Lenovo held the inaugural virtual EdVision Summit to facilitate a platform for educators to share their experiences and best practices in education transformation under the new normal, brought in close collaboration with Microsoft and powered by Intel vPro. As part of Lenovo’s ongoing commitment to education in the Philippines, the Summit allows educators to exchange ideas and learn how to better prepare students to excel in the digitalized world with the latest teaching technology solutions and services, enabling flexibility and agility.

Lenovo first launched the EdVision program in 2020 to empower educators with smarter technology, deliver innovative education solutions, and provide best-in-class devices and services for e-learning. With the EdVision Summit, Lenovo has collaborated with like-minded industry leaders and key members of the education sector across different markets to help educators understand how to implement new models of teaching, learning, and collaboration, while still managing cost, efficiency, and security.

Education is going to be a priority for 2021, as the sector continues to receive the largest portion of the FY 2021 national budget, with 16.7% allocation equivalent to PhP751.7 billion. Prioritizing the adoption of flexible and blended learning, the government stated that it is implementing programs that focus on the development, reproduction, and delivery of learning resources and procurement of multimedia packages for public schools.

“Technology plays a crucial role in education continuity during this challenging period, and it is inevitable that digitalization would only advance from here. By creating a platform of discussion about education technology, we were able to learn insights from educators and further the discourse that would help them cope with the radical transition to digital and prepare for the future of education,” said Michael Ngan, Lenovo Philippines president and general manager.

The virtual Summit featured presentations, product demos, and panel discussions by eminent thought leaders in edtech, together with breakout sessions carefully tailored to the individual needs of each market. The Summit covered a wide range of topics, including the top 10 predictions in education for 2021, ensuring teaching continuity using today’s technology, and shifts in classroom education with the new norms of personalized teaching, presented by experts from Lenovo, market intelligence firm IDC, Intel, and Microsoft. Education specialists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines also participated in a break-out panel discussion to discuss the evolving needs of blended learning and digitalization of education beyond COVID-19.

“When schools were forced to continue the school year through digital platforms because of the pandemic, most of them struggled in devising a new academic model. As this was an abrupt transition, adopting the right digital tools for an online classroom was difficult for teachers and students. So, schools were really looking for help from the tech industry for them to smoothly transition to the new learning environment. They were interested in partnering with us and Microsoft, through the EdVision program, not only to be able to deliver a better quality of education during the shift, but also to open opportunities for digital transformation. 

Since we launched the program in June last year, a total of 112 schools are now registered, with a combined total of 73 teachers receiving the benefits of the program,” Mr. Ngan continued.

The program was able to bridge the gap in making education accessible to as many Filipino students as possible and to teachers to have free access online during the pandemic.

“The EdVision program has already helped bring online education to thousands of students since its launch in June last year. Through the program, we were able to deploy Lenovo devices to both teachers and students that they can use for hybrid learning during the pandemic. The program is still in its first year, but pandemic or not, we plan on making digital education accessible to more students through collaborating with schools and offering them the tech tools they need.

The teachers gain free access to online resources via webinars that will help them throughout their educational transformation journey by improving their skills in teaching through digital platforms,” added Mr. Ngan.

To help address the challenging implementation of blended learning, the program provides robust hardware, software, and services and drives widespread adoption of technology in the sector. It also offers enablement workshops for educators to equip them with the right skills and knowledge in administering online learning.

“The EdVision program has specialized benefits for teachers. They may receive a leadership skill training workshop, and other perks should they qualify in the Teacher Ambassador Program. This is aimed at empowering them more to become well-versed in digital technology and well-equipped to teach these critical skills as well. These benefits, however, depend on the partnership of the school with Lenovo as we have three tiers: platinum, gold, and silver. You may check out the different benefit packages of each one for teachers, students, and schools here.

The EdVision program includes the Student Ambassador Program, where qualified students will be given a leadership skill training workshop. They may also participate in technical workshops by Lenovo and partners and apply for the Student Apprenticeship Program where the students can render 100 hours of on-the-job training as well as register for leadership programs facilitated by Lenovo and Microsoft,” explained Mr. Ngan.