innotech n e w s l e t t e r A Publication of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH), Quezon City, Philippines October-December 2014 ISSN 0115-7469 58th Governing Board Meeting in Myanmar The SEAMEO INNOTECH Governing Board members along with representatives of SEAMEO member countries and the SEAMEO Secretariat convened in the 58th Governing Board Meeting (GBM) held at Sule Shangri-la Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar from 10 to 13 November 2014. The Center Director, the SEAMEO INNOTECH Management Committee, and officers and staff of the Center also attended the annual meeting. Observers and advisers from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand were also present. Dr. Ramon C. Bacani led the meeting to discuss the Center s accomplishments, projects and initiatives, financial matters, updates on the SEAMEO Education Development Fund (SEDF) and SEAMEO INNOTECH Regional Scholarship for Education Leaders and Managers (SELM), preparations for the 14th International Conference, and the 9th Five-Year Development Plan. >> continued on page 2 IN THIS ISSUE: 58th Governing Board Meeting in Myanmar Lao Education Vice-Minister visits Fit for School Sites HEALTHeXCELS and LEADeXCELS conclude online courses SEAMEO INNOTECH holds regional consultation on education and resilience SEAMEO INNOTECH launches MT4T resource kit Nepalese education officials benchmark on Philippine NFE programs OSY development agenda workshop for MYDev Strengthening capacities of ALS implementers in MYDev areas
58th GBM... (from page 1) The Center Director highlighted the following accomplishments during the past fiscal year: (1) efforts related to Education in Emergencies and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; (2) revised competency framework for Southeast Asian School Heads; (3) flexible learning programs (HEALTHeXCELS and LEADeXCELS); (4) Toolkit on Disaster-Resilient Communities; (5) Mobile Technology for Teachers; and (6) ISO 29990 and ISO 9001 Certifications. Dr. Bacani expressed his confidence that the Center would benefit from the advice and counsel from the GB members, particularly on the 9th Five-Year Development Plan. The 9th Five-Year Development Plan seeks to address reform efforts in the region, fully aware that many SEAMEO member countries are in the process of assessing Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) efforts. After review and discussion, the Board accepted the 9th Five Year Development Plan and endorsed the Plan to the next High Officials Meeting. The Governing Board Meeting is held annually to guide the Center in setting its policies and directions. Lao Education Vice-Minister visits Fit for School sites Lao Education Vice-Minister Lytou Bouapao and Lao Country Director Ernst Hustaedt of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) visited model schools of the Regional Fit for School Program where they gained a better understanding of the program and its desired impact on health and education outcomes. The program began in Lao PDR three years ago with the building of group facilities by the school community with the help of GIZ. The schools are now looking for financing solutions to sustain supplies throughout the school year. Throughout the project, research has been an important component that provides evidence of the interventions impact on Lao children. UNICEF is scaling up using the same model and a learning exchange with stakeholders has been scheduled. Vice-Minister Bouapao expressed intention to include the Fit for School interventions as basic requirement of schools for implementation in the next five-year plan of the education sector. This opens the doors for the roadmap to a nationwide scale-up. He also said that the Ministry of Education and Sport will strengthen ties with the Ministry of Health as he was impressed by the intersectoral collaboration for the research activity. Lastly, he added that it is important to give feedback to parents on the results of the examinations and appropriate measures to improve identified health problems. SEAMEO INNOTECH has been providing technical assistance to the Regional Fit for School Program. 2 innotechnewsletter October-December2014
HEALTHeXCELS and LEADeXCELS conclude online courses batch of HEALTHeXCELS and A LEADeXCELS participants has concluded their 9-week courses. On 17-18 November 2014, 13 school heads from around the Philippines attended the program s closing activities which include school visits, revalida, and graduation. On 17 November 2014, the online courses participants visited two schools Mines Elementary School and Batasan Hills National High School to observe the schools practices on health and resilience. This was then incorporated in the revalida the next day. For their final requirement, participants shared their insights on the programs of the schools they visited, relating to them the situation in their own schools. The drive to manage health initiatives was very concrete. As a school head, you don t need to be ambitious and you just need to inspire the kids to keep going on. Mr. Loiue Pebres, HEALTHeXCELS graduate, shared his insights on the school visits. The participants also shared their learning and experiences in the courses as part of the course evaluation. They said that participating in this course was a great opportunity to learn and that they were