When a vision comes true

If there is one passion that drives the resolve of Mrs. Mary Ann Ramos, it was always the vision of technologically-skilled high school students. This was a goal this school head shared with the local government unit of Sabang when she was first assigned in the baranggay high school two years ago.

“I dream that our graduates here will be computer literate,” Ma’am Ramos told the baranggay council.

But this announcement was met with disbelief, not only by the baranggay council themselves but by both the teachers and the students. Who would not think of that when the school does not own a single computer unit for its students?

Despite this her resolve to reach her dream strengthened when Ramos heard of the first two iSchool’s recipients from Danao last year - Beatriz Durano and Lawaan. “Lawaan is a very small school located in the hinterlands talaga. So why not in Sabang? Malayong malayo (ang Lawaan). So why not in Sabang National High School? We are very accessible, along the road, internet connection pwede kami,” she said.

Ramos’ dream was now within reach but when the WVCST inspection team came to Sabang National High School last January, she knew her problems were far from over. Scheduling two batches of classes in a day because of lack of classrooms and teachers, Sabang does not have an extra classroom for a computer laboratory.

Perhaps it was in this unshakeable belief in her dream that the local government unit during a dialog with the WVCST iSchools Team revealed that they are constructing a new computer laboratory worth P300 thousand, to be taken from the local government fund.

“We came here in January, I said, “tumayo na kaagad ang laboratory in April?”

Sitting straighter in her chair, Ramos said, “In just a matter of weeks. Kasi I told them na na-ocular inspection na ang site ng computer lab. Paano nila madeliver (the computer units) kung wala silang makita na laboratory room na lalagyan natin ng mga computers? So medyo (kinabahan) din sila. Sabi ko remember, this is P1M project. So sabi ko, pag yan dinedeny natin, ewan ko lang kung magkakaroon pa tayo ng ganyan.”

Pushed now by the same vision both the school and the community tried hard to finish the project. The councilors even borrowed money to pay the labor expenses during construction. “Kami rin, meron din kaming maliit na money na nagamit diyan (computer lab) sa (pagbayad) sa labor ng mga tao, “Ramos explained, “pero binayaran din nila kami.Parang maraming obstacles ang dinaanan naming diyan. Pero ang constant communication naming at ng baranggay captain ay malaking factor kung bakit natuloy yung construction.”

“I heard you were able to use the equipment already”

With a happy laugh, Ramos said, “We had a beauty contest. Nagamit na namin ang projector at laptop. Sabi ng mga tao, ng mga tao, ‘high tech na high tech na ang Sabang ha!’”

In the end, what started as a vision became a happy collaboration. A collaboration that cultivated not only camaraderie, but a link that bonded the two forces of community together.

On iSchools, ICT Education, DepEd, and more

Commitment and drive can be spelled in a number of ways. He is somebody who offers to drive you anywhere you go just to facilitate the completion of a project. He is somebody who goes out of his way to facilitate jobs way beyond prescribed office hours. He is somebody who will do all of these with a smile.

Perhaps, this is the reason why ICT Coordinator Rommel Banzon has accomplished a lot since he assumed the post in the Division of Danao City. But if you ask him, having seven schools out of thirteen with computer laboratories is still not enough. what is admirable about him is his dream that all public secondary schools in Danao City will have computer laboratories.

Taking a respite from all the traveling he has been doing because of the CILC Training in Danao City this September 4 to 6 (first phase), he shared his thoughts on iSchools, DepEd, and ICT as a whole.

Balandra (Bl): Ano ang impact ng iSchools Program sa eskwelahan, sa mga bata, at sa mga titser?

Banzon (Bz): Malaking tulong itong programa with regards to the computer literacy program, is the same with the other DepEd program kaya lang yung sa CICT may training. Malaking package ang tulong ng CICT compared sa DepEd. Kasi sa DepEd, hardware at software lang ang binibigay. Wala ng training. Maliit lang seguro and budget ng DepEd. So, mahalaga ang programang ito kasi the same objectives lang naman sila ng DepEd.

Bl: How much of a help is the iSchool’s Project?

Bz: Malaking tulong ito hindi lamang sa mga students pero lalong lalo sa mga teachers. Hindi na sila mahirapan handwriting their lesson plan, recording. Deretso na kaagad sa computer.hindi na kailangan dito ang calculator. Makita kaagad yung resulta.

