Issues and Concerns In spite of the developments described above, ICT4E in the Philippines faces a number of issues and concerns, some of which may be deemed contentious.
Technical Issues Concerns that related to the technical aspects of ICT4E included: readiness; cost-effectiveness; and standardization. Was the public school system ready for computerization? Perhaps this can be answered in the affirmative among the network of national high schools and science high schools in the country. But for the majority of public schools, particularly elementary schools in far-flung areas, readiness is still an issue. The inadequacy of the infrastructure is evident in the poor condition of classrooms, not to mention the lack of classrooms. The lack of utilities is evident in the lack of electricity in many areas, not to mention landlines for dial-up services. As of last count, 69 to 72 percent of public secondary schools now have computer facilities. But are these actively operational computer laboratories or merely glorified word processors used by teachers, or worse, office decorations kept under lock and key only to be gazed at and not used by learners? Related to readiness is cost-effectiveness. Although hardware and bandwidth is getting cheaper by the day, software is getting more expensive. The combined costs of hardware, software, bandwidth and services is still relatively high vis a vis other educational products and services. The current per capita investment on basic education may have to be doubled to achieve widespread computer/ information literacy/fluency, something that cannot be possibly done in the foreseeable future given the current state of affairs. This is further complicated by the fact that the return on investment on ICT4E is neither tangible nor immediate. A related issue is the bandwidth costs incurred by the DepED. Should DepED be utilizing commercial Internet service providers for its bandwidth when the larger portion of the spectrum for the Internet is non-commercial? Within this non-commercial spectrum is a backbone reserved for education and research. In the Philippines, this backbone is used by the Philippine Research and Education for Government Institutions Network administered by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology. The backbone has been made available to the PREGINET through Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN). APAN is a non-profit international consortium established in 1997 designed to be a high-performance network for research and development on next generation applications and services. APAN provides an advanced networking environment for the research and education community in the Asia-Pacific region, and promotes global collaboration. Its objectives are: to coordinate and promote research and development (R&D) activities on networking including technology, applications and services, and to provide an advanced networking environment for research and education communities in the Asia-Pacific region. On the other hand, the Asian Internet Interconnection Initiatives (AI3) is a regional research consortium among research institutes in the Asian region that aims to develop leading edge technologies for the Internet, such as the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), World Wide Web (WWW) caching and replication mechanisms, multimedia communication mechanisms, and applications for the advanced usage of the Internet. Both consortia have access to the research and education Internet backbone allotted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for R&D, education, and distance learning use. Lastly, under technical considerations, there is the issue of standards. The choice for the more common information technology applications such as office suites, databases and Web tools are ruled by de facto standards. With the clampdown on software piracy, these de facto standards are costing fortunes for licensing and hardware key fees. However, running a giant of a bureaucracy such as DepED, which has a mandate over one of the most critical sectors in society, would require standards both for governance/ administration and for instruction. Should DepED adopt open source software versus proprietary software under its department-wide ICT4E standards? There are clearly advantages and disadvantages to each option. Proprietary software are perceived to be more stable, more user friendly, more readily available, more accessible to technical support, and more compatible with other systems. They are also more expensive. Open source software is cheaper, but is perceived to be less stable, less user-friendly, incompatible with most systems, and inaccessible to technical support. Clearly, a combination of open source and proprietary software may be considered as a viable option.
Content Issues A more debatable issue is the need for content. A decade of ICT4D experience underscores such a need. Past investments on technology (i.e., hardware, software, connectivity) without content have many times led to systems unpopulated by data.
