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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'School in a bag' given to multigrade schools to support DepEd's distance learning modality

'School in a bag' given to multigrade schools to support DepEd's distance learning modality

Published Oct 29, 2021 05:27 pm

In order to support multigrade schools which are commonly located in isolated and sparsely populated areas, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) for the “School in a Bag” project.

'School in a bag' handover ceremony at the Cahicsan Elementary School in Mondragon. (UNICEF)

Along with Fundación Educación y Cooperación (Educo) and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), the “School in a Bag” -- which is a portable digital classroom package --- were turned over to 50 multigrade schools in Northern Samar and Samar.

The project aims to support DepEd's distance learning modality in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

“School in a Bag” includes a laptop and Smart LTE Pocket WiFi for teachers and 10 tablets for students, educational apps in local languages, teachers guides, USB and flash drives among other technological gadgets.

Multigrade schools refer to those that are located in isolated, underserved, and sparsely populated areas. They serve as an important means to ensure access to good quality education in remote communities.

This distribution is part of DepEd, UNICEF and Educo’s programme, “COVID-19 Recovery Programme for Children in Multigrade Schools in the Philippines” to improve access to education.

UNICEF complements this with capacity building in multigrade teaching, mentoring, and supervision as well as advocacy for parents and communities.

The technology-based learning package is preloaded with digital educational materials to make learning more engaging, such as gamified Learning Activity Sheets (LAS) and #Learn Smart apps for mother-tongue-based literacy and numeracy learning.

Students are expected to bring home the tablets pre-installed with learning materials to supplement their learning activities.

Meanwhile, teachers are expected to use the laptops to download digital learning materials and engage in online professional development training including the use of Learning Action Cell (LAC) session guides produced by DepEd with UNICEF’s support.

Together with 50 schools that received the Bag in May 2019, a total of 100 multigrade schools in Northern Samar and Samar are now equipped with this digital learning package.

The UNICEF has been supporting schools in Northern Samar and Samar to help improve children’s learning in multigrade education.

More than 5,000 students and 300 teachers from 100 multigrade schools as well as 140 parents and community stakeholders in Northern Samar and Samar have benefited from the UNICEF initiative since 2017.

“We hope that the School in a Bag will support the DepEd’s distance learning modality and motivate students to keep learning despite a challenging context brought by the pandemic,” UNICEF Deputy Representative Behzad Noubary said.

Related Tags

UNICEF deped education covid-19 schools school in a bag Smart
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