motivated and inspired to do more for their schools. We were given the freedom to express and motivate ourselves after hearing the experiences and best practices of schools. We were honored because these experiences gave us a lot of opportunities, shared Mr. Gilbert Inocencio, HEALTHeXCELS graduate. Best thing about the modules, after reading, I was able to apply them in our school. I was able to create a committee in our school handling DRRM, said Mr. Art Tingson, LEADeXCELS graduate. This is the first time that two courses have simultaneous revalida and graduation. This is also the first time to have prior school visits with full support from the partner organization, Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). HEALTHeXCELS is an online flexible learning course designed to strengthen Southeast Asian school heads capacity to manage effective school health programs. It has of two self-instructional learning modules: 1) Champion Health Management in School and 2) Manage School Health Programs. LEADeXCELS, on the other hand, is a course for Southeast Asian school heads to have basic knowledge and skills necessary to successfully lead their schools to be more resilient and prepared to face disasters. Its of two modules are: 1) Lead in Building a More Resilient School and 2) Manage Continuing Learning. October-December2014 innotechnewsletter 3
SEAMEO INNOTECH holds regional consultation meeting on education and resilience 4 As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that children would be able to go to a safe learning environment, said Dr. Daravone Kittiphnah, one of the resource persons of the consultation meeting. Recognizing the fact that the education sector plays a big role in helping prevent and reduce impacts of conflicts and disasters, UNICEF, UNESCO, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) jointly organized the Regional Consultation Meeting on Education and Resilience in East Asia and the Pacific: Developing Guidance for Programmes and Policies that Promote Social Cohesion and Comprehensive School Safety held on 4-7 November, 2014 at the SEAMEO INNOTECH Center, Quezon City, Philippines. The consultation meeting aimed to address how education policy, planning, and programmes can help strengthen the resilience of children, schools, communities, and education systems through comprehensive school safety and social cohesion approaches. Both the participants and resource persons from 28 countries were able to share experiences and learning from their country s policies and programs on risk reduction management. to resilience and social cohesion, and discussing the role of education in peacebuilding. The session continued with the panelists presentation on policies and programmes promoting social cohesion. The importance of partnership, big role of education and literacy in peacebuilding, importance of understanding the differences of cultures, and importance It makes me realize that resilience could not be addressed by just constructing physically strong buildings, but resilience has to be addressed within the person as well, said Dr. Tinsiri Siribodhi, Deputy Director of SEAMEO Secretariat. The four-day consultation meeting consisted of panel discussions and group work sessions. The first session focused on education and resilience in addressing conflict and social cohesion. The session started with Prof. Alan Smith giving meaning of looking into the damages of conflicts to the people were some of the points emphasized on the first day sessions. Literacy is the best foundation to build peace and inclusive growth, said Ms. Amina Rasul- innotechnewsletter October-December2014
Bernardo, President of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy. The second day mainly focused on education and resilience in natural disasters, climate change, and comprehensive school safety. The panel discussions on the second day shared different country experiences in implementing policies and programmes on DRR and school safety. Points such as the importance of the children and whole community s participation, importance of incorporating DRR in the curriculum, and importance of investing in DRR were raised in the session. At the end of the second day, the participants shared their group work outputs priorities in education and policies and programmes that would greatly impact on social cohesion, and recommendations on the policies and programmes. Most of the groups included the mainstreaming of DRR in education curriculum, community-based school mapping, participation of children and youth, coordination between agencies, and strengthening partnerships in their top five priorities. Sometimes it s not the big disasters but the everyday risks that heavily impact on a child s development, said Ms. Caroline Zastiral, Regional Coordinator of Plan International, Asia Regional Office in Bangkok. The third day of the consultation meeting focused on mainstreaming C/DRR into the education sector and strengthening networks, partnerships, and information platforms in EAP. Presenters shared their experiences and learning in implementing their programmes that promotes C/DRR through incorporating indigenous knowledge and values, as well as tools and strategies in monitoring and evaluating C/DRR. Points such as importance of conflict analysis, integrating C/DRR in education, creating a holistic