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GMA witnesses signing of M.O.A. on internet-based education program
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2003 | EDUCATION

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between Coca-Cola Co. and the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED), a non-governmental organization responsible for implementing the so-called "Coca-Cola ed.venture" program in the Philippines.

Coca-Cola Philippine Division president James Harting and FIT-ED Chairman and Senior Adviser on International Competitiveness Secretary Roberto Romulo led the signing ceremonies, held at the Ceremonial Hall in Malacanang.

Aside from the President, those who witnessed the event were Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus, Coca-Cola Phils. Foundation president Cecile Alcantara, and hundreds of Coca-Cola employees.

The memorandum of agreement pushes forward the President’s program to bring educational opportunities to more children, prepare them further for a more fruitful life ahead and empower them for the Information Age.

Coca-Cola ed.venture is part of a pan-Asian initiative aimed to contribute to local efforts to bridge the digital divide, bringing a new world of information technology (IT) learning to tens of thousands of young people across Asia through Internet-based educational resources.

Under the MOA, the Coca-Cola Co. is contributing further $650,000 towards the second phase of the ed.venture program, building on its initial $350,000 commitment towards the first phase.

"We are proud to continue supporting this national effort to empower and prepare the young people of the Philippines for the Information Age," Harting said.

He said the new phase of ed.venture is an exciting extension of our commitment to youth development and education in the Philippines."

"We know that ICT education continues to be a national developmental priority and we’re looking forward to building our partnership with the Department of Education and FIT-ED as we bring the promise of e-learning to thousands more students and teachers in the years to come," he added.

According to Harting, the second phase, though it is only an extension of what has been achieved in the first program, includes a significantly deepened training component for public school students, teachers and administrators.

The ed.venture program has already built 15 fully equipped, Internet-connected and fully air-conditioned computer laboratories in public school selected by FIT-ED in coordination with the Department of Education.

These Coca-Cola ed.venture centers are located in the Quirino High School in Quezon City, Rizal School Sagad Annex in Pasig City, Negros Oriental National High School in Dumaguete City, Camanjac National High School in Negros Oriental, Manga National Manga National High School in Tagbilaran City, San Roque High School in Bohol, Bitoon National Vocational School in Cebu, Ipil National High School in Ormoc City, Hilongos National Vocational High School in Leyte, Guimbal National High School in Iloilo, Passi National High School in Iloilo, Bais City High School in Negros Oriental and Parang High School in Marikina City.

Harting added that the ed.venture program also equips teachers with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to leverage ICT in the teaching process.

Over 600 public high school teachers and administrators have already participated in ongoing workshops designed to introduce them to "educational telecollaboration," a learning device that allows people in different locations to use Internet tools and resources to work together.

The centers deliver Information and Communications Technology (ICT) access, connectivity, training and educational resources to more than 15,000 students and public schoolteachers and administrators. The program is rolled out with active participation of local communities and local school boards.

FIT-ED, which aims to elevate IT awareness and capability in the Philippines, provided the technical expertise for the program’s infrastructure requirements and facilitates the program’s training component for schoolteachers.

"Educational quality and relevance in today’s world mean, among other things, ensuring that students know how to use ICT appropriately and responsibly," FIT-ED chairman Secretary Roberto Romulo said.

"With Coca-Cola ed.venture, FIT-ED is doing its part in helping build an effective and sustainable model for ICT-enhanced high schools in the country," Romulo added.

Harting also informed the President that the Philippine division is the sixth largest operation of Coca-Cola in the world. Manila, he added, is also the site of the first bottling operation of Coca-Cola outside of the United States.

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PIBDEC, Inc. is the first and only fully automated Internet-Based Distance Education College in the Philippines and in Asia. It is the only school that shall continuously offer 100% FREE TUITION FEE AND FREE MISCELLANEOUS FEE NATIONWIDE SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS, with no age limit, no grade requirement, and no qualifying examination, to all students residing anywhere in the Philippines who are interested to take up and finish 2 year practical Accounting, 2 year applied Business Management, 2 year applied Computer Science, 2 year Electronic Secretarial, and 2 year practical Nursing.