Bl: Regarding the iSchools Computer Laboratories, were you able to talk to the principals kung ano ang plano nila to sustain them?

Bz: I encouraged them to offer trainings, then makatulong na yung registration fees. Then ang bawat bata ay may maliit na contribution lang para maintenance. Yung computer subject inilagay ko sa card para maencourage lahat na mga bata mag-aral ng computer.

Bl: Kamusta naman po ang Lawaan at Beatriz? Were they able to maintain the laboratories?

Bz: Yes, so far, all units are functional.

Bl: Paano nila minemaintain ang labs nila?

Bz: Maximum utilization of the units, then iniencourage ko ang lahat na mga bata na mag-aral ng computer. Makakuha tayo sa kanila ng maliit na pondo pangmaintenance. We are requiring P10 per month as laboratory fee as agreed by the PTA Board.

Bl: Do you have long term or immediate plans (now that you have the computer labs) to integrate ICT in education?

Bz: Bawat subject supervisor sa Division, meron silang mentoring. Doon sila nag hahands-on ipapakita sa mga supervisor kung paano nila ginagamit sa subjects nila. So may integration. Sa palagay ko lang, ang malaking problema sa DepEd ay ang sustainability. Yun ang mahirap. (After the delivery of the hardware) Wala ng tulong. Hindi na minomonitor kung paano na ang units nila na dineliver after one year. Wala ng nagmonitor. So ako, bilang ICT coordinator, ako na lang ang nagmomonitor.

Bl: Yung sa DTI sir, sino ang nagmomonitor nun?

Bz: Wala. Walang DTI personnel na nagmomonitor kung ano na ang nangyari sa mga PC.

Bl: So, bumigay lang sila ng mga PC tapos wala na?

Bz: Wala na. Walang training. Sa package merong trsaining pero hindi naimplement. So ako na lang ang nagkaconduct n training sa mga guiro. So I organized computer training for five days. Makatulong nay yun lalong lalo na sa mga guro. Lalo na kung maimplement ang automated elections.

Bl: So may undergoing programs na tinitrain ang mga guro na magmaintain ng computer labs?

Bz: Opo. Pagkatapos ng roll out na ito, ituturo din ng (mga trainees) kung paano gamitin ang mga computers na ito para matrain din ang iba na gumamit ng Ubuntu para iba naman ang mag-explore.

Changing Lives

“Ang suerte suerte ko.”

Senen R. Batoon Sr., PTCA Auditor of Guinsay National High School said with all the enthusiasm and frankness of an apprentice.

For the 50-year-old parent learning to operate the computer for the first time, facing the dreaded machine was something close to miraculous. “Nang nag-orientation in preparation for the delivery of the units, nandito ako. Nakinig ako, naging intertsado, especially since I have no knowledge whatsoever of computers,” Mr Batoon said.

When Mr. Batoon requested the help of Danao City ICT Coordinator Rommel Banzon for computers for Guinsay National High School, all he wanted was for the school to have equipment he knows the students really needed. He did not dream to become that student himself.

At first, even he, like most parents and students of Guinsay, felt that to be a recipient of the iSchools Program was something next to impossible. “Imposible na makatanggap kami ng ganitong project. Hindi naman masyadong mataas ang ranking namin sa division.” Batoon explained.

So, when the computers came, they couldn’t believe their eyes. That is when the PTCA and the students had a changeover. Mr. Datoon described the reaction of the PTCA when they saw the units being delivered. “Pagkatapos nitong training dapat may nadesignate na teacher na magtrain ng mga tao sa community to learn computer literacy. The PTA will then ask for a small amount as payment for the training to help sustain the computer laboratory and help pay for the electrical bills, repair fees, and spare parts. The PTCA also requested that they will also be trained and they will pay a small fee as part of the income generating project of Guinsay National High School.”

“Bakit kayo nagjoin sa seminar?” I said.

Mr. Batoon gave a gleeful laugh.

“I have a small business and I usually need the computer so much to type my proposals. I have a manpower agency. Recently I had a contract with a cement manufacturing company here in Danao managed by a French company; formerly Universal Cement owned by the Durano’s and now bought by the French company. I am a contractor for janitorial and maintenance services.”

Kamusta ang training?

