MANILA, Philippines - Bearing in mind the importance of a strong technology backbone in education, Globe brings to Davao its Global Filipino Teachers (GFT) program, an intensive 54-hour, six-day teacher training program that focuses on the proper use of ICT applications for school-centered classroom activities. GFT is being conducted by Globe Bridging Communities (Globe BridgeCom) in partnership with the Coalition for Better Education (CBE) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
With the success that GFT achieved in Central Visayas where it was piloted in 2009, Globe deemed it relevant to replicate the program in other parts of the country. Already, Globe has launched GFT in North and South Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao.
For Region 11, there are 25 teacher-participants from 18 public high schools, namely: (Compostela Valley Schools Division) Bongabong NHS, Camanlangan NHS, Atty. Orlando S. Rimando NHS (formerly Maco NHS), Montevista NHS-DNAS Campus, Pantukan NHS, Siocon NHS; (Panabo City Schools Division) Antonio O. Floirendo NHS, Don Manuel A. Javellana MNHS, Manay NHS, Panabo NHS, Quezon HS, San Vicente NHS, Sindaton NHS, Southern Davao NHS; (Tagum City Schools Division) Jose Tuason Jr. MNHS, Pipisan Maug NHS, Tagum City NHS; (Davao Oriental Schools Division) Baganga NHS.
“Globe understands that in this modern society, technology is already an essential aspect of education but it is not enough to simply provide schools with the equipment. With GFT, we are transforming computers and the internet from just being desktop sources of information into instruments of interactive teaching and online collaboration,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe head for corporate communications.
GFT is geared towards helping teachers apply ICT in project-based Learning Approaches (PBL) where the core subject areas such as Math, Science, English, and HeKaSi (Heyograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika) and inter-disciplinary themes are embedded across curriculum. It demonstrates how ICT can provide teachers and students with more accurate and quicker access to information, tools for easier and faster learning, and a chance to collaborate with the rest of the world. It was proven that by using ICT, there is increased teacher motivation and improved student memory retention and comprehension of various subjects.