Networks thrive on content. Without it, systems are useless. After the first decade of ICT4D, a major lesson learned by the development assistance sector, particularly the UN agencies and the World Bank, is that investments on content and capability building should be significantly larger than investments on infrastructure (Walsh as quoted in Flor and Kamol, 2006). According to some estimates, for every dollar invested on ICT4D, ten cents should go to infrastructure. Another ten cents should go to software. Still another ten cents should go to training. But the remaining 70 cents should be spent on content development. On the other hand, there is a school-of-thought, Resource Based Learning (RBL) that submits that all the content that one would ever need may be found in the World Wide Web (http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/deliberations/rbl/index.html). As discussed in the previous section, some of the participants suggest that DepED should not invest in content development but more on instructional design. Given the current Web 2.0 paradigm, which espouses a philosophy of shared ownership, authorship, development and use of Web content, several institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, now adhere to the open courseware model (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home) and have uploaded entire curricular courseware and content in the Web for sharing. With the variety of high quality content available, the main task of today’s instructional designer would be to identify available content and design curricula revolving around the existing resources instead of developing new content to build or populate new curricula. Indeed, the World Wide Web is potentially the only source one would ever need for general information. For instance, one search engine alone, Google, claims to have access to sixteen billion Web pages as of December 2005. The challenge facing the learner is to navigate through this maze of information. It has been argued that the instructional designer should assume the responsibility of facilitating/ guiding through this navigation instead of designing content. Nevertheless, instructional design is part and parcel of curriculum development. In the same vein, identifying and collating Web pages, or compiling metadata, are part and parcel of content development. Hence, one cannot do away entirely with curriculum and content development in spite of the World Wide Web. In the same manner that one cannot do away with teaching guides in spite of the presence of textbooks in basic education. Furthermore, there is the question of appropriateness of content. Does information contained in the Web conform to the standards and specifications of the approved Basic Education Curriculum? Is it suitable for the Filipino grade school or high school user? Is it packaged for learning purposes? These questions lead us to the next category of concerns.
Utilization Issues Appropriateness is not only a content issue but a technology issue as well. A common inaccuracy among practitioners is to consider ICT as exclusively digital. And yet, historically, ICT ranges from low end to high end, from the analog to the digital. The first educational communication technology project in the Philippines funded by the World Bank was the Communication Technology for Rural Education (Flor, 1995). The project made use of AM radio. Traditionally, communication technology referred to overhead, opaque and slide projection hardware, demonstration media, two-way radios, closed circuit television, small format video, and open broadcast radio and TV. Nowadays, it encompasses personal computers, cellular telephony, imaging technology, cable television, digital photography and videography. However, ICTs still encompass the older, more traditional media. Given existing realities and imperatives, there are specific ICTs that are more appropriate in the Philippine rural setting. The current situation merits an acceptable use or appropriate use policy for ICT that situates a specific educational application within the low-end, high-end spectrum.
Program Issues Then there are concerns related to current ICT4E program rationale and design. What are the determinants of the elements of a program design? Are these based on assessed needs or are these donor-driven? Are these determined by a social agenda or are they technology driven? Many of the bilateral ICT4E projects currently being undertaken may indeed be described as technology driven or donor driven. They are not based on a prioritized listing of real or user-felt needs, but on a technology-provider’s or donor’s agenda. There is nothing wrong with such projects particularly if they are funded by grant money and not development loans. However, the relevance and sustainability of these undertakings would be immensely enhanced if the impetus for the project came from real and felt needs.
Structural Issues The Department of Education, being one of the largest line departments in the government bureaucracy, is made up of several well-entrenched bureaus and offices. The three bureaus – the Bureau of Elementary Education, the Bureau of Secondary Education, and the Bureau of Alternative Learning Systems make up the largest complement in the Department, extending their line of authority from the national, to the regional, then to divisional and down to the district offices. Critics of DepED from Congress and civil society describe the bureaus as fiefdoms, whose operations follow a tradition-bound protocol having been least affected by decentralization and devolutionary initiatives of the government (Tinio, 2005). Bureaucracies have their merits such as clear accountabilities and pronounced lines of authority. Unfortunately, however, they tend to undermine networking processes and principles. Networks are the natural structures of living systems. And living systems perform three critical functions in order to survive: the exchange of materials; the exchange of energy; and the exchange of information (Talisayon, 1983). Organizations are considered as living systems and thus need uncluttered communication flows in order to survive. Information and communication networks provide such communication flows within the organization. But ideally, these information and communication networks should also be naturally-occurring or organic within DepED and should be parallel to the host organization’s structure. Considering DepED’s bureaucratic organizational structure, however, it may be expected that information and communication flows would become stymied as a consequence, instead of flowing freely horizontally, vertically and radially. Casual observation of communication flows within and among DepED bureaus support this argument. Information, be it in electronic form or otherwise, may flow freely from top to bottom, but the flow is hampered laterally as well as upwardly. This is particularly true with the case of memos from Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries and Bureau Directors. Section chiefs and unit heads would be copied into these memos but the rank and file is aware only of memos that pertain directly to them. Similarly, the Department’s top management may not be aware of the most critical concerns of the rank and file (DepED, 2005). One of the three prerequisites of knowledge management is an organizational culture conducive to information sharing and reuse (Leibmann as quoted in Flor, 2001). Does the DepED possess the organization readiness for information sharing and reuse? Without a change in its organizational culture supplemented by supportive policies, the answer would be a "No."