tool, data as evidence, involvement of media, and importance of incorporating indigenous knowledge and values were raised in the sessions. Workshop groups presented their final recommendations for the regional guideline after all the panel discussion sessions. Commonly mentioned were risk assessment, contextualization, integration of C/DRR to national planning, capacity development, unified approach, use of safe school framework, mapping and documenting, allocation of budget, and child participation. Involving children s voices and participation in activities, research, and documentation, empowers them, said Dr. Marilyn Manuel, Steering Committee member of the ARNEC Secretariat. The last day of the conference was spent synthesizing the inputs and recommendations of the participants and drafting the regional guideline. Participants were very eager, pointing out and emphasizing concerns they think should be included on the guideline. The thing that we are able to do in the education sector [...] is that we actually start at the very simple rights-based approach. We re really starting with child rights, to safety and survival, and to educational continuity, shared Dr. Marla Petal, Senior Advisor for Education and DRR of Save the Children Australia. October-December2014 innotechnewsletter 5
SEAMEO INNOTECH launches MT4T resource kit 6 As a response to the growing concern about facilitating teaching and learning in the 21st century, SEAMEO INNOTECH locally launched the resource kit for its project, Mobile Technology for Teachers (MT4T), last 24 October 2014 at the SEAMEO INNOTECH Center, Quezon City. MT4T is a teacher resource kit promoting the use of mobile technology in Southeast Asian education setting. The project focuses on enhancing the teachers personal and professional development, while promoting the development of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) in themselves and among their students. Teaching in the 21st century has become far more challenging, said Mr. Mario Deriquito, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages. The MT4T is designed precisely to update teachers on mobile technology and its many possible uses in the classroom, he added. The resource kit is composed of a web portal and set of ebooks. The MT4T web portal is an online resource where teachers can download various teachinglearning materials. It also serves as an online discussion forum for teachers who have used the MT4T resource kits. As stated by Mr. Philip Purnell, Manager of SEAMEO INNO- TECH s Educational Research and Innovation Office (ERIO), one of the underlying objectives [of the project] is to help facilitate building a Southeast Asian learning community of teachers and educators. The ebooks, on the other hand, provide a rich set of resources to develop the teachers skills, knowledge, and values in the use of mobile technology for teaching and learning. The ebooks also include task-based videos which make the learning more interactive. The ebooks can be accessed through the MT4T web portal or through the SEAMEO INNOTECH ereader. SEAMEO INNOTECH partnered with Vibe Technologies to develop a unique ereader for the ebooks. It can be installed on ios, Android, and Windows, and may be downloaded from the MT4T portal (www.seameoinnotech.org/mt4t). Currently, there are seven ebooks that cover the use of popular social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Edmodo. The materials in the kit were designed and organized for different level of users such as Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert. innotechnewsletter October-December2014
Ms. Debbie Lacuesta, Senior Officer of SEAMEO INNOTECH s ERIO and head of the MT4T project, said that one of the main reasons why the project was developed was to ensure that the use of mobile technology would be positive and creative rather than destructive; foster curiosity, critical and reflective thinking rather than just passive consumption of information; and promote respect for diversity instead of negativism and cyber bullying. SEAMEO INNOTECH is set to launch the MT4T resource kit in six Southeast Asian countries and has already started conducting orientation sessions for primary and secondary teachers in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nepalese education officials benchmark on Philippine NFE programs SEAMEO INNOTECH is facilitating a five-day study visit program for 12 Nepalese education officials from 24 to 28 November 2014. In coordination with World Education Nepal, the study visit is designed for the participants to have a shared and deeper appreciation and understanding of the Philippine nonformal education (NFE) programs. The study visit focuses on program management and innovations, and the accreditation mechanisms in the Philippine education system. The study visit includes learning sessions at the Center and in several educational institutions. The learning session in Bayanan Alternative Learning System Center revolved around Philippine education context, Department of Education s programs, particularly the Alternative Learning System (ALS) and Equivalency Program. DepEd provided an overview of the Philippine education system, and the three government education agencies DepEd, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). As Nepal has only one education ministry, the learning session explained how the