The Department of Education (DepEd) welcomed the recognition coming from Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance following its efforts to establish accessible learning continuity platforms amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
DepEd, on Feb. 11, was recognized as one of the Policymaker EdTech Champions at the 10th Anniversary Event and Award Show of mEducation Alliance. The Department received the award alongside the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education of Sierra Leone.
“We are humbled by this recognition as our only focus right now is to pour efforts in responding to the needs of our learners in these trying times,” Secretary Leonor Briones said.
“This award is dedicated to our teachers and personnel who bravely respond to unprecedented challenges in education due to the pandemic,” she added.
Based on the citation from mEducation Alliance, DepEd - as as response to COVID-19 related school shutdowns - “began training teachers to record lessons that would be broadcasted to students through television, radio and online platforms such as YouTube and DepEd Commons.” The DepEd, it added, also tapped local television personalities “to select, train and mentor 107 teacher-broadcasters in a span one month.”
The mEducation Alliance is an Education Technology (EdTech)-centered non-government organization focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to advance quality educational outcomes.
Aside from this recognition, the DepEd TV was one of the honorable mentions under the Crisis and Conflict Response category at the same awarding event.
Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua also welcomed the citation. He noted that the recognition of DepEd TV in the field of “Crisis and Conflict Response” is also a recognition of the excellence and dedication of those who are behind the program.
Conceptualized at the onset of the pandemic, DepEd TV has been running TV lectures in English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science, and Edukasyon sa Pagpapahalaga for learners from Kinder to Grade 10.
Since its official launch, DepEd TV has produced 130 video lectures every week to give enough coverage of all major subjects to learners who preferred the TV-based modality. The Department has also uploaded these episodes on its DepEd Commons platform and Facebook, which can be accessed free of data charge.
DepEd TV shared the top spots with the “We Are in This Together & Colors of Kindness” COVID-19 Emergency Response Consortium of Amal Alliance and the winner, Internet Free Education Resource Bank of Education Above All Foundation.