Political Issues Related to structural issues are political issues. At present, ICT is mostly regarded as operational elements of individual offices instead of as a cross-cutting concern. Information units are lodged in several offices, independently functioning from one another. The Technical Services Division of the Office of the Secretary used to act as the lead unit but most of its staff has now been transferred to other offices. The DepED Rationalization Plan has not fully addressed this issue. Its pending implementation offers little prospects of improving the situation. DepED is yet to establish an integrative platform or a coordinating office that is responsible for an overall ICT program. Given the situation, the tendency for key units and key players to compete for prominence and the furtherance of their respective agendas is but expected, considering the current ICT4E portfolio and the resources that are being infused into it particularly by external sources. An immediate alternative would be to form a Departmental ICT4E working group that cuts across bureaus and offices. Such a body, called the ICT Technical Committee (ICT-TC), has been formed very recently. The ICT-TC is under the direct supervision of the Undersecretary for Programs and Projects with the following responsibilities:
Eventually, the ICT Technical Committee should be constituted a regular office within the DepED. An additional function of this proposed office will be to serve as a Clearinghouse for future ICT4E undertakings. As such, it may screen ICT4E projects to assess their priority and to see how and where they fit in the overall strategic framework. The clearinghouse may offer suggestions on how these projects may be redirected to ensure their relevance and sustainability and to ascertain that their impetus are not merely technology or donor driven. The office may be headed by DepED’s "Information Czar," a position that requires at least an assistant secretary post. The proposal for this post was initially lodged by the World Bank-funded Third Elementary Education Project in 2002. The office will thus follow a model adopted by leading corporations and organizations, which employ a Chief Knowledge Officer or, as in the case of the Asian Development Bank, a Vice-President for Knowledge Management. It should be noted, however, that the proposed Information Czar would focus on ICT for governance and administration, not on ICT for pedagogy or teacher training.
POLICY AND PROGRAM OPTIONS The preceding section discussed issues and stakeholder perceptions related to ICT4E. This section presents a set of policy and program responses to address the foregoing issues and concerns. To review, technical issues revolve around concerns of readiness, cost-effectiveness and standardization. These concerns will be addressed by: formulating an Appropriate Use Policy for ICT based on relevance and sustainability; adopt a networking approach that enables the Department to tap networking synergies and avail of free bandwidth; and establish systems standards on ICTs for instruction, governance and administration. Content issues involve the choice between investments in content and investments in instructional design. A content development program should be implemented that enables the bureaus to make full use of available content without prejudice to the development of new content appropriate for the BEC. Utilization issues concern the appropriate use of information and communication technology on a situation to situation or case to case basis. Again this will be addressed by adopting an Appropriate Use Policy based on an expanded definition of ICT. Program issues involve donor driven or technology driven projects, which may be remedied by the adoption of an ICT4E Strategic Framework and by formulating a Donor Coordination and Harmonization Policy. Structural issues pertain to the organizational readiness of DepED for information sharing and reuse. The appropriate response to this concern is the adoption of a knowledge management approach. Finally, political issues revolve around the interfacing of agendas and overall coordination. This requires the establishment of an ICT4E Clearinghouse and the appointment of an Information Czar. Table 2 provides a matrix of policy and program responses to the issues raised: Table 2. Policy and Program Response to Issues
