CID ends the year with a practical INSET

SDO San Juan City conducted a five half-day training webinar to 430 teachers in the different public elementary and secondary schools along with the school heads and education officials from December 14-18, 2020 via Google Meet platform.

Day 1 focused on relevant updates on campaigns and challenges faced by teachers in a session entitled, “Kumusta ka na Kaguro sa Panahon ng Pandemya.” Ms. Myrvene Joy C. Tesorero, President of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) NCR Union, Pasig City Chapter, served as the resource person highlighting the updates on the amendment of the Magna Carta for the Public School Teachers, legislative concerns captured in the 2021 Budget, the participation of ACT in several activities such as the celebration of International Women’s Day, disaster response and psychosocial activities during the Typhoon Rolly, Ulysses, and the Taal Volcano eruption, and their upcoming plans and actions to advance teachers’ welfare.

Interestingly, the second day rendered a life coaching session sponsored by iHelp Coaching and Business Solutions, Inc. which advocates for self-development and transformation enshrined in Project TLC or Teacher as Life Coach. Ms. Mellicent S. Delos Reyes, a former classroom teacher turned coach facilitated the discussion and explained how LIFE comes to life in the context of education where L means lead, I means inspire, F is facilitate, and E is empower. Incidentally, Mr. Erwin Dela Cruz received a scholarship award worth P800.00 for his active participation.

With the continued exposure of teachers to technology, the CID invited Ms. Andrea Krsitina S. Oconer, Associate Manager/ICT Business Analyst of Ayala Foundation, Inc. to present a digital skill set for navigating Microsoft Excel. She shared helpful tips to maximize the features of this software especially in the working with tables, formulas, and functions, charts, as well as data and security. This short training-workshop is part of the partnership that Ayala Foundation, Inc. offered along with its Project <code/it>, a digital literacy program to be implemented soon at Pinaglabanan ES.

Meanwhile, as the schools slowly transition to the Learning Management System provided by the local government of San Juan City, the last two days were allotted to learning the features of Aksyon Academy and the functionality of Walloo. Mr. Allan C. Sanchez, Director for Service Delivery of 8Layertech/Comclarck. While the schools await the distribution of the gadgets and the installation of connectivity modems in the households of San Juan, teachers got to be familiar with the different tools included in the passage. Mr. Sanchez answered all the queries during the Open Forum and committed to having a technical support on standby and a brochure for Frequently Asked Questions that the learners and teachers could access in the future.

The last five days tackled the different nature of the challenges that teachers face but the CID team provided them with the technical support needed to thrive in this crucial time. It also ended on a happy note as San Juan DepEd officials shared their blessings in a form of cash and internet card loads through a raffle.

As what the OIC-Superintendent Dr. Cecille G. Carandang had said, “It may have been a tough year for everyone across the globe because of the pandemic, but we find hope in our collective effort to address the gaps and other emerging issues. Thank you for your support and in the spirit of Christmas, let us continue to spread hope to our colleagues, our learners, and parents to never lose sight of the bright future that awaits us as promised by the Almighty God.”