three Philippine education agencies work together and complement each other. The visit in TESDA Women s Center oriented the participants on the institution s Ladderized Education Program (LEP), and the Philippine Qualifications Framework, among others. The participants also had an opportunity to visit and interact with officials of TESDA-accredited programs for a better understanding of how LEP is being operationalized. The Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP) of CHED was discussed during the visit in Technological University of the Philippines (TUP). Equivalency and accreditation concerns in all of the three education agencies were also discussed in the learning sessions. Also included in the study visit is the National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC). Nepal s shifting focus in NFE requires the rethinking of the nonformal education programs and needs to be more closely linked to vocational education and accreditation. The Philippines is identified as the ideal country for the study visit program for its innovative NFE programs and success in accreditation and equivalency for its NFE programs. The visit cum workshop hopes for preliminary agreements on the formal establishment of a recognized NFE accreditation system in Nepal. October-December2014 innotechnewsletter 7
SNAPSHOTS CSR Launching 3 December 2014 LB Soriano Hall CSR in Payatas 17 December 2014 Brgy. Payatas, Quezon City 8 innotechnewsletter October-December2014
SNAPSHOTS SEAMEO INNOTECH s 44th Anniversary Celebration 14 February 2014 Winter Wonderland Christmas Party 19 December 2014 Pearl Hall October-December2014 innotechnewsletter 9
OSY development agenda workshop for MYDev 10 We suffer the stigma of being an out-of-school youth pasaway and good for nothing Now we are being considered role models and agents of change in the community that s a big leap! We are grateful for your genuine concern and for your faith that we can do it. Halima Sahim, OSY leader from Lamitan City SEAMEO INNOTECH, in partnership with USAID s Mindanao Youth for Development (MYDev) Project, facilitated the crafting of an Out-of-School Youth Development Agenda for the next 12 months covering eight conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. During the two-day gathering, the participants were invited to a deep conversation about the youth and the many ways they can improve the livelihood and civic engagement of out-of-school youth (OSY) in their communities. This initiative consisted of three batches of gathering, with a total number of 123 participants. Using open space technology and appreciative dialogues, youth leaders and government agencies together with the other members of the Out-of-School Youth Development Alliance (OSYDA) defined the OSY development agenda, clarified their roles and responsibilities as OSYDA members, and agreed on the working arrangements that will best work for the alliance in order to carry out the plans. The OSYDA, a mechanism created by MYDev that will pursue OSY development, is composed of representatives from the local government units, line agencies, non-government organizations, academe, and the youth. The first batch of conversation was conducted in Davao City on 10-11 September 2014. It was attended by the OSYDAs from Parang, Maguindanao, Marawi City, and Cotabato City. Given the many concerns that beset OSYs in their communities, the participants offered solutions such as values formation and skills training, provision of job opportunities for the trained OSYs, strengthening civic engagement among the youth, creation of an integrated youth development plan for every alliance, and strengthening relationships between and among the different member agencies. Each OSYDA, however, came up with a different set of priority areas given the context and requirements of their communities as well as the needs of their OSYs. We were able to tackle a number of issues during the 2-day workshop, but I didn t feel exhausted. I appreciate that we talked about possibilities and solutions, rather than problems and issues, said Mayor Ibs Ibay, Municipal Mayor of Parang, Maguindanao. The second workshop was held on 16-17 September 2014 and consisted of participants from Isabela City. Among all the alliances, this OSYDA was the first to be organized and is more established in terms of alliance composition, appreciation of the innotechnewsletter October-December2014
project vision and objectives, and role identification. As a result of the workshops conducted, the participants identified skills training, education, livelihood projects, comprehensive youth formation program, and ensuring sustainability of programs as promising ways to improve the livelihood and civic engagement of OSYs in their communities. Just like the first batch, they also listed down specific programs and activities, as well as needed resources, and decided among themselves who is responsible for seeing through the identified programs and activities. As a major step, they agreed to form an association of OSY completers and conduct an educational tour to other areas, for benchmarking of best practices in youth development programs. The last gathering happened in Zamboanga City on 23-24 September 2014, with participants from Zamboanga City, Lamitan City, Indanan and Jolo. Among the many solutions they have identified are profiling of