STEP: Embracing the Global Challenges of the 21st Century
Society for Technology in Education Philippines (STEP) holds its three-day conference at the Ateneo de Davao University, Finster Auditorium, inviting various educators and learners from Mindanao to take part of the technology leap last April 6 to 8, 2016.
The program was aimed to inform the participants about the global challenges of the 21st century in the educational arena – coping up with the developing technologies (digital era) through a three-day seminar.
On the first day, the talk was hosted by Mr. Andre Joseph Fournier, MBMP QUT.
He briefly explained a lot of matter about the digital era. He taught about the different applications that a teacher must know, from MS Word, Facebook, to YouTube and many more programs that are advantageous for both parties (educators and learners).
“Teachers must be creative in their job in order for students to be enticed in being engaged to learn while being entertained,” Fournier said.
On the second day, various workshops were available for the participants to enroll which still involves the theme which is aiming in technology catch up.
The teachers’ idea about the matter expanded as new inputs were shown and offered by the authorities thus, a productive day for them.
The third day of forum was headed by Ms. Eddelyn Gupeteo, PhD which concerns about – ‘ICT Integration: Embracing the Future’.
She shared about her experiences in bringing the ‘techy reality’ into her classes. In addition, she allows her students to bring their gadgets at school because of its educational purpose.
“We should start an edge about riding on with the new era regardless of our age gaps and other circumstances to reach the valued quota of education,” Gupeteo added.
She also indicated that it is a way for the students to be creative through a digital manner.
On the other hand, Ms. Mary Anthony Sieras’ of Microsoft Philippines talked about digital citizenship, on how internet affects individuals specifically social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
She highlighted the matter about being conscious of how the teachers must act with the matter (etiquettes; do’s and don’ts; advantages/disadvantages).
“We should be careful of what we post and be mindful of the people we interact on social media,” Sieras’ supposed.
Sieras’ point on the proper etiquette of teacher’s online is essential since some requires their students or student’s parents to interact with them online. Their attitude online affects their credibility as educators hence the caution they need to practice in social media.
Sieras’ talk also focused on how the internet affects the students’ learning ability. She emphasized that with proper guidance, the internet is not a hindrance in learning, in fact it is a big factor for our young learners to acquire more and advance in their education.
Exhibit of learning materials were placed at room 711 and 712 of Finster available for the participants to explore, giving ideas on what materials to use on their classes, applying their newly acquired knowledge of digital learning.
The three-day forum ended with a little fun, giving small tokens to the participants. STEP organizers are looking forward to another forum next year to be held at Cebu City
By: Mark Mariscal & Kardy Ogtip