By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
More students nationwide are expected to benefit from the lessons on digital citizenship after the Department of Education (DepEd) integrated a program which focuses on the responsibilities that come with being online in its K to 12 curriculum.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones
(DepEd / MANILA BULLETIN)
“We are in a connected world where anyone can easily have access to the Internet,” said DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones. “While we believe that the Internet is fundamental to achieving inclusive and equitable quality education, we are also aware that it exposes our youth to many potential risks that may harm them,” she added.
DepEd noted that digital citizenship – which is a vital aspect of educating the youth – is one of the key advocacies of Globe. “Amid the digital age, it is crucial that the youth are equipped with the right information to help them make the proper decisions in their daily actions in the online world,” the agency added.
“By integrating Digital Citizenship and Responsibility into the K to 12 curriculum, the Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP) modules will be further developed for inclusion in the values formation subject,” DepEd said. “This way, all students nationwide will benefit from the lessons on digital citizenship and learn about the responsibilities that come with being online,” it added.
DepEd commended its long-time partner Globe Telecommunications for spearheading the DTP in K to 12 curriculum during the opening of the five-day National Summit for Digital Citizenship and Responsibility (NSDCR) held recently. The event’s objective was to educate public and private high school students on proper online behavior as well as encourage students, teachers, and parents to participate in creating an open, inclusive, collaborative, and safe online environment.
Meanwhile, Briones highlighted how beneficial the program is to the learners because it led the DepEd to adopt Globe’s DTP after seeing how it has “created positive impact on the students and teachers” who have undergone the workshops. “By integrating the program in the delivery of curriculum targets, all students can better learn how to be conscious of their personal security and wellbeing when online and eventually, become responsible internet users,” she said.
This collaboration with DepEd is a breakthrough triumph for Globe’s cyber-wellness program which has already reached 4,962 students across the country since it was introduced in 2016.
Globe Chief Sustainability and Senior Vice President Corporate Communications Officer Yoly Crisanto said that the company is “deeply honored” to have its DTP “become an integral part” of DepEd’s K to12 curriculum delivery content.
Since DTP was launched three years ago as a free workshop, Crisanto said that it has been Globe’s mission to reach out to as many students, teachers, and parents as it can. “With the pervasiveness of the internet and the country’s move towards digitalization, the level of risks for online users also increases,” she said. “This drives us to advocate for responsible digital citizenship to encourage critical thinking and prevent online abuse,” she added.
The partnership between DepEd and Globe is a significant achievement both in the field of education and the digital community as it was made before educators, including include over 500 experts from DepEd representing the National Office, its 17 regional offices, and all 220 DepEd division offices handling values formation and curriculum delivery. Summit participants came from around the country, including representatives from the ARMM.
DepEd said that the event aims to update the participants on the status and issues related to the use of digital technologies; provide participants with learning content and tools on safe and responsible online citizenship; empower participants on how to present the learning modules; and identify the needs and ways to forward and foster digital citizenship and responsibility among DepEd personnel, teachers, students, and parents.
For its part, Globe brought its team of workshop facilitators to deliver and help cascade the DTP workshop content to the DepEd participants. Globe also collaborated with DepEd's pool of workshop facilitators to aid in the development of concrete and actionable curriculum delivery plans by the end of the five-day summit.