Policy Response
Policy Response 1. Defining the Coverage of ICT4E ICT refers to digital technologies (hardware, software, etc) that have resulted from the convergence of computers and telecommunications. By definition, the coverage of ICT does not include the array of conventional information or communication technologies that have been, are being, or may still be used. Although we cannot change the scope of ICT, we can take liberties with the acronym ICT4E to include conventional media. Taking a cue from UN agencies, the ICT4E movement in the Philippines should define the coverage of ICT4E in the Philippines as inclusive of both low-end and high-end technologies, digital and analog devices. Thus, ICT4E will have elements of both the old and the new; the conventional and the sophisticated; the analog and the digital. Conventional media include analog AM and FM radio, VHF and UHF television, the print media, video, cinema, and indigenous communication media. Digital media cover mobile phones, personal computers, the Internet, email, imaging technology, digital audio-video, and digital broadcasts, even cable television (Flor, 2002). Hence, for DepED’s purposes the coverage of ICT4E would include as any tool or procedure - traditional or electronic, analog or digital, conventional or non-conventional - that contributes to pedagogy, teacher development, and the provision of educational services. Indeed, there may be a shift to full digital terrestrial TV and satellite radio in the future. However, some of these tools or procedures may never be classified as digital, such as indigenous media or hard-copy print media.
Policy Response 2. Appropriate Use Policy With the adoption of the above definition, what logically follows is an Appropriate Use Policy that sets efficient and effective utilization guidelines for ICT4E with due consideration given to technological, ethical, proprietary and humanistic issues. An "appropriate use" policy may be differentiated from the conventional "acceptable use" policy in the sense of "appropriate technology." The Policy should be considerate of the primary, secondary and higher order impact of specific technologies to be employed on individual stakeholder groups as well as communities. The use of technology should be guided by practicality, cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Other criteria that may be used in deciding which types of ICT solutions to use include: accessibility; replicability; dependence on electricity; durability; planned obsolescence.
Policy Response 3. Donor Coordination and Harmonization ICT4E is a subset of ICT4D or information and communication technology for development. ICT is drastically changing the development assistance environment in terms of donor thrusts and implementation guidelines. Basic education should exploit this environment by coordinating and harmonizing donor’s initiatives and situating these within a coherent framework that best serves the education sector. With the variety and diversity of ICT4E initiatives and donors, with their attendant interests, a donor coordination and harmonization policy should be implemented by DepED to make it more adept in exploiting opportunities for cost-effective use of ICT. This policy begins with the tacit agreement that one unified framework should be adopted and that ICT initiatives in the education sector should be guided and situated accordingly by and within this framework. A DepED ICT Clearinghouse should be established to enforce the coordination and harmonization policy. The Clearinghouse may be staffed by the members of the current DepED ICT technical working group and will be chaired by a DepED Information Czar who may occupy an Assistant Secretary’s position in the Department’s organizational hierarchy.
