About eSkills

E-Learning for Out-of-School Youth

“Without proper education, the cycle of poverty from one generation to the next will remain. The marginalized youth without education are doomed to a life of desperate poverty”

Don Bosco eSkills Project is an initiative by Consuelo Foundation, Inc supported by Lucent Technologies Inc. and International Youth Foundation. The project started in 2001 which aimed to improve quality and delivery of technical/vocational training. The focus was on two main strategies: 1) curriculum development and 2) the integration of information and communication technologies as training tools.

The first 3 years of the project was focused on the development of the “theory” portion of the training curricula of the required courses and topics. During these 3 years, 30 multi-media interactive modules were developed and course wares were prepared by Center for Industrial Training and Enterprise, Cebu City.

By January 2004 the project was transferred to the Manpower Skills Training Center of Don Bosco Technical Institute of Makati. About 165 competencies based training modules for seven trade areas (Automotive, Electrical, Electronics and Computer, Machine Shop, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Civil and Construction Trade, Motorcycle Repair) were developed.

All organizations and institutions using the eSkills course wares are part of the community known as the eSkillsNet. It is an informal grouping of organizations and institutions committed to raising the level of quality and expand the reach of vocational training to target marginalized young people by using the information and communication technology as a teaching and learning tool. As of May 2005, 35 training institutions were part of the eSkillsNet.

Project Achievements

In mid 2004, Don Bosco - FIN through the Center for Research and Training of Don Bosco Technical College – Mandaluyong, submitted the project as an entry into a contest sponsored by Samsung in the “Live Your Dreams - Digital Hope Project” and garnered a reward to purchase computers for Don Bosco Training Centers to cope with the equipment demands and to cover part of the development of the 165 modules currently completed.

Other achievements include: a greater selection of skills/competencies to train on; improved quality of the training in the institutions that have integrated the courseware into their programs; greater consistency in training delivery, which is no longer dependent on the competence, expertise and disposition of the instructors; young people having greater control over what they learn and the ways in which they learn; increased enrollment in technical/vocational training institutions as some have increase the rate by as much as 150%, and marginalized youth now have greater access to training as some technical institutions have expanded their programs to their communities.

To build on these achievements, the project was expanded by the extension given by the Samsung Phase 2 on early 2005 to develop strategic hubs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to efficiently disseminate the Technology and make the modules available in the web is currently a work in progress. The website is established February of this year.

Consuelo Foundation Inc, Lucent Technologies and International Youth Foundation will expand the project this 2006 for the Phase 2 on two strategies: 1) Continue to expand the development and production of new course wares with priority in agriculture. And 2) promote the institutionalization of standards pertaining to curriculum development, teaching methodology and monitoring and evaluation of the trainees. Training will constitute the main part of the project’s activities during the 2 year expansion.

February 2006, Consuelo Foundation committed to support a Philippine expansion or the Phase 2 for the eSkills Project in modules development, training and capability building to technical vocational education and training institutions that cater to the marginalized youth in implementation of eLearning in the grassroots.

By Carmelo

eLEARNING Technology in the Philippines

The information and communication technology infrastructure in the Philippines has greatly improved in recent years and technical/vocational institutions have demonstrated a growing interest in the eLearning technology. Caltex-Unocal approved the implementation of a blended/hybrid implementation of a community based training using the eLearning in rural locations (Batangas & Albay interior communities). Also, the eSkills project is the favored technology to be utilized in the Education and Employment Initiatives (EEA) in Mindanao to be funded by Consuelo Foundation Inc, International Youth Foundation with USAID Funds.

In 2006, the collaboration with the EDO Project of Dr. Dylan Dizon under the Communications Foundation for Asia is a strategic complementation of the Don Bosco Technical eLearning Modules and the EDO Alternative Learning System modules that focus in Math, English, Science and Philippine Social Studies. The collaboration would provide a holistic offering in academics and technical requirement for the High School drop-outs.

The network of Don Bosco in terms of “utilization” of the course wares has already reached Don Bosco Training Centers in Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Solomon and Papua New Guinea. Depending on the support it can gather from funding agencies, Don Bosco is committed to spread the technology in the entire Philippine archipelago and the rest of Asia and Pacific. InWEnt a German capability building organization is also providing assistance to Don Bosco for this agenda with the eLearning Development and Implementation (eLDI) Program. InWEnt also has linked Don Bosco to its network in Africa to establish synergy in maximizing the opportunities that can be achieved by the project.

On March 2006, Don Bosco is hoping to formalize the partnership with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology to further expand the synergy and opportunities for the project in the Philippines. A “Governing Board” is hoped to be organized soon for the eSkills Project.

On the other hand, the International Training Center for Pig Husbandry (ITCPH), a training center of the Agricultural Training Institute of the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture based in Lipa, Batangas, whose mