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Training teachers for e-classes


How does one teach literature to high school students who would rather play cyber war games than read Rizal, let alone Shakespeare? Or how does one emphasize and go over important points in a long essay to these same young kids and ask them to carefully listen when they are so used to being spoon-fed by show-all-that-you-can television? Or at the other side of the classroom fence, how can a perpetually harassed teacher, laboring under scheduled lesson plans and innumerable papers to check, organize his records in one easy-to-use system? One simple solution: make the current tools of this high-tech age work for you, rather than ignore them or worse, let indifference or ignorance allow them to work than against you. Technology is an ally, a friend, and a partner to educators. That, in a nutshell, is the message of Microsoft Philippines. On one side, its Partners in Learning Program sharpens the high school students’ skills in ICT, specifically as this learning is applied to Math and Science, core subjects crucial to the formation of young minds who, in the long run, can contribute positively to national development. On the other hand, its Innovative Teachers Program seeks out teachers who have a genuine desire to both excel in their profession and empower their students and provide them the instruments to succeed. Some of these resources include classroom learning materials, training, and ICT infrastructure. Warren Ambat, an English teacher from the Baguio City National High School-Main, was one such teacher. He was awarded Microsoft’s Innovative Teacher of the Year for the Philippines during the Microsoft Regional Innovative Teachers Conference 2007, held February 28 to March 2 in Siem Reap , Cambodia. The Conference, organized with United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia Pacific, was organized to recognize teachers’ creativity and their challenging work of propelling the quality of education to a higher level through ICT, and in the process, inspiring their fellow educators as well. Ambat, who has taught in public school for eleven years (three of them in elementary school), tells how he used the same medium that students routinely use for entertainment to become a tool for education. “Fresh out of Teacher Education and into the academic arena, I did not have or could get access to any kind of computer education which I believed as a teacher I needed. In Teacher Education, computer literacy is not addressed. The internet immediately attracted me because it’s like a second brain, and I do have a natural interest to learn." Ambat quickly filled in the gap that he saw and, with some assistance from the computer giant, made himself learn what he saw himself teaching to both his students and colleagues in the next few years. “I implemented innovations like a basic education information system," he recalls, “It’s an archiving records management system. I helped create a digital base to store important data like students’ records and grades." For his literary-challenged students, Ambat formed his pet project called “Localization and Digitization: An Approach to Appreciating Shakespearean Plays." Instead of just wading through the Bard’s tomes and using Cliff Notes, Ambat’s students used the Internet to dig up information on William Shakespeare and his masterpieces. Then, based on their own understanding and insights about his plays, they crafted a film that depicted one particular theatrical piece and its relevance to Philippine society. In the process, the students grasped how the murderous politics in “Macbeth", the destructive passion in “Romeo and Juliet", and the indecision of “Hamlet" are as prevalent in their modern world as they were in Shakespeare’s time. It was for this project that Ambat was awarded Microsoft’s Innovative Teacher Program. These days, Ambat seeks to expand his classroom beyond teenagers to his fellow teachers. He wants to expose them to the wonders of the Internet and computer world, and how these user-friendly equipment can help them accomplish in an hour what they used to do in a day. Online records management, internet research, and online communications are some of the lessons on his list. The Baguio City high school teacher will be in good company. Microsoft intends to enlist 100,000 more educators, principals, and students in the next two years. Over the next five years, Microsoft’s Partners in Learning program will provide an investment of software and over $250 million in cash grants worldwide to deliver technology skills training to students and teachers and to assist in ICT integration into curricula and learning. Michelle Casio, Academic Programs Manager of Microsoft Philippines, enthuses: “Empowering Filipino students and educators to reach their full potential is a top priority for Microsoft Philippines. Through the program, Partners in Learning, we are working with the Department of Education to improve the performance of students in subjects like Math and Science and make them competitive through ICT". Ambat was among the top three winners of the third Microsoft Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards. This event is one of the biggest, most successful Microsoft Regional Innovative Conferences with more than 250 participants coming from 23 countries from the Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America and Europe attending. The attendees were selected from more than 22,000 educators and represented over 7,500 schools. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Tags: microsoft
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