet, USB and display connections. With current social distancing measures in place, Alexa for Business⁴ voice capability with the Zoom Rooms version adds a layer of protection and easy interaction, allowing users to control meetings simply through the power of voice. In addition to being built on the Zoom Rooms platform, ThinkSmart Hub includes built-in protection with ThinkShield security solutions and is easy to manage using our custom-built ThinkSmart Manager software⁵. We can also offer tailored and personalized guidance throughout Smart Collaboration Managed Services⁶to ensure customers have powerful tools to help teams of all sizes connect, share and collaborate efficiently. To see the full features of ThinkSmart Hub, click here for the datasheet and images.

ThinkSmart View with Zoom

ThinkSmart View now leverages the powerful Zoom for Home platform bringing the best of Zoom Meetings into home workspaces. As a purpose-built appliance that can be easily managed and provisioned, View includes an 8-inch HD touch screen with a wide-angle camera and privacy shutter, dual microphone array, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth that allows pairing of compatible headset. To see the full features of ThinkSmart View, click here for the datasheet and images.

Quotes:

“We are delighted to expand our smart collaboration portfolio to include Zoom platformsand offer a rich unified communications experience” said Joseph Mingori, general manager, Lenovo Smart Collaboration Business. “Whether you are outfitting large enterprise meeting spaces or wish to enhance a home office setup, our new ThinkSmart solutions with Zoom Rooms or Zoom for Homecan energize team interaction and support today’s flexible work schedules.”

“With increased demand and expansion of use cases for video collaboration in recent months we see the need for more tailored unified communications solutions,” said Jeff Smith, Head of Zoom Rooms at Zoom. “We are excited to partner with Lenovo to deliver ThinkSmart Hub for Zoom Rooms and ThinkSmart View for Zoom for Home. These devices, built for Zoom, can help businesses and end users be more productive and efficient in today's highly distributed global workforce.”

Pricing and Availability7

ThinkSmart Hub with Zoom Rooms is expected to be available from November 2020, please contact your local Lenovo representative for solution pricing.

ThinkSmart View with Zoom for Home is expected to be  available from January 2021, starting at $349.

Visit www.lenovo.com/ThinkSmart for more information.