Rica Mae B. Reyes

BSEd 111A (10-11:30)

The Ati-Atihan Festival is a feast held annually in January in honor of the Santo Niño (Infant Jesus), concluding on the third Sunday, in the island and town of Kalibo, Aklan in the Philippines. The name "Ati-Atihan" means "to be like Aetas" or "make believe Ati's." Aetas were the primary settlers in the islands according to history books. They too are the earliest settlers of Panay Island where the province of Aklan is situated.

             

                        

        The festival consists of tribal dance, music, accompanied by indigenous costumes and weapons, and parade along the street. Christians, and non-Christians observe this day with religious processions.The informality of the festival is what makes it so terrific and allows everyone to participate, dance, beat on a drum or just take photos while in the middle of the tribal groups. The groups include all age groups - another wonderful aspect of the festival. Some of the most creative costumes distinct to the tribal themes are displayed by a few of the local gays. The festival includes every local group in Aklan with a unique tribal tradition, various civic or commercial organizations and individuals that create new costumes every year.

             

      As we celebrated the Kalibo Ati-atihan this 2015, we enjoyed so much. We have the “SADSAD” last January 15, 2015 and I can say that I enjoyed so much because we have fun with my classmates and my friends during the SADSAD. 

vacation activities

Rica Mae B. Reyes

Bsed 111A (10:00-11:30)

Activity #1

      Write an informative testimonial on how you celebrate Christmas season considering the following:

a. Brief Historical background of Christmas.

          Christmas is, of course, Jesus' birthday. In England Christmas was originally called Yule. The old Saxon word Yule meant mid-winter. However when the Saxons were converted to Christianity the word Yule came to mean Jesus' birthday. The word Christmas (Christ mass) was not used until the 11th century.

For most of history Christmas was just one of many festivals celebrated throughout the year. Until the 19th century Christmas was not particularly important in England.
Most of the things that make up a 'traditional' English Christmas were actually invented (or imported into England from other countries) in the 19th century. That includes Christmas trees, Christmas cards, Christmas crackers, paper decorations and, of course, Father Christmas or Santa Claus with his white beard and red costume.During the 17th century and 18th century people continued to celebrate Christmas as they had done for centuries. For centuries it was traditional to burn a Yule log in the fireplace at Christmas. In the 19th century it was also common to light a large Yule candle.
Boxing Day was originally a day when alms-boxes in churches were opened and the money was distributed to the poor. Later 'boxes' were given to servants.
        Our modern Christmas really began in the 19th century. Long before the 19th century people in England decorated their houses at Christmas with holly, ivy and mistletoe. However they also used many other plants, such as fir, yew and laurel. In the 19th century people began to use colored paper decorations.
For centuries it was common to give Christmas gifts to friends and relatives at Christmas. However hanging out stockings to be filled with presents was first recorded in parts of England in the early 19th century. It became common in the late 19th century.The first Christmas card was designed in 1843 by John Horsley. Before 1840 it would not have been feasible for ordinary people to send cards because of the cost of postage. However Rowland Hill introduced the penny post in 1840. By the 1860s Christmas cards were very popular in England.Christmas crackers were first made in 1847 by a confectioner named Tom Smith. While in Paris he saw sugar almonds sold wrapped in tissue paper and he invented the Christmas cracker. He added mottoes to the sweets (later these evolved into jokes). Smith added the 'bang' in 1860. Little gifts were also added to Christmas crackers.
          Christmas trees were used in central Europe from the Middle Ages. By the 16th century they were decorated. By the 17th century tinsel was used. Other Christmas ornaments included paper flowers, candles, barley sugar, gingerbread and wax shapes. The first trees in England appeared in England about 1800 but they did not become popular till Queen Victoria married a German, Prince Albert. In 1848 they were shown in a picture in the Illustrated London News with a Christmas tree. As a result Christmas trees became very popular in England. Christmas tree lights were invented in 1882.
           Father Christmas and Santa Claus were originally two different figures. In England Father Christmas was a man dressed in green (representing the return of Spring) who was supposed is supposed to visit families and feast with them at Christmas. (He did not bring gifts). However in the 19th century in England Father Christmas merged with the Dutch Santa Claus. He is supposed to be based on St Nicholas a Christian bishop who lived in Turkey in the 4th century AD. According to tradition St Nicholas gave generous gifts to the poor. St Nicholas had a feast day on 6 December. (In Poland Santa still brings gifts on 6 December). On that day it was traditional to give gifts or to give to charity to remember the saint's generosity.

b. Personal Experiences

                  During our Christmas vacation, we celebrated it in our house with my family. I guess I can say that I am not happy this Christmas because we celebrated it without my father. This is the first Christmas in my whole life that our family is not complete because my father was gone. So that’s it, I am wretched until the vacation ends.

c. Lessons learned

                   I learned lot of lessons during the Christmas season. Loving, forgiving and sharing are the most important things we need to do. Love them with all your heart, forgive the persons who bullying and hurting you and share to others what you have because it is better to give than to receive.  Have the self-confidence in yourself, be a stronger enough to face all the challenges that we have encounter every day and of course have faith in God all the times.

d. Unforgettable moments

                 

                  My most unforgettable moment during our Christmas is that we celebrated our Christmas with my mama, my sisters and my grandmother only. We’re 4 only in our house during that time that’s why I did not enjoyed it well unlike last year that I was so happy and excited.