The mission of the Philippine Internet-Based Distance Education College, Inc. or PIBDEC, Inc. is to make quality education and educational services affordable and highly accessible to all interested students worldwide via the Internet, to assist their families in ensuring the completion of their studies, and to assist the graduates in getting high-paying jobs locally or abroad.

Its vision is “quality and affordable education for the students, livelihood for their families, and stable jobs for the graduates.”

In order to achieve its mission and vision:

1. PIBDEC, Inc. shall consistently use the latest advances in both Computer and Communications Technologies to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of its educational products and services to all its students worldwide who have access to Internet-connected computers either at home or at work;



2. PIBDEC, Inc. shall consistently establish FREE INTERNET SITES in various municipalities and cities within the Philippines to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of its educational products and services to all its students residing in the Philippines who do not have access to Internet-connected computers either at home or at work; and



3. PIBDEC, Inc. shall consistently ensure the continuity of the education of all students residing in the Philippines, from enrolment to graduation, especially during these tough times, through various educational, livelihood and socio-economic programs aimed at easing the burden of the parents as they send their children to school.

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The Information highway or the Internet has changed the way the world goes about doing things. It is one more point in a long continuum of inventions that is set to revolutionize lifestyles. One is inclined to ask, how does the ability of computers to talk to each other improve the learning process in the classroom? How does it make a difference in study of epics like the Odyssey and the Iliad? These questions and more will be answered in the following passages. The Internet has a more pervasive effect than other electronic media and is the modern engine of progress; it is the new form of thinking that will show a fresh approach to online education.

Personal computers and the Information Superhighway are rapidly transforming America. Already, the Internet is making large amounts of information available at unprecedented speeds. When this revolution makes itself fully felt in schools, teachers and students will have virtually instantaneous access to vast amounts of information and a wide range of learning tools. If we guide the information revolution wisely, these resources will be available not only to affluent suburban schools but also to rural school districts and inner-city schools. Broad access can reduce differences in the quality of online education and give children in all areas new opportunities to learn. Used well, this transforming technology can play a major role in school reform.

The new technology will enable students to acquire the skills that are essential to succeed in modern society. Exposure to computer technology in school will permit students to become familiar with the necessary tools at an early age. By using the technology well, they will also acquire better thinking skills to help them become informed citizens and active community members.

The drive to integrate technology into our nation's schools goes far beyond the Internet. If the Internet didn't exist, advanced technology would still have so many valuable educational uses distance learning applications, collaborative learning, and so forth that far larger investments than are being contemplated would be justified.

Web resources are excellent tools for researches. Let's not kid ourselves, however. Even if policymakers, practitioners, and parents did decide what their goals were and even if the research findings supported one of several configurations of hardware and software, deciding when, how, or if to use technology (or any other reform) in the classroom is not likely to be determined solely on these bases. Many other factors--ranging from parental pressure to superintendents wanting to leave their fingerprints on the district to technology corporations promoting their products--shape decisions to buy and allocate technologies to schools.

The Internet is an incredible information resource and a powerful communication tool. The ability to use new technologies is becoming a more important factor in career options, and the future success of today's students will be more affected by their understanding of and ability to access and use electronic information. The increased use of on-line services in the home by children adds to the impetus for schools to take a more active role in family education regarding their use.

Schools have the potential to be access points and online educational centers for exploring Internet resources. Increased involvement of parents in school education programs can help address community concerns and can improve their children's overall academic performance. If educators assume responsibility for helping students master the use of technology and educating them about potential risks, students will become more empowered to make intelligent choices.

Multicultural education relates to education and instruction designed for the cultures of several different races in an educational system. This approach to teaching and learning is based upon consensus building, respect, and fostering cultural pluralism within racial societies. Multicultural education acknowledges and incorporates positive racial idiosyncrasies into classroom atmospheres.