OSYs, values formation, capacity building and post-training support initiatives, creating jobs through employment and livelihood, and sustaining all efforts as priority areas. They also recognized the need to hold more conversations like this to help each other in implementing the plans they have set. The process allowed us to engage with leaders in our community in manner that is open and non-threatening. We felt their sincere concern for the youth. We are thankful that our voices were heard in this forum, said Mamex Mantri, OSY leader from Cotabato City. In all batches, developing programs on values formation among the youth is one common response. All OSYDA members are one in saying that character formation is a good foundation for initiating significant changes in the community. The OSY leaders appreciated the opportunity to have been given voice in the conversations that concern them. Now that they re no longer in the side lines, they see the important role they play in the success of the development plans they have co-created. Meanwhile, other members of the OSYDA expressed appreciation for the process of coming up with the plans and the quality of conversations and interactions that happened during the gathering. I appreciate the process it is participative and evocative. And what s more, the agenda came from us. We chose what we think SEAMEO INNOTECH recently conducted the back-toback offering of the training on enhancing the capacities of key DepEd ALS implementers stationed in eight program sites of the USAID- Mindanao Youth for Development (MYDev) Program. The training program was conducted in Zamboanga City from November 18 to 20 2014 and Cotabato City from November 25 to 27 2014. This is part of the continuing collaboration between SEAMEO INNOTECH were important and pressing, and those were not dictated upon us, said Espie Hupida, executive director of Zamboanga- Basilan Integrated Development Alliance. The workshop concluded with the realization that there is much to be done. However, the conversations that were opened up, relationships that were forged, and plans that were developed hold much promise for the OSYs in Mindanao. USAID s MYDev project is implemented by the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in partnership with SEAMEO INNO- TECH, along with the Philippine Technical Education and Skills Development Agency (TESDA), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), local government units, and other non-government organizations. RELATED STORY Strengthening capacities of ALS implementers in MYDev areas and USAID to increase youth access to education through the DepEd s Alternative Learning System (ALS). Thirty-one ALS implementers from the cities of Zamboanga, Isabela and Lamitan and the municipalities of Indanan and Jolo of Sulu Province attended the first phase of this capacity building program in Zamboanga City. Another batch of 23 ALS implementers from the >> continued on page 12 October-December2014 innotechnewsletter 11
Strengthening... (from page 11) cities of Cotabato, Marawi and municipality of Parang, Maguindanao attended the run in Cotabato City. The program included a half-day visit to ALS sites for the participants to observe on-going classes and interact with the learners, instructional managers, mobile teachers and partners and stakeholders. This served as learning points for the ALS implementers to reflect on their current practices and enhance their competencies in conducting effective instructional supervision and monitoring. They then collaboratively reviewed and improved their individual ALS work plans by identifying key action steps to strengthen instructional supervision, monitoring and evaluation of ALS program interventions. This program also became a venue for the participants to discuss and agree on practical and useful mechanisms for greater collaboration and exchange of ideas and strategies to continuously improve the delivery of ALS programs. Phase 1 was designed to deepen the participants understanding of the ALS work context including the developments on the ALS program given the K to 12 basic education reform and the new Abot Alam program. The second phase of this program will be conducted in April 2015 which will take off from the lessons in implementing the key action points developed under Phase 1. innotech n e w s l e t t e rn Published quarterly by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH). Tel: 9247681; Fax: (632) 9210224. For your feedback, e-mail us at: info@seameo-innotech.org Editorial Office at the Information Management Unit, SEAMEO INNOTECH, UPPO Box 207, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines. Editor: Jesse M. Tuason Editorial Assistants: Alecsa Joy Ann L. Geronimo, Nicole M. Asedillo Photos: Jesse M. Tuason; Guillermo Cruz; Mark John Antido Layout: Nicole M. Asedillo Advisers: Ramon C. Bacani, Director; Benito E. Benoza, Manager, Knowledge Management and Networking Office; Carolyn S. Rodriguez, Manager, Quality and Systems Management Office Bylined articles reflect the opinions of the author and not necessarily of SEAMEO INNOTECH. SEAMEO Regional INNOTECH Center UPPO Box 207, U.P. Diliman, Quezon City, 1101, Philippines Re-entered as second class mail matter, February 7, 1983 at U.P. Post Office, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 12 innotechnewsletter October-December2014