Policy Response 4. Public Private Sector Financing A policy on public-private sector financing for the ICT4E movement should be enforced. The private sector should be sensitized to the fact that supporting ICT4E would pump prime the ICT industry. This is based on the assumption that an information literate workforce will stimulate the demand for ICT products and services.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the preceding analysis, this paper concludes that indeed, ICT4E programs tend to be technology driven and donor driven. However, social realities necessitate appropriate use. The current thinking, decision-making and institutional actions on ICT for basic education has not been based on specific and explicit policies nor are these guided by a coherent framework or plan to address these social realities. In spite of dynamic and fast-paced developments in ICT4E, it is a relatively new concern. Thus, the Department of Education has not had the opportunity to adopt an explicit policy or strategy on ICT4E nor has it established an office to coordinate activities within its scope. Except for those initiated by the Commission of Information and Communication Technology for DepED, much of the prevailing initiatives on ICT4E is either technology-driven or donor driven. Understandably, there is a distinct sense of urgency among ICT4E champions for DepED to chart a definite direction and to adopt a strategic framework. There are now several ongoing ICT4E initiatives coming from the international development assistance, government and private sectors spawning a wide array of stakeholders including industry, civil society, and even politicians. The National Framework Plan for ICT in Basic Education (Tinio, 2005) states that the transformative power of ICT is more likely to be realized when it is introduced in the context of radical system-wide reform. In the same manner, the optimum approach for using ICT as a delivery mode is through learning management systems (LMS) instead of using it on a piecemeal basis. ICT components bundled up in a system, profit from the synergy produced by operating from one digital platform. For instance, the whole Microsoft Office Suite is greater than the sum of its parts primarily because each application’s output can be used/ imported/ embedded by other applications within the Suite. Bundling indeed produces greater value since this is a prime characteristic of systems as provided for in General Systems Theory (Kincaid as quoted in Flor, 1986). As to approaches in content development and utilization, the selection criteria are relevance and contextualization. Furthermore, the development of ICT systems has always followed an evolutionary prototyping approach, not experimentation and trials. So far, much of DepED’s expenditures on ICT have been allotted to equipment procurement. A more strategic approach for DepED is to allocate and use its available resources for institutional strengthening or capacity building on managing ICT4E.
Institutional Strengthening of the DepED Institutional strengthening for ICT4E at DepED should follow a two-pronged approach: programmatic and structural. Programmatic refers to the charting of directions and adopting specific policies and plans leading to strategic goals.
Adoption of a Revised Strategic Planning and Advocacy Framework The major elements of a strategic framework are: the vision statement; the mission statement; the goals, the strategic thrusts; and program priorities. As gleaned from the preceding situation analysis, a strategic plan for ICT in basic education has already evolved organically within the Department of Education (Tinio, 2005). Since the development of strategic frameworks form the initial stage in the design of strategic plans, it may be said that the ICT4E strategic framework has already found grounding in the National Initiative for Strategic Planning for ICTs in Basic Education. Hence, some of the critical elements of the ICT4E strategic framework have already been endorsed in past consultative meetings organized under NISP. These include the vision and mission statements (Tinio, 2005), the goal and the strategic thrusts (Department of Education, 2006). With regard to the latter, it is recognized that the thrusts should closely correspond with the overall strategic thrusts of the DepED. Mission and Vision Statements. The mission and vision statements came from the National Framework Plan for ICT in Basic Education (Tinio, 2005). It was slightly refined during the validation process to read as follows: The Department of Education envisions an ICT-supported system of quality basic education for all. It is committed to the appropriate, effective, and sustainable use of ICTs to achieve nationwide information fluency and broaden equal access to and improve the quality, equity and efficiency of basic education service delivery for all. It should be noted that the mission and vision statements focus on the provision of quality as well as to appropriate, effective and sustainable utilization of ICT. It is consistent with the language used in Education for All as well. Goal Statement. The goal statement initially lifted from the Master Plan for ICT in Basic Education (Department of Education, 2006) was changed to the following: The overriding goal of ICT4E in the Philippines is to transform the teaching-learning landscape through: computerization of all DepED workflows at the national, regional, divisional, district, and school levels; seventy percent connectivity among all public schools by 2010; seventy percent information fluency among basic education graduates; and one hundred percent information fluency and ICT literacy among school teachers all of which will be achieved by 2010. It should be noted that the new goal statement has concrete and time-bound targets as suggested by the participants in the validation workshops.
