PNU holds digital education gab for teachers

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Normal University (PNU), the country’s National Center for Teacher Education, recently conducted a conference billed as “Teaching Powered by Technology: 21st Century Skills and Tools for Teachers” at the PNU campus in Manila.

This event was in collaboration with Vibe Technologies, the technology arm of Vibal Publishing House Inc. 

The event was also in support of the Department of Education’s thrust toward the integration of information and communications technology (ICT) in education.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro has issued DepEd Advisory No. 212 s. 2012 calling for the participation of school administrators, supervisors, principals, school heads, coordinators and classroom teachers from both public and private schools all over the country.

Among the speakers in the conference were Erico Habijan (director, National Educators Association of the Philippines), Hal Plotkin (senior policy adviser of the US Department of Education), Michelle Casio (education lead of Microsoft Philippines), Fr. Johnny Go, S.J. (president of Xavier School), and Michael Xia (regional sales and marketing manager of McGraw Hill).

Highlights of the event included the launch of Vibe Tablet, the first Philippine tablet specifically meant for school use, and the formal donation and turnover of the open courseware repository of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to the PNU for the use of their teachers and students. MIT is recognized as a leading engineering and technology university globally.

In further collaboration, Vibal Publishing House Inc. is donating a “classroom of the future” concept which will serve as the official home of the continuing yearlong course with degree units at PNU. 

The facility will be equipped with mobile PC tablets, an interactive whiteboard and LCD projector. 

The project is also in line with PNU’s objective to enter into a twinning agreement with Columbia University’s Center for Technology and School Change, which has a reputable international technology curriculum.