Understanding eGovernment and eGovernance

It's been a while since I last posted in this blog as I had been quite busy last year.

Anyway, I just wanted to share one of the projects that I did last year, which concluded early this year. My organization developed e-learning content about eGovernment and eGovernance. One of my organization's advocacies is the use of ICT to improve public service, promote greater transparency and accountability in government and citizen empowerment. The content has 4 modules and were uploaded on YouTube. We hope that this material can help people learn and understand an overview of eGovernment and eGovernance. We also hope that policy makers, non-profit organizations, educators and scholars can make use of these modules.

On eGovernment


eGovt 2.0


On eGovernance 


mGovt and mGovernance

Digital Literacy Campaign for Women and Girls

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have numerous potentials in making a positive impact and difference in the lives of girls and women. However, according to telecentre.org, there are many women who do not know the basics of digital literacy such as operating a computer, sending email, connecting with their loved ones. How can girls and women realize the potentials of ICTs when they lack the knowledge and skills on how to use them? Thus, the campaign by Telecentre Women was launched. The launch was done in time for the celebration of International Women's Day. Here is a video they used for the launch of the campaign.


In the Philippines, the campaign has been launched via this Facebook group. Click here to join!

Tablets for Schools

Tablets have now become an in-thing for technology consumers with the launch of popular tablet brands such as Apple's iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, and many other tech brands are coming up with their own tablets. My husband and I have also tried out these tablets when we purchased our Apad/iRobot, an Android tablet that looks like an iPad, and a Cherry Mobile Superion, which has almost the same features as the first version of the Galaxy Tab but for a lower price. Like most, if not all technologies, these tablet or tablet-like devices are making their way in the schools.

I remember learning about Senator Dick Gordon said during the campaign for Presidential Elections that he wants to distribute Kindle to all students in lieu of textbooks (see http://richardgordon.blogspot.com/2010/01/e-books-for-pinoy-studes.html). Kindle is considered more an e-book reader than a tablet device. But I also learned that St. Paul College in Pasig will be using Android tablet devices in lieu of textbooks (see http://www.yugatech.com/blog/toys-gadgets/the-st-paul-android-tablet-for-student-project/). And I read that a company called Brainchild has recently launched an Android tablet e-book reader designed for education called Kineo (see http://schoolcio.com/ShowArticle/36382), but I believe this is only available in the US.

Using such devices look promising. However, there are certain issues that need to be addressed in order for such devices to work well in schools, some of which were mentioned in the St. Paul Pasig Android tablet article in yugatech.com. Do these devices have enough content, i.e. have textbook publishers agreed to digitize the textbooks? It's very likely that these devices will be customized for use in the schools. Are the teachers ready to use these devices for instruction? I hope the teachers will get training on how these devices will be used and maximized for teaching and learning. How will these devices be secured to make sure that they will not get stolen or lost? These devices are valuable, and I believe schools need to institute policies to secure these devices. How about support? I believe schools that will adapt the use of tablet devices should carefully plan on how it will be implemented.

ICT Sustainability and Leadership Training for School Administrators

From October 2010 to January 2011, we piloted a training on ICT Sustainability and Leadership Training for School Administrators of the public high schools. This training was sponsored by GILAS. This training was attended by 209 school administrators and second liners, from 124 public high schools in 13 DepED divisions, namely Laguna, Batangas, Tabaco City, Albay, Cebu Province, IGaCoS, Panabo City, Camiguin, Bukidnon, Malaybalay City, Surigao del Norte, Siargao and Benguet.

In this pilot training we covered topics such as ICT in 21st Century Education, 21st Century Educational Leadership, ICT Educational Applications, Computer Laboratory set-up and Common Technical Concerns and Technology Planning. After the training, each school had to develop Technology plans on implementing ICT to support instruction, training and school management.

Here are some of the photos from the trainings:

Online Workshops

For teachers who would like to engage in professional development in the use of ICTs for teaching, I recommend that you check out the Concept to Classroom Website. The site features a series of FREE, self-paced workshops covering a wide variety of hot topics in education. Some of the workshops are based in theory, some are based in methodology - but all of the workshops include plenty of tips and strategies for making classrooms work.

June is National ICT month

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed proclamation number 1521 last May 28, 2008 declaring June as national ICT month. My organization, CICT will be the lead in this celebration.

For more info, click on this article.

How to use ICT for education

"The problem with all of what we currently do in the general scope of education is that we, the educators, hold on to how we learned and how we process information and knowledge rather than thinking through the realties of how new students and future students think and process and the challenges they will bring to our courses. Even those most innovative 'early adopters' among us struggle to discover effective uses of technology in education but do not really understand how our students perceive what we do or how they process the content we give them. All of this is further challenged in the delivery and distribution of learning. At present enough is not known to establish conclusions about which is better, but we know enough through our own experience to realize that things are different. New technology has challenged the way in which education is delivered, but newer technologies are now challenging how people process information and what they expect to be able to do with that information."

- Ruth Reynard, Ph.D.

GILAS in Quezon City

Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte had publicized that Quezon City is the ICT capital of the Philippines. Primarily because of the presence of call centers and business process outsourcing firms in the city.

But there is another reason to prove that Quezon City indeed is the ICT capital of the Philippines through its participation in GILAS! Mayor Belmonte is one of the first public officials that have pledged support in GILAS. Because in GILAS, we practice the 50% counterparting from both the public and the private sector. In the case of Quezon City, the total cost of connecting all of its public high schools is Php8,000,000. So GILAS and the local government of Quezon City each have to raise P4,000,000. And by March 2007, all of 46 Quezon City's public high schools are connected to the Internet!

We thank all the local government of Quezon City, the various private sector donors locally and overseas, and also to Bayan Telecommunications for providing one year free Internet connection to all the public high schools in Quezon City.