Activity #2

 Based on the conceptual Models of Learning, write an article that would pay tribute to a celebration on December 30 and what influences did this bring forth to you as a Filipino and as  NVCians.

       

       As we know, we celebrated Rizal Day as Philippine national holiday commemorating the life and works of José Rizal, one of the Philippines national heroes. It is celebrated every December 30, the day of Rizal's execution at Bagumbayan, now known as Rizal Park, in 1896. 

      As a Filipino and as an NVCians, it is serves as my inspiration. Rizal contributes a lot to our country thats why we idolized him. It makes me inspired about what he done to our country in order for us to have freedom. As a student, it encourage me to  love our country and do our best if we know that we are right.

Activity #3

What memory can you create on January 1, 2015? Following the conceptual models of learning, formulate something that could generate and construct a worthy celebration for this occasion that will address this question – Who would you be come 2015?

      

      During my 2014, I faced obstacles, challenges, problems in my family and of course heart aches. Yeah it is normal to a person to suffered in this kind of problems but this 2015, I will be a stronger individual who never give up on facing my problems, have more self-confidence in all tasks, be a better and responsible daughter and have faith in God to survive all the problems that i will be encountered. 

     

   

Project in Educational Technology 2

Rica Mae Reyes BSED IIIA

(10-11:30 TTh)

INNOVATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN PHILIPPINE SETTINGS

Innovation of Educational Technology in the Philippines

I.

1.  Instead of defining ICT for education in terms of technology literacy or information literacy, the concept of “ICT capability” should be understood and considered as a definition of ICT for education.ICT capability involves technical and cognitive proficiency to access, use, develop, create, and communicate information appropriately using ICT tools. Learners demonstrate this capability by applying technology purposefully to solve problems, analyze and exchange information, develop ideas, create models, and control devices. They are discriminating in their use of information and ICT tools, and systematic in reviewing and evaluating the contribution that ICT can make to their work as it progresses. ICT capability is much broader than acquiring a set of technical competencies in software applications.

2.  Along with establishing informatics or computer education as a curricular subject, the overall school

curriculum should be assessed to identify ways in which ICT may enhance learning in both core subject

areas and electives.

3.  ICT for education encompasses low and high technologies.

4.  In an ICT-supported learning environment, teachers need to act as a guide to facilitate student-centered

learning.

5.  School leaders must communicate a vision for ICT in the school and foster an ICT culture that allows all

school staff to be regular users of ICT.

II.

Naga City’s class act

BICOL’S model city is trying its best to address its ‘weakest link’ in achieving the Millennium Development Goals: keeping schoolchildren in class to complete elementary education.

  

 THE Naga City School Board has prioritized investments in information technology like the Computer Literacy and Instructional Center for Kids (CLICK) that provided computer hardware to elementary schools. 

III.

Veritas Parochial School launches Digital Learning Program with Vibal, Acer

When the students of Veritas Parochial School (VPS) returned to school this year, they were greeted by a big, bold sign at the gate: “You are now entering the Chrome Zone, proceed with wonder and excitement.”

The Chromebook as a learning platform is something new in the Philippines, where tablets are still the device used in most schools undertaking mobile education programs.  For VPS, the Acer C720 is proving to be most ideal. It is compact, lightweight, and offers a faster, simpler, hassle-free, and secure computing experience.  Parents also approve of the Chromebook for its affordability.

  

  

IV.

Young Women & The Web: Tech Age Girls Launches in Vietnam & The Philippines

From Intel’s groundbreaking new report Women and the Web to the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month—“Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”—the call to involve more women and girls in the technology sector has never been more unified.

This makes the recent launch of IREX’s Tech Age Girls (TAG)project in the Philippines and Vietnam all the more exciting and relevant. TAG empowers a cadre of promising young women leaders to become tech-savvy agents of change in their communities.

  

  

Math Courseware for Tablet PC vies for ISIF Asia Award

The Technology Package for Student Learning Empowerment: Mathematics Courseware for Tablet PC is nominated at the ISIF Asia Award for 2013. Along with 21 other contenders in the Asian region, the courseware project will compete for AUD 3000 prize money plus a travel grant to attend the awards ceremony at a regional or global event chosen by the ISIF Asia secretariat. The said entry was entered under the Innovation on Learning and Localization category, of which the winner is to be decided by the ISIF Asia committee. Aside from the major awards, the Community Choice Award will be given to the project who will get the most number of online votes using social media campaign. All the approved nominations are listed at http://isif.asia/projects/projects/index, and the online poll is still ongoing as of press time.

The Technology Package for Student Learning Empowerment: Mathematics Courseware for Tablet PC is a project of the Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) and Advanced Science Technology (DOST-ASTI) in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd), National Institute of Science and Mathematics Education (UP-NISMED), DOST Undersecretary Fortunato T. Dela Peña, Dr. Queena Lee-Chua of Ateneo de Manila University, and Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevarra of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) which seeks to contribute to the improved delivery of educational content especially in the primary education, and consequently to the improvement of the quality of Philippine education.