Strategic Thrusts.The strategic thrusts closely correspond to the overall thrusts of DepED: broaden access; improve quality of learning; improve quality of teaching; and improve planning and management. Thus: Strategic Thrusts 1. Use ICTs to broaden access to basic education. This thrust employs the following specific strategies reordered as per suggestion of key stakeholders:
Strategic Thrusts 2. Use ICTs to enhance the quality of learning. Under this thrust are six strategies:
Strategic Thrusts 3. Use ICTs to enhance the quality of teaching. This thrust involves the following strategies, likewise reordered as per suggestion:
Strategic Thrusts 4. Use ICTs to improve educational planning and management. Lastly, this thrust involves the following specific strategies, logically reordered by the validation workshop participants:
Revised StratFrame. Found below as Table 3 is the proposed ICT4E StratFrame Matrix: incorporating the proposed changes in the elements of the framework as well as an additional columns for proposed policy instruments. Hopefully, the Strategic Framework for ICT4E would serve as the platform for the New Master Plan for ICT in Basic Education and would guide future planning undertakings. It may also serve as a frame of reference from whence future ICT4E projects may be situated. Table 3. Proposed StratFrame for Planning and Advocacy
Establish Mechanisms Institutional strengthening of DepED on ICT4E does not involve merely programmatic interventions but structural interventions as well. The mechanisms for ICT4E should be well-established within DepED. We learned in the preceding analysis that at present, a Technical Committee takes charge of the ICT for basic education. There is no one office, center or unit directly responsible and mandated for this. At the regional and provincial levels, ICT Coordinators have been designated as additional assignments. This strategy paper recommends that the ICT Technical Committee and the designated ICT Coordinators be formalized into an ICT Center or Clearinghouse that would initially perform the functions outlined for the ICT-TC, i.e., to recommend policies, standards and guidelines on the use of ICT in basic education; to conceptualize, implement, coordinate and monitor ICT programs and projects; to establish a database on ICT programs and projects; to conduct research and development studies on ICT in education; to evaluate ICT programs and projects proposed by other government organizations and non-government organizations, and recommend actions to be taken thereon; and to network with government and nongovernmental organizations on the implementation of ICT programs and projects in basic education.
ICT for Pedagogy The key features of ICT that make this class of technologies important to basic education in the Philippines are: its ability to transcend geographical barriers; its novelty, particularly in remote and rural areas; its versatility; its ability to replicate materials at almost no cost; and its programming languages. The lack of classrooms in remote and rural areas may be remedied by ICT delivery modes, i.e., distance learning. The cost of reproduction of audio-visual aids will be drastically lowered with the use of ICT-generated and projected materials.
Computer Literacy Computer literacy is the ability to communicate with computers. It is the capacity to operate computer hardware and run computer software. Information literacy, on the other hand, is the ability to use the wide range of information tools as well as primary sources in modeling information solutions to problems encountered (Zurkowski, 1974). People trained in the application of information resources to their work are information literates. Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." Information literacy competency focuses on five broad abilities: to recognize the need for information; to know how to access information; to understand how to evaluate information; to know how to synthesize information; and to be able to communicate information (Isbell and Hammond 1993). Once a moderate degree of information literacy is attained, an individual is said to be information fluent.
Significance and Relation to Other Basic Skills Computer literacyis an aid to both functional literacy and numeracy and thus leads to the fulfillment of other learning objectives. In other words, it has become a basic competency that an individual is supposed to acquire in order to progress up the ladder of formal education and to the world of work. Given the new learning environment and the global workplace, computer literacy is an essential skill.
Current Approaches The current approaches to acquiring computer literacy are: self-study; enrollment in formal and nonformal courses on the most common computer applications (i.e., word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentations); and the integration of courses on computer applications into the basic education curriculum.
Cost Effectiveness within the Philippine Setting With access to the appropriate hardware/ software and with the adequate incentives to learn, the most cost-effective approach to computer literacy is self-study. Without these pre-conditions, however, integrating computer applications into the basic education curriculum is inescapable, especially if the Philippines intend to make its workforce globally competitive.
Specific Recommendations Given the preceding analyses, the following specific recommendations on ICT for Pedagogy are forwarded: Firstly, the DepED Computerization Program inclusive of the DTI PCs for Public Schools Project should shift to strategic targeting. Beneficiaries of these programs should be prioritized in the following order: regional science and science-oriented high schools; special education schools; voc-tech schools; national high schools; and, finally, public elementary schools. Regional DepED offices should prioritize beneficiary provinces. Secondly, Commission on ICT pilot projects on ICT for basic education should be upscaled. These initiatives include iSchools, eSkwela, and Community eCenters. CICT has recently prepared a Consolidated Proposal for the 2006 ICT4BE Program. DepED need not invest into the activities enumerated under this proposal since funding will be made available under the eGovernment Fund Request. However, it should coordinate closely with CICT and invest in the upscaling of the aforementioned projects on a strategic targeting basis nationwide. Thirdly, participation in the ASEAN SchoolNet and APEC ICT Model School Network Project should be expanded. This is deemed strategic since costs are minimal and impact is significant in terms of attracting foreign assistance. Lastly, DepED should invest on a feasibility study of eLearning for basic education.
