Intel, DepEd launch e-learning site for public schools
Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Intel and the Department of Education (DepEd) have launched an e-learning website designed to enhance learning of Math and Science for high school students.
Skoool.ph, which can be accessed for free, makes extensive use of multimedia in presenting key math and science concepts. Each topic consists of lessons and exercises presented in the form of interactive animated graphics and video.
The website’s content was derived from skoool.com, originally developed in 2002 by Intel Ireland — “skoool” is a Celtic word for school — and has since been localized in several countries including the UK, Sweden, Turkey, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
Intel collaborated with DepEd in choosing which content is most relevant to the existing high school curriculum. The site was piloted in June and DepEd has since been training public school teachers on using it as an instructional tool.
Unlike those in other countries, skoool.ph did not undergo language localization since the medium of instruction here is in English.
John Macasio, who headed content localization and teacher training in behalf of DepEd, said using English instead of Filipino exposes students to the native articulation of key concepts in Algebra and Physics, for example.
“Contextualizing these concepts will be up to the teacher. The perspective need not be dependent on the teachers,” Macasio said. Or, in short, these concepts can be taught using the standard method as in other countries.
The use of multimedia is also meant to compensate for lack of resources in most public high schools, which often rely only on simple charts and do not have the necessary resources.
“There are schools, for example, which do not have the means to purchase a microscope,” he noted.
Using the website then allows students to gain experience using scientific methods, although not in a real-world situation.
Macasio also started a social networking community (using Ning), wherein teachers can share experiences and lesson plans incorporating skoool.ph.
For Intel, skoool.ph provides the content piece to its ongoing collaboration with DepEd.
The company has donated more than 1,800 PCs to public high schools, according to Intel’s local office. A program called Intel Teach has also trained more than 80,000 teachers on basic computer skills.
“We are slowly moving from a teacher-centric approach to digital environment that allows them more creativity,” said Ricky Banaag, Intel Philippines country manager.
