Nokia, Globe, Ayala Foundation on Text2Teach

Attended a media lunch last Wednesday to witness the donation of Nokia Philippines to the Text2Teach Project which is spearheaded by the Ayala Foundation, SouthEast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Innotech (SEAMEO-Innotech) and Globe.

Nokia Philippines handed over a sum of Php27 Million to the project for the next 3 years. The Text2Teach Project has been running for 5 years now. The system enables teachers and students to access over 900 multimedia educational materials like video, pictures, text or audio files via SMS.

With mobile phones and monthly prepaid load allowance supplied by Nokia and Globe, public schools are able to access a library of Science, English and Math videos provided by Pearson and SEAMEO-Innotech. Each video is supported by targeted lesson plans that integrate supporting exercises and activities already linked to the curriculum. Over 200 schools have participated in the project which includes public elementary schools from Quezon City, Manila, Batangas, Mindoro, Antique, Cagayan de Oro City, Maguindanao, Cotabato, and Sharif Kabunsuan.

Text2Teach
From left: SEAMEO-Innotech Center Director Dr. Linda Pefianco, Nokia Vice-President for Corporate Responsibility and Community Involvement Martin Sandelin, Ayala Foundation Co-Vice Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, and Globe President and CEO Gerardo Ablaza, Jr.

A budget of Php100,000 is needed to have one school participate in this project so that Php27M seed money may hook up 270 more elementary schools. Projects like these may seem so simple but one cannot deny the amount of money one needs to get this going especially when it comes free to all participating schools. So far, a commissioned study showed that the project has significantly affected the learning curve of the children.

This project could prove more useful when the target schools are the ones who really needs the supplemental materials. Yes, some kids don’t even have classrooms, chairs or books but you gotta start somewhere. And sometimes, hi-tech educational materials can actually make a difference.

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16 Comments

text2teach · 16 years ago

to know more about the video, visit the link below:
http://www.nokia.com/corporate-responsibility/society/educationdelivery/ed-casestudies-overview

jhay · 19 years ago

Being hi-tech is a good thing. But hey, just imagine how many classrooms can be built with P27 M?

sniper · 19 years ago

A teacher obtains the lesson in Math Science or English through the use of a mobile phone. The content is downloaded via satellite. The videos are then transferred automatically to a media processor that enables the kids to see the videos in the TV screen provided in the classroom.

viperkid · 19 years ago

Perhaps Nokia will provide a Nokia N95 (u know, it has TV-out feature) for viewing the materials. Re downloading materials, chicken lang yan sa Globe, HSDPA and/or 3G diba.. Then view downloaded files such as office documents (i.e. PPT, word et al) via a ‘multimedia computer’ N95 connected to a TV provided by Ayala Foundation LOL =)

Mikko · 19 years ago

Huh?

Viewing the materials in a mobile phone or downloading materials through mobile phone?

minor · 19 years ago

still waiting for OLPC here in our country.

BrianB · 19 years ago

This is one of those charities that maximize the marketing of corporate names but have a minimum of actual benefits.

normanski · 19 years ago

I know a little about this project but I can’t see value of the having the content delivered through fones. How are the kids gonna share/discuss/appreciate the materials if it is presented through a 2″ screen?