ICT for Teacher Development A computer literate workforce can only be produced by an information and computer literate teaching complement. Currently, we may situate the Intel Teach to the Future Project, World Links and FIT-ED’s teacher training courses, the PiL-PBSP SMART Schools initiative and the CICT Web Board under ICT for Teacher Development. A unified curriculum participated in by these stakeholders should be compiled.
ICT and the Teaching Profession Teachers should adopt ICT not only as a tool for teaching and as a subject matter area to teach but as a means for professional development as well. As the CHED minimum standards for teacher education provides, computer literacy is a must in the teaching profession. The minimum level and scope of computer proficiency appropriate for teachers would be limited to the following applications: word processing; desktop publishing; spreadsheets; presentations; messaging and collaboration; and Web browsing. Intermediate skills should include: database applications; online teaching and facilitation; and multimedia skills. Advanced skills involve: programming; and hardware maintenance.
Teacher Training Teachers should acquire this proficiency by: self-learning; short-term training; and enrolling in formal and nonformal computer courses, including courses offered in the distance mode. A targeted approach to teacher development on ICT involving all three methods should be implemented first involving teachers from regional science and science-oriented high schools and special education schools, followed by voc-tech high schools, national high schools, and then public elementary schools.
Teacher Training Needs During the regional validation workshops, the following teacher training needs surfaced: basic computer applications; Web browsing; and the design, development and utilization of ICT-enhancedinstructional materials. It was likewise apparent that much of the ICT teacher training currently being undertaken does not consider the entire basic educational teaching complement as a system with strategic nodes. Teachers who may generate the most multiplier effect are not targeted.
ICT for Pedagogy and Teacher Training In this case, it should also be underscored that the transformative power of ICT is more likely to be realized when it is introduced in the context of radical system-wide reform. ICT for teacher development should be linked with ICT for pedagogy so that one will draw synergy from the other. Thus a systems approach to ICT4E is more strategic and cost-effective in the long run. Specific Recommendations Given the preceding analyses, the following specific recommendations on ICT for Teacher Development are forwarded: Firstly, the CHED standards for pre-service teacher education should be fully enforced. Furthermore, DepED should invest in the development and implementation of National ICT Competency Standards for Teachers. DepED should dovetail CICT efforts along this line. Secondly, DepED should shift to targeted participation in: Intel Teach to the Future Program; World Links – FIT-ED Instructional Design Workshop; Partners in Learning – PBSP TRCL Technician Training/ Leadership Training on ICT4E; and CICT Web board Training.
ICT for Governance and Management ICT for Governance and Management brings together all past, present and future initiatives dealing with the improvement of management and the provision of educational support services. Situated under this program are the BEIS, MRIS, the FIS, and the HRIS. As mentioned in the earlier part of this document, information and communications technology will provide major benefits to DepED as an organization, in particular, and the education sector, in general, by contributing to: efficiency of operations; transparency of transactions; speed of service provision; effectiveness of evaluation; and accuracy of advocacy thrusts.
Integrating ICT in DepED’s Institutional Development ICT cuts across all horizontal and vertical dimensions of operations and it should be integrated in all aspects of the organization. ICT should support a decentralized decision-making process by providing the communication infrastructure within the organization. From a functional standpoint, DepED should acquire the following capacities: systems maintenance; messaging and collaboration; database applications; Web browsing and publishing; documents management. It may outsource: systems design and development; content development; and multimedia production. More importantly, DepED’s capability to manage and coordinate ICT4E should be built and strengthened.
