The Text2Teach team with the 24 benificary schools of Ligao City. Each school received the Text2Teach package, which include a Nokia N86 mobile phone, a Globe SIM card and a 29-inch television set.

Technology, particularly mobile phones, once again came under fire because of the Pinoy youth’s new texting style.

Now a national phenomenon (or a national plague?), the Jejemons’ improper use of words have caused alarm among parents and teachers alike. Teachers have complained about their students’ adapting this newfound language in their regular schoolwork. In this case, instead of making things better, technology has been distorted and has caused bad influence on today’s generation.

But that is of course an exception. Technology has done more good than harm for the youth admittedly. The advent of e-book readers, for instance, has made books more available to everyone with just a touch of a button. Laptop computers are being used as an affordable education device to children around the world. Even mobile phones are now channels to teach children.

The real smartphone

In 2003, Nokia, the International Youth Foundation, Pearson, and the United Nations Development program conceptualized the global BridgeIT program which uses cellular technology to bring educational materials to the developing world. The program was pilot-tested in the Philippines on the same year and the Text2Teach program was born.

“Text2Teach is now an evolution of what we have in the past. What we have now is the ability to download these videos, at very high speeds using the cellular network. The beauty of this is you can take the program, and take it to those areas that are very, very rural and don’t have access to the internet. It is much easier with a cellular tower and with that speed and you can serve the entire community with this content to help the teachers,” saysNokia Europe Community Involvement head Patrick Gonzales.

Using the mobile application Nokia Education Delivery (NED) installed in special Nokia phones, teachers are able to download and choose educational audios and videos on Math, Science and English specifically created for the program.

Not to replace teachers

“One of the differences of Text2Teach is that learning has become more mobile. For example I’m a teacher, I can download the materials today, I will teach it tomorrow, I can study the materials tonight, at home or wherever I am because it’s in the mobile phone. It could be the advent of one day, students having their own mobile phones, downloading educational video materials over the mobile phone. Text2Teach actually creates that culture of learning in a mobile way,” explains Globe Telecom Corporate Social Responsibility head Jeffrey Tarayao.

The videos are specifically produced by SEAMEO INNOTECH, with the help of teacher-experts, for the program based on the Department of Education’s Basic Education Curriculum on Grade 5 and 6 Math, Science and English.

The program also uses real time technology where it utilizes the fast 3G network of Globe for fast download of the educational materials.

“This program is based in real-time so they can download updated content from the server. In the case of DVDs, you have to. That’s the benefit of this technology,” explains Nokia Asia Pacific Community Involvement head Jenny Lim.

“Also, compared to full-length videos Text2Teach videos are much shorter, about two to 12 minutes. The reason for that these videos are designed in such a way that they will not replace the teachers. It’s a way just to introduce the subject matter in an interesting way,” explains Ayala Foundation senior director Mario Deriquito.

Many of the materials are preloaded in the mobile device and because of the TV connection capability of mobile phones, it can be then connected to the television for viewing.

More recently, the Text2Teach program was launched in Ligao City, Albay. Twenty four out of 49 public elementary schools in the area were given Text2Teach packages that included a Nokia N86 8MP device, — with special TV out feature — preloaded with almost 400 educational audio and video materials on Grade 5 and 6 Math, Science and English curriculum. It also included a Globe prepaid SIM card and a 29-inch color television provided by Kolin Philippines International.

Improved performance

Although Ligao City division has improved its performance indicators among students over the past years problems in drop-outs and low participation rates are still evident.

In the latest performance indicator given by Ligao City Division, in school year 2008-2009, out of 18,202 enrolled elementary students in public schools, the participation rate is at 82.22 percent with drop-out rates of 0.18 percent. That’s 372 students who dropped-out from school in the whole division that school year.
“Usually the cause of drop-outs is because of change in residence, health problems, and because of the economic crisis some families are facing. Children are being asked to participate in augmenting the family income,” says Dr. Evangeline Palencia, DepEd Schools Division superintendent, City Schools Division of Ligao.

The division’s quality indicator in English (56.12 percent), Science (50.07), and Math (57.73) is something that they hope will improve with the introduction of the Text2Teach program.