With a frown and narrowed eyes, cupping his hand as if holding a mouse, he suddenly smiled and said, “Nahirapan ako. Kahapon, mouse operation, at sa hands on (keyboard navigation). Nahirapan ako. Lalo na nung time na nag lecture si Ma’am Susan (Masculino) , lumabas ako kasi pinuntahan ko ang pari (for the blessing of Guinsay’s computer laboratory). Three o’clock na ako nakabalik. Nawala ako. Di ko na maintindihan. Ngayon, narecover ko na. Nagpaassess ako kay Sir Von (Magat) ng output at nakaproduce naman ako ng okey na.”

So, kamusta po ang training ngayon?

Mr. Batoon’s smile widened noticeably when he said, “Improving na ako. Yung pointing the mouse to dragging, konting practice na lang.”

And, in a rush of words, he said “Pag uwi ko tinanong ako ng asawa ko: ‘Kamusta naman ang training?’ Sus, diniscuss ko kaagad sa kanya ang nalaman ko. Na alam ko nang gumamit na mouse.”

It is humbling to meet people like Mr. Batoon. For those who use the computer everyday, the mouse has been downgraded to a disposable, insignificant device. But for the Batoon’s in this world it is their door to opportunity. Making sense of the mouse gives them the chance to try to make sense of the technological world they thought was hard to understand.

Restoring Faith

If the word excitement was tangible, it would have skipped and flew around Bayawan City National High School. It would even be just as grand as the concrete welcome banner announcing one’s entry into Bayawan City proper. Its classrooms formed a perfect U around perhaps an hectare of wide open space bordered by cropped santan bushes and sprawling rubber and jackfruit trees. Post-war and prefab buildings were stuck together like train cars, almost envious of the unpainted but new two-story building where the computer laboratory was housed.

Excitement at Bayawan City NHS showed itself in the drum and bugle band that greeted the 12-member WVCST iSchools Installation Team and in the garlands that slipped in our necks as soon as we came out of the van. It was obvious that everybody knew the reason behind our presence in a city very near the border of Negros Occidental and Oriental. Although many of the students were inside their classrooms, the craning necks gave them away. Back in 2007, in the quiet city of Bayawan, we tasted what genuine excitement and gratitude was like.

Then iSchools Project Manager Engr. Roly Gambol spearheaded the involvement of the Western Visayas College of Science and Technology into the eQuality Programs of CICT. It was a program he thought he would be most helpful to schools that are deemed unreachable by technology plus it was something he liked doing. The site inspection especially in the Negros area, at first, was done by Engr. Gambol alone. “There was this time the principal of the school told me not to go back because if I did, I may not be able to get out again.” Bent on finding a school without any computer unit, he innocently went into a rebel infested area.

It was in of these survey trips that Engr. Gambol happened to pass by Bayawan City National High School. He strolled inside, went to see the principal and explained the project to the surprised and perplexed audience. He then thought he found a likely recipient of the iSchools Program - no computers, with cell phone provider signals, and more importantly, has a low security risk and with a very supportive local government unit (LGU).

When Engr. Gambol outlined the requirements of the program to the principal, Mr. Eduardo Lagos, it was received with open arms. The second floor of the newest building near the gate will be transformed into a computer laboratory, The Memorandum of Agreement will be processed, and the problem regarding the electrical connections will be discussed with the PTCA. The LGU readily funded any problems Mr. Lagos might have, even funding the trip of the three representatives to Iloilo City for the Sustainability Training Program. Bayawan’s welcome then to the digital information world was painless.

“I was the ICT Coordinator of the Division of Bayawan City before I became principal of the school,” Mr. Lagos said. “I was able to explain to my PTCA and also to the local government the necessity of the project.”

Bayawan’s joyous reception of the installation team was not an isolated incident. Engr. Gambol recalled a time when a huge banner and a drum and bugle band welcomed him to the school. “I was a bit embarrassed by the celebrity-like atmosphere,” he laughingly recalled. But his embarrassment was quickly erased by the genuine appreciation of a people just simply overjoyed for being chosen as recipient of the iSchool’s Program.

When the CILC Training came in the summer of 2008, the excitement and the joy were there, still plain and visible. “We decided to host the in-service training of the district this year,” Sir Lagos said. “We have our multimedia projector, we already know how to prepare presentations and we think this is one way in which we can raise funds to sustain the computer laboratory. More than that, we are the only school in the area with these kinds of facilities.”

