Facebook launches digital literacy program for students

MANILA, Philippines — Social media giant Facebook has launched a digital literacy program for Filipinos to promote responsible digital citizenship among Filipino teachers and students in schools nationwide.

 

Clair Deevy, Facebook’s head of community affairs in Asia-Pacific, led the first digital discernment workshop on Tuesday in partnership with the Department of Education and Globe Telecom.

 

The workshop, which will be rolled out in different schools nationwide, contains topics that teach online users how to think critically online, and effectively identify credible information from questionable information. 

 

Content includes practical tips on how to verify and examine online sources and identify facts from opinions, as well as educating how online users can correctly recognize when an information is intended as a joke, done satirically or intentionally crafted as false.

 

It also includes empathy as a key value to express online with the aim of not just creating a safer and informed community but one that embraces perspectives and respects differences of opinion.

 

“Digital literacy is critical to building informed and meaningful communities. Working with partners like Globe we hope to give people in the Philippines the skills and resources they need to help contribute to a positive online experience,” said Deevy.

 

The workshop is part of Globe’s Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP) that provide students with various learning activities to enable them to maximize the use of the internet and other digital platforms.

 

“Collaborating with Facebook and DepEd to enhance our DTP is important to make sure we are putting in the right intervention to address responsible usage of the internet. By the first quarter of this year, we will determine the social impact of this program to students from Grade 7 to 12,” said Globe senior vice president for corporate communications Yoly Crisanto.

 

Globe said the program has already reached more than 17,000 public and private high school students in the country, with more than 1,800 facilitators already empowered to teach the program.

 

An impact assessment conducted on the program showed over 90 percent of the participants found the DTP relevant and helped them build confidence in their online activities.

 

DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali expressed the need to educate Filipino children on responsible internet use.

 

“The internet, undeniably, plays a very large role in the lives of our youth and students today to the extent that it seems impossible to restrain them from internet usage. What we can do about this is to teach them how to use it properly,” he said.

 

“It is our department's responsibility to educate them to wisely use the internet because this is exactly how we produce individuals who are responsible and critical enough to know the perfect time and way to consult the internet. This is how we raise well-informed and insightful citizens,” added Umali.

In addition to the workshop, Deevy also visited students at Mano Amiga Academy in Parañaque who took part in “Think Before You Share”, a five-week digital literacy program launched last year.

 

“We make it our goal to equip these communities with the necessary knowledge and skills that foster safe and respectful interactions online,” she said.

 

Unlike the digital discernment workshop, the partnership with Mano Amiga involves a longer program that uses materials aligned with DepEd’s learning competencies.

 

Mano Amiga co-founder and executive director Lynn Pinugu said the program – which involves topics on authenticating sources, plagiarism, cyberbullying and internet addiction – will be rolled out to low-income communities that the school serves.

 

“The inspiring outcome of our pilot program motivates us to continue creating programs that will provide and empower local communities with practical skills needed to thrive in today’s highly digital world,” she said.

 

“We are proud to achieve this milestone with Facebook and look forward to further collaborating with them on building education initiatives that create positive impact,” added Pinugu.