The Department of Education (DepEd) has partnered with software firms Microsoft Philippines and CloudSwyft Global Systems for the launch of the DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) Virtual Labs.
Virtual labs technology allows senior high schools students from public schools to access a broad range of advanced software applications using their own devices.
CloudSwyft, a provider of virtual lab solutions for the education sector, partnered with Microsoft to deploy the solution by powered Microsoft Azure.
CloudSwyft and Microsoft created over 4,200 virtual labs for DepEd SHS students, teachers, and office employees. The tech companies launched these initial virtual labs across the DepEd pilot schools, including DepEd Bagong Silang High School, Las Piñas City National Science High School, and Las Piñas City National High School.
“While we are a global company and work to provide our proprietary virtual labs solution at scale to leading education customers and governments across all major continents, we are proudly based in the Philippines and privileged to serve our fellow Filipinos and to contribute to a more equal and advanced learning environment for all SHS students,” said Dann Angelo De Guzman, CEO of CloudSwyft.
“As we continue to face the realities of this ongoing pandemic, much has changed, and we have plenty to be optimistic about as we all move forward towards rebuilding our way of life. Hybrid is the next normal for all Filipinos. Technology adoption across industries needs to be scaled and accelerated to support the nation’s workers and students,” said Joanna Velez Rodriguez, public sector director of Microsoft Philippines.
The solution provided flexibility to users to access their learning environment from anywhere. It ensured that all students were given equal opportunity to develop 21st-century digital skills and were not left at a disadvantage due to lack of access to modern laptop computers.
Teachers, learners, and DepEd personnel can now freely access software applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, IBIS Paint, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Animate, Adobe InDesign, Arduino, FILMORA, SketchUp, GEOMATH, Microsoft Office 365 applications, Audacity, TINKERCAD and more from their laptops, tablets or other mobile devices.
According to DepEd’s Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) director Abram Abanil, the virtual labs will allow the use of heavy-graphics applications such as; Adobe creative applications or Autodesk software tools used by the learners for class activities and outputs, while teachers can utilize these applications in the development of online education materials to support the different learning modalities of the department.
These efforts are part of the Public Schools of the Future (PSOF) Framework of the Administration Strand led by DepEd undersecretary Alain Del B. Pascua and assistant secretary Salvador Malana III.