Inside the computer laboratory, more than 20 teachers were bent on completing a CALC output prepared by trainors, Engr. Jun Badoles and Gilmore Baldevarona. All was silent save for the occasional explanations, questions and the click clack of the keyboard. All were quietly focused on their half-finished project on screen, barely glancing at the visitors who came in to inspect their progress. Even the announcement of the lunch break was greeted half-baked enthusiasm. Then one by one, the trainees reluctantly filed out of the laboratory one by one, some still hesitant to leave a half-finished work.

Bayawan was just one of the 12(?) schools under the umbrella of the WVCST iSchool’s Team. Although a few had a number of concerns as the project was implemented, one thing unified them all. All 12 received the project with the same degree of enthusiasm, gratitude and joy as the Bayawan community. All of them felt blessed and lucky.

Strangely, the WVCST iSchools Team felt blessed and happy too. In the course of the implementation of the project, we have found teamwork, camaraderie, friendships, the value of sacrifice, and purpose. We also found joy in the realization that beyond the computer laboratories that we helped install and the trainings we conducted, for every recipient school we have come across, we helped restore faith in the government and its programs. But most of all, we just knew that iSchools transcended beyond being just a mere project. Perhaps, its most indefinable accomplishment is in giving the people in the far flung communities like Bayawan the opportunity to confidently meet the technological world.

Teachers air fears on PC upkeep

Recipients of the Western Visayas iSchools Project questioned the organizers of the Sustainability Training Program saying they found it hard to adopt a business plan to maintain the computer equipment.

Faculty from public high schools and their principals, PTA officers, and the Local School Board said they “do not know how to run a business because they are educators.”

Most of the delegates complained of insufficient income to support equipment breakdown. One delegate from Capiz said teachers lack the technical skills to repair computer problems. DepEd delegates also said they are unsure if their department will allow teachers to collect fees. Other baranggay high schools said they cannot find a room to place the new equipment.

Engr. Roly J. Gambol WVCST iSchools Project Manager,assured the recipient schools of the support and assistance of the partner State Universities and Colleges to the problems expressed.

WVCST supervises 13 public high schools in Western Visayas and spearheads the iSchools implementation in the region.

Lighting of Sipaway

Six to 11 in the evening. The time of day people await with longing. For the many that spend most of the day huddled on their office desks or who face the searing heat of the sun for minimum wage, this is the time of liberation. A time of reprieve from the slavery of work, of putting one’s feet up, of eating a soothing dinner with family.

But for the people of Sipaway Island, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, six to 11 in the evening signals a different kind of yearning. It is during this time that the whole island literally lights up. Everyday Sipaway’s electric generator is turned on at around six up to 11 in the evening. A time when life is breathed into Sipawan.

Located just two kilometers outside of San Carlos City, Sipaway’s 600 residents are hungry for the convenience and advantages electricity brings. So, Sipaway National High School principal Mr. Edgardo Palagtiosa was stunned when WVCST iSchools Project Manager Engr. Roly Gambol called last August. Mr. Palagtiosa, assigned at Sipaway for less than a year could not believe what he was hearing. Engr. Gambol requested an initial site visit schedule to see if Sipaway can qualify as an iSchools Program recipient.

On August 11., Mr. Palagtiosa never wavered despite their electricity problem. He first talked to the baranggay captain, requesting the use of the generator during daytime. But since the proposed installation of the computers requires 24 hours of electrical power, Engr. Gambol still hesitated to award the project to Sipaway.

Undaunted, Mr. Palagtiosa, on the advice of Engr. Gambol, went to the city mayor, and asked for a generator specifically for the use of the school. “We are visiting the school two weeks from now to inspect the generator before giving our formal endorsement that they are now recipients of the iSchools Program,” Engr. Gambol says. Mr. Palagtiosa’s efforts paid off. The mayor answered the prayers of Sipaway National High School. All the Sipaway folks have to do is to wait for the installation of the 20 computers from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology.

Although the computer still needs to be delivered, a different kind of anticipation blankets the island. They are at present very sure that their tie to the world through the internet has been realized.

Now, the 600 residents of Sipaway Island have something else to look forward to. And, this will not be from 6 to 11 in the evening anymore. Now the bubble of excitement will not only stir from 6 to 11 in the evening. The thrill and enthusiasm will come from the beckoning radiance of Sipaway National High School’s electronic link to the world.