The concept of learning styles is rooted in the classification of psychological types. The different ways of doing so are generally classified as: Concrete and abstract perceivers and Active and reflective processors.

There are many academic and psychological issues do minority students encounter such as: low single head of household, low socioeconomic status, low minority group status, limited English proficiency, low-educational attainment of parents, mobility, and psychosocial factors.

Not only do school programs and practices have a direct impact upon student success, but the school and community contexts in which these programs and practices occur also affect success rates. "Context" is comprised of numerous factors. Some contextual variables can have a positive impact upon students, while others work against student success.

The call for total school reform strongly suggests that existing conceptions of education are inadequate for promoting multicultural equity. Unfortunately, these same conceptions have shaped the schooling of prospective teachers. Their education likely has been characterized by tracking (the process of assigning students to different groups, classes, or programs based on measures of intelligence, achievement, or aptitude), traditional instruction that appeals to a narrow range of learning styles, and curricula that exclude the contributions of women and people of diverse cultures. Competition drives this factory model of schooling, in which students tend to be viewed as products coming off an assembly line.

Education is a fundamental human process; it is a matter of values and action. The cluster of technologies called the Internet has the ability to complement, to reinforce, and to enhance the educational process. It will take the focus of education from the institution to the student. The Internet has come to befriend, dwell with, and live beyond, both, the teacher and the student. African wisdom says, "It takes an entire village to raise a child".

My personal conclusion is that all students, regardless of race, ethnic group, gender, socioeconomic status, geographic location, age, language, or disability, deserve equitable access to challenging and meaningful learning and achievement. This concept has profound implications for teaching and learning throughout the school community. It suggests that ensuring equity and excellence must be at the core of systemic reform efforts in education as a whole.

internet based education system

About Internet Education System (IES)
by Bridget Carruth

(1) What is Internet Education System (IES)?
Internet Education System is a computer methodology that delivers and processes preschool through high school education via the
Internet.


(2) What is the foundation upon which IES is built?
Because education consists of concepts, each concept is education; therefore, the foundation
of education is concept. Thus, IES is built on the delivery and processing of concept.


(3) How are concepts represented on IES?
Every concept may be represented as a topic. A topic has a title, a topic sentence, supporting sentence(s), and a conclusion. The
learner is asked questions about the topic, and he must give the answers that are contained within the topic in order to be regarded as
educated.

However, mathematics and grammar are better represented with examples with which the learner practices.


(4) What is Bridget’s theory of “Concept Representations” for IES?
Topic, mathematics, and grammar are the three (3) foundational methods of Concept Representations for IES.

See the complete IES Demonstration with concept representations and explanations.


(5) Does science support the IES methodology of delivery and processing of concepts?
Yes. See Dr. Ken Gibson’s Neuroscience of Cognitive Training.


(6) In addition to the science, what else supports the IES methodology of delivery and processing of educational
concepts?
The research that 95 percent of all learning is by sight.


(7) What is Bridget’s theory of “The Cycle of Learning?”
The Cycle of Learning illustrates the building blocks of IES, that is, the theory that education is concept and how concepts are
delivered and processed in IES. See No. 2 above. Because of The Cycle of Learning, every concept in every subject in every
language and at every level of education, from preschool through university, may be delivered and processed in IES.

HOW IES BENEFITS THE LEARNER
1.


2. Concepts are sequenced to facilitate the progressive development of the learner’s education.


3.


4.


5. The learner is not limited by time or place in order to access education.


6. The learner is no longer excluded from access to education based on social and or economic status.


7. Please see other benefits described in the press release.


IES BLUEPRINTS
The skeletal framework described above constitutes the foundation of the IES Master Blueprint. There are about twenty (20)
additional blueprints. As with the master, they cover access to and processing of educational concept from early childhood education
to labeling diagrams and maps to studying from any textbook. What is presented on this web site is only a glimpse into the IES
system. Most of the content within the concept representations is taken from real educational texts.