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SMART holds content and web development training for partner schools

SMART Communications, Inc. (SMART) held a five-day content and web development training for 82 teachers and students from 21 public high schools in Luzon last May 11 to 15.

The course is part of the leading wireless service provider’s “Doon Po Sa Amin” (DPSA) project, which encourages teachers and students to use computer and Internet technologies to generate web-based information and educational materials about their respective communities. Participants came from partner schools under the Smart Schools Program (SSP), a community service initiative of SMART.

At the end of the course, the trainees were expected to create their school websites. Participants were encouraged to feature unique aspects of their communities to help generate much needed online content on the different areas in the country. This project is in line with SSP’s thrust to promote Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in basic education.

Partner schools in Visayas and Mindanao also went through the same training in Davao City last May 25 to 29.

Chris Lorenzo, a trainer from Netlearn Ventures, Inc., said changes were made to improve the training course this year.  "From three days, we've expanded it to five." <

When DPSA was first launched in 2008, the teacher trainees were taught Internet technologies and terminologies, and the basics of website construction. They were also trained in community-based research to help them generate content. But this year, the training was separated into two tracks: content and web technology.

This means that participants can concentrate and specialize in just one area—each school has a teacher and a student who learns web content generation, while another teacher-student pair is trained in the technical aspects of web design.

Lorenzo added that with this scheme, the schools will be able to create better and richer website content. Since students have also been included in the training this year, they can better collaborate with their teachers in producing relevant and creative online content about their respective schools and communities.

In addition, teachers who are assigned to the web technology aspect can focus purely on web design and also benefit from the cooperation of their student partners, who are usually faster in learning the technical side.

For the web content track, the topics discussed include how to use the Internet for research, as well as news and feature writing, and photojournalism. Speakers were also invited to discuss topics that could be useful in content generation. Assistant weather services chief Fredolina Baldonado of the Philippine Meteriological Society (PMS) talked about weather forecasting and how communities have their own "weatherlore" or peculiar ways of predicting weather. Kring Elenzano of Flippish.com discussed videblogs and how they can enhance the school websites.

Anna Gonzalez of Wild Birds Club of the Philippines, together with club president Mike Lu, provided the participants the opportunity to experience bird watching in Intramuros. They were then asked to write an account of the birds they saw, and were further encouraged to make online contributions about birds found in their respective provinces.

"It's good to learn the difference between print media and web publishing, and how there's a certain etiquette that needs to be followed. It's certainly going to be a challenge since we need to keep our content updated and fresh," shared Jeff D. Bustamante, a teacher from Rawis National High School (NHS).

Meanwhile, attendees of the web technology track learned how to use MS Frontpage2003.

"The training includes conceptualization to the actual rendering of the design," explains Lloyd Layug of Netlearn. "The participants learn how to build the basics of a website. It's template-based, so it's more user-friendly, and they can select designs that suit the different sections of their website. I'm also teaching them how to make enhancements and debugging.”

"It's my first time to create a web site," shared teacher Mariel S. Garcia of Puerto Galera NHS. "It's very challenging because we're expected to finish our website design. But it will be a big advantage to finally have web presence. We'll be in a better position to encourage our alumni and other stakeholders to support the school."

Paul Vincent M. Virrey, incoming third year student at Tagaytay City Science NHS, said he found it easy to create a website since they were guided step-by-step. "It's good to know how to improve our school website. I'd also like to create my own personal website someday."

(Published 15 June 2009, Smart Communications, Inc.)