MANILA, Philippines - iPhone and iPad users at De La Salle Santiago Zobel (DLSZ) can now enjoy an interactive virtual tour of the campus and its facilities, be updated with the latest campus news, events, admission policies, and latest library book acquisitions, and even connect with the school faculty and staff, with the new iZoob application.
As the first school app in Philippine basic education and the official school application of DLSZ, iZoob (iPad version) and iZoob+ (iPhone version) were officially launched recently at the Sports Pavilion of DLSZ.
The launch was spearheaded by Vibe Technologies CEO Gaspar Vibal and DLSZ president and high school principal Br. Dennis Magbanua, FSC. They were joined by Agnes Panaligan, DLSZ HS vice principal; and Teresa Suzette Balgos, DLSZ student support and information services director and development and communication office head.
Vibal said in his speech that he was pleased that the Philippines, through the initiative of Vibal Publishing House and its technology arm, Vibe Technologies, has a drive to fulfill the different needs of Philippine education, to deliver a digital learning experience which is also available offline, and accessible even without broadband connectivity.
“With the first iteration of the Vibal digital textbooks, we are trying to push learning beyond just reading or parsing words. We want students and even teachers to learn by experiencing, by integrating rich media such as audio, video, interactive quizzes, and that’s not the end. iZoob as a school app can be the start of a whole new level of the education experience,†he said.
“In De La Salle Zobel, we are inspired by our school’s theme of creating the future we desire. We do not want the future to dictate to us what we should do in school. Instead, we influence the future by taking creative steps today in all different aspects of school life especially in information and technology,†Magbanua said.
He added: “iZoob came out of this amazing partnership between business (with a heart) and education... We partnered with Vibe Technologies Inc. to create a fully functional prototype that the rest of the Philippine basic education — school, colleges and universities — can emulate.â€
Debunking the myth that technology has the tendency to dehumanize human relationships, Magbanua affirmed that they will be implementing the project efficiently to prevent such an outcome. He even quoted David Thornburg: “If any teacher can be replaced by a computer, she deserves to be.â€
“Teachers cannot be replaced. They should never be replaced by computers. It’s so difficult. You cannot do that. But if you can be replaced, you will be replaced because you are not worth to be a teacher,†he said.
Inspired by the Harvard University app, iZoob aims to draw the basic education community closer using technology to link its members. In the long run, the project aims to create a change in Philippine education.
iZoob is part of the school’s media conglomerate; its name derived from Zoob Media consisting of DLSZ’s cable TV channel, Zoob TV; news channel Zoob News; and the DLSZ website.