ICT for School-Based Management, Quality Assurance and Budget Reform School-based management would profit immensely from: database applications; sharing and reuse of instructional materials; template provision and assessment of School Improvement Plans; and messaging and collaboration. Quality assurance may also be enhanced by: database management; messaging and collaboration. Similarly, budget reform may be supported by: computerization of financial records and transactions leading to transparency; and monitoring and evaluation systems.
Prioritizing Applications Once again, it should be stressed that the transformative power of ICT is more likely to be realized when it is introduced in the context of radical system-wide reform. Information systems should be integrated rather than fragmented. Prioritizing applications may not be advisable since by nature, information systems profit most from the synergy produced by parallel applications and networks. However, a sequencing of system modules may be followed.
Build up Strategy The "build-up" strategy should not be on a piecemeal, component or modular basis but on a targeting and scale basis. The first step is to conduct an information resources audit of the entire DepED. This study will reveal the existing information resources, knowledge resources and systems availability. This activity will take from three to six months beginning with the conduct of a survey administered in all DepED bureaus at all levels. The available resources and systems should be analyzed and configured for integration. Existing systems that are deemed useful such as the Basic Education Information System should be upgraded and upscaled. The Management Resources Information Systems (MRIS), the Human Resources Information System (HRIS), and the Financial Information System (FIS) should be designed, developed and tested. The implementation of these systems should follow an evolutionary prototyping approach beginning with alpha versions and beta release versions. Modules developed by projects such as the Third Elementary Education Project should be reassessed for possible use in the above. Employing a service oriented architecture, the interfacing or integration of these diverse systems should then be explored without disrupting existing systems operations. Finally the capability of DepED offices for data entry, use and maintenance of both modular and integrated systems should be built beginning with the national down to the provincial, district, divisional and school levels.
Linking ICT for Pedagogy, Teacher Training, Governance and Management ICT for pedagogy and teacher training should be integrated with ICT for governance and management. We recommend an integrated system employing service-oriented architecture (SOA) that links learning management systems with management information systems (Newcomer and Lomow, 2005). ICT for Governance and Management should cover not only monitoring and evaluation but the entire gamut of concerns under ICT for governance and administration. The DepED itself is one of the largest bureaucracies in the public sector with the attendant tendencies for paper trails, inefficiencies and corruption. An integrated system may address these problems leading to: a paperless office; transparency of transactions; efficiency of operations; speed of service provision; and effectiveness of evaluation. This brings us to the current debate about the merits and demerits of an integrated system. Many of the information systems adopted by offices within DepED have developed independently from one another. For instance, the payroll and procurement system has very little to do with the Basic Education Information System. Obviously, scrapping these systems in favor of a newly designed integrated system would not be an option considering the expense that was put into these so-called legacy systems. Furthermore, they are still being actively utilized. The situation requires a solution that would interface these fragmented systems without disrupting them. In other words, we are proposing a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that makes use of data warehousing (Newcomer and Lomow, 2005). Additionally, this meta-system should go beyond the provision of information but should focus on knowledge management. The knowledge management approach provides material and non-material incentives for information sharing and reuse, thereby transforming the organizational culture of DepED.
ICT and DepED's Institutional Culture Corporate cultures have indeed changed because of the interplay of quality assurance, knowledge and ICT. This interplay is known as knowledge management or KM. DepED’s institutional culture may be changed by KM transforming it into a genuine knowledge organization. Specific Recommendations Given the preceding analyses, the following specific recommendations on ICT for Governance and Management are forwarded: Firstly, DepED should develop, upgrade or upscale its planned or current databases: the Basic Education Information System; the Management Information Resources System; the Human Resources Information System; and the Financial Information System. It should upgrade and upscale DEText, www.deped.gov.ph, and PiL/ Microsoft Monitoring Network (MONET). Secondly, DepED should explore the utilization of system modules that developed by the Third Elementary Education Project. Thirdly, DepED should invest in a department-wide Messaging and Collaboration Module to achieve a "paperless bureaucracy." Lastly, DepED should invest in a feasibility study for an integrated Knowledge Management System. This study would involve the technical viability and organizational acceptability of such a system. The technical design of such a system should employ a service-oriented architecture (Newcomer and Lomow, 2005).
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