“With the introduction of Text2Teach, we hope for a significant improvement in the academic performance of the pupils because we expect that our students will be benefiting much from this. Unlike in the normal method of teaching, which is simple lecturing, this time subjects like Mathematics, Science and English have become more lively, more enjoyable because. And leaning will become meaningful and lasting with the students we are hoping for that direction,” Palencia shares.

The schools that will benefit from the program are: Amtic Elementary School, Barayong ES, Basag ES, Baligang ES, Herrera ES, Paulog ES, Abella ES, Francia ES, Ligao East ES, Maonon ES, Tupas ES, Oma-Oma ES, Bacong ES, Paulba ES, Cabarian ES, Tiongson ES, Busac ES, Tandarura ES, Tula-Tula (G) ES, Tastas ES, Allang ES, Cavasi ES, Tula-Tula (P) ES, and Culiat ES.

The local government of Ligao is also active in helping improve education quality in their city. Mayor Linda Gonzalez gave P738,000 for the program as the local government’s counterpart funds to implement Text2Teach. “It is the basic, and fundamental in development. It is the basic element to develop a person, I believe in education very much,” the mayor says.

SEAMEO INNOTECH also conducted training to prepare teachers on the use of Text2Teach technology in the classroom. A total of 120 school heads, teachers and school officials have been trained.

Globe Telecom will also provide a free P150 monthly load allowance for one year to be used for helpdesk and technical support concerns, and an additional P1,000 load if there are new updated materials to be downloaded through the mobile phone using their network.

Catering to children's short attention span

Since its launch, more than one million public elementary school students and almost 2,000 teachers and school officials in 350 schools in different parts of the country have benefited from the program. And the Text2Teach team is happy to say that impact on the students has been significant.

“In the case of Text2Teach, we measure the impact, by looking at the schools that actually use of the program. Over the past years we have had two third party evaluations. There have been an improvement on what they call the learning gauge, in other words when you compare the scores of the kids after they have used Text2Teach compared to before they used it there was a significant difference. We noticed that there was a big difference especially in schools that started with very low scores. Like schools in Mindanao, very large jump from the base core, to the score after they have used the program,” Deriquito shares.

Among the program’s beneficiaries are the 11 schools in Dagupan City, Pangasinan that implemented the program last January. School officials in Dagupan visited Ligao City to share the positive experience they got from Text2Teach.

“Ang laki ng impact ng Text2Teach sa aming school. At ang enrolment po namin nag increase, nilampasan po namin ang enrolment ng central school by 50 pupils. Nagustuhan din po ng mga parents ang program,” shares Carael Elementary School principal Manuel Ferrer.

According to him, Carael Elemetary School improved its National Achievement Test scores to eight percent after only using it for a several months.

“Practical itong Text2Teach, kasi nagke-cater sa maiksing attention span ng mga estudyante. Maliit ‘yung time na nacoconsume pero ‘yung impact sa bata malaki. May nakikita po kami, in terms of performance like in Mathematics, significant po ang difference compared sa dating performance nila,” explains DepEd OIC-Schools Division superintendent, City Schools of Dagupan Dr. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.

The future of mobile education

Moreover, the partners of the program believe that Text2Teach program will not solve all the problems of the country’s education system, this is just their share in somehow improving it – for the children.

“The problems in education are very complex and I don’t think that Texr2Teach alone can address these problems. This is an attempt to contribute more interesting ways to introduce lessons through technology. We’re happy with the initial reports but we do not claim that it will address all of the problems in terms of Philippine education. It’s really hard to do that,” Derequito says.

He also adds that they also have plans to expand the program to lower grade levels. “Another finding was, the longer children, they had the chance to observe children that have undergone Text2Teach for one year, are exposed to Text2Teach, the larger the learning gauge. That is why one of the things we’re discussing Text2Teach is the possibility of extending the program to the lower level. We know that it is good to extend it to the lower Grade level so that the children will have longer exposure to the process.

The group is also hoping that someday, DepEd can mainstream the program and integrate it into the national education system to cover all the schools in the country.

“Another potential, it may be forward looking but by using this mobile phone and accessing the network, they will be able to come out with user-generated content. If the Text2Teach content is coming from one server, one day, others may come up with materials about other cultures, make a video out of it and it may be viewed by schools in other areas or other countries, who knows. That’s the difference of Text2Teach, it is the mobility of it, it’s in your hands,” Tarayao says.