The Department of Education (DepEd), the Betty Bantug Benitez (BBB) Foundation, and tech firm Playtech signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for a $100,000 project that aims to provide educational equipment for schools in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
The project, which will be implemented by the foundation, will provide 13 Promethian Interactive White Boards to 13 public elementary schools and 200 desktop computers to seven public high schools.
DepEd Armin Luistro called the donation ?an early Christmas gift? and explained that while ??the first three years of the current administration were spent dealing with backlogs in the number of classrooms, teacher items, textbooks, furniture, and sanitation facilities. The second half will be spent providing schools with something beyond basic resources.?
Luistro also mentioned the ?limitless possibilities of technology? and explained that the interactive boards, among other tech gadgets, are being studied by the DepEd to maximize their use in education.
?It will be a waste if we use this with the old mode of teaching ? the teacher standing in front giving information. We are studying how to use these so that learning becomes interactive. After all, the best way to learn is when the students discover things on their own.?
Playtech CEO Moran Weizer explained the advantages of using the whiteboard that connects to the Internet and has touch-screen capabilities.
?We know that it works. We?ve tested this is schools in Israel.? The company, which is traded on the London Stock Exchange, employs around 1,000 Filipinos in Manila.
At present the DepEd target is to provide computer packages for all public high schools with electricity nationwide within 2014.
Promethean interactive white boards
1. Villa Miranda ES
2. Estado ES
3. Victorias North ES
4. Dona Andrea Palanca ES
5. Estado ES ? Mimi extension
6. La Consolacion ES
7. Valencia Ko ES
8. Gawahon ES
9. Santiago Franco Sr. Memorial ES
10. J.L. Suarez ES
11. DJ Gaston ES
12. Romana ES
13. Amanda ES
Desktop computers
1. Victorias NHS ? 50 units
2. Brgy. Estado NHS ? 20 units
3. Alfonso Sta Ana Memorial HS ? 20 units
4. Victorias NHS ? Gaston Ext ? 25 units
5. Victorias NHS ? Brgy I Brillantes Ext. ? 20 units
6. Victorias NHS ?Canetown Ext. ? 20 units
7. Negros Occidental NSHS ? 45 units
