Digital literacy up for integration in school curriculum

MANILA, Philippines — Telecommunications company Globe has partnered with the regional office of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Central Visayas for the integration of its digital literacy program in over 3,800 public schools in the region.

Yoly Crisanto, senior vice president for corporate communications of Globe, said the partnership involves the integration of the company’s Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP) in the curriculum of public schools in the region.

Under the program, schools may use DTP learning modules that promote digital citizenship and responsibility to students, teachers and the general public.

“With a digital nation as our goal in all our efforts for education, Globe rolls out the Digital Thumbprint Program in more schools nationwide, latest of which are those in Region (7). With this, we will be able to train more digital thumbprint ambassadors,” Crisanto said.

DepEd regional director for Central Visayas Juliet Jeruta said the partnership is vital in providing the much-needed online education and training for teachers and students.

“As more and more of our public school teachers and students gain access to mobile devices and internet connectivity, there becomes a growing need to educate and protect our community from online risk and abuse,” Jeruta said.

“This initiative is not just to create digital resilience, but also to harness the power of mobile technology for 21st century learning that takes place in public schools within our region and across the country,” she added.

Globe said DTP includes four learning modules, which are conceptualized and designed to increase students’ knowledge of digital citizenship and cyber safety.

These include: Digital Insight, which features activities to help students discern proper online behavior to secure their information better; Digital Impact, which tackles issues on technology’s impact on students’ social activities; Digital Ambition, which equips students with skills on using technology to help achieve their life goals; and Digital Discernment, which teaches students how to spot false information online.

Launched in 2016, Globe said the program is meant to educate the Filipino youth on the importance of responsible digital citizenship through a series of learning modules and workshops.