The provision of grants and awards of the ISIF Asia Program  was developed to help advance local and regional projects aimed at introducing, improving, and applying Internet technology for the benefit of Asia Pacific users and communities. The ISIF Asia Award seeks to acknowledge the important contributions ICT innovators have made with creative solutions to the social and economic development of the Asia Pacific region. The ISIF Asia Awards are granted to initiatives on the last stages of implementation that have finalized activities already and are aligned with the funding categories and eligibility criteria. Innovation and development focus should be an integral part of all award nominations. The funding categories are:

• Innovation on access provision: Access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) is a prevalent issue in the Asia Pacific region, especially for services that require broadband connectivity. Innovative solutions offering low cost deployment, low power consumption and low maintenance that expanded fixed and mobile access to the internet through new forms of technical and organizational arrangements as well as improved the quality of access based on issues of accessibility, disability and linguistic diversity.
• Innovation on learning and localization: Capacity building and localization efforts have been key to develop the skills needed to design, maintain, and manage ICT infrastructure and services in local languages, supporting local talent and creating job opportunities in rural or urban marginalized areas. Innovative, open, inclusive and sustainable approaches to learning and localization are key elements to guarantee the quality of access to knowledge needed to offer reliable services and applications.
• Code for the common good: High mobile penetration in the AP region has been a catalyst in the development of mobile-based services, applications and software solutions. These solutions have been used to support timely and relevant information dissemination on a large scale using a range of network infrastructures through a variety of devices, even where literacy rates are lower. Mobile technologies have enabled communities to increase participation in political processes, coordinate efforts during emergency situations, receive extreme weather alerts, communicate with remote health services, and receive specialized patient referrals, among many other applications.
• Rights: Strategic use of Internet tools and services to promote freedom of expression, freedom of association, privacy, security, consumers’ rights, gender equality, new forms of intellectual property in the digital environment, and a wider range of issues related to the Internet and human rights.
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Project in Educational Technology 2

Project #1

Rica Mae Reyes

Educational Technology in the Philippines

La Salle Green Hills and Samsung Electronics Philipppines Corporation (SEPCO) teamed up for a massive undertaking, the likes of which have never been attempted, which will take learning into the 21st century. This joint project also encompasses numerous other partners whose roles are critical to the success of the project.

Engineer Jun Lozado gives a brief introduction to on the PEARL project and how the partnership with Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation will benefit the said project.

This project has been dubbed the PEARL project and will utilize the latest tablet devices from Samsung’s repertoire as a Personal Learning Device that is distinctly driven by digitized curriculum materials. The project is currently under its pilot phase after more than a year of planning. It is also a way for the Lasallian brothers to celebrate 100 years of providing quality education in the Philippines and to contribute in the improvement of education in the country.

During the opening statements, the attendees were reminded of a saying that it is best to teach students in the vernacular and that in our current age, the digital world is the vernacular of children. By incorporating technology instead of avoiding it, PEARL hopes to provide improve and enrich education in the Philippines. Embracing technology also allows teachers the opportunity to properly guide children in the proper and responsible use of technology.

Embodying the enthusiasm that Samsung has for the project is a prototype ‘E-board’ that you see in this photo dominating the front of the classroom, which was loaned to La Salle Green Hills for this very showcase of technology and how the PEARL project is envisioned to be.

With the E-Board, students will be able to easily make reports and presentations by simply syncing their tablets and opening the file onscreen.

Here is how the PEARL project envisions a teacher maximizing the technology provided for teaching.

Students will be able to take down notes through a notepad-type application.

Each tablet is loaded with specially-designed apps provided by a partner company to assist in the learning process.

After exams, test results can be directly emailed to the parents’ email addresses.

Currently, Samsung provided a number of Samsung Galaxy Tabs to La Salle Green Hills for the pilot phase of the project. The control group for testing out the project consists of 5th grade honor students. Each of the participating students was awarded a tablet device or ‘Personal Learning Device’ loaded with ebook counterparts of the books utilized for the school year. Participating teachers were also given tablets to allow them to grow accustomed to using the device as a teaching and learning tool.

This project is a first in the country because no other educational institution had attempted to pursue a completely digitalized curriculum before. As such the project will be broken down into five phases to slowly integrate technology into students’ school life. It will also help to alleviate the cost of implementing such an ambitious system. One such concern that was mentioned by Engineer Jun Lozado is the Wi-Fi infrastructure needed to support a school-wide wireless environment. He states that the current wireless architecture will not suffice to support the projected bandwidth needed and will need to be redesigned.

Here is a photo of the two Lasallian brothers heading the project with Mr. KC Park, CEO and President of SEPCO, with representatives from partner companies also involved with the PEARL project.

Similar to how St. John Baptist De Las Salle innovated by introducing a simultaneous instruction system, said Bro. Felipe Belleza FSC, the PEARL project is being implemented so that learning will no longer be confined to the classroom and it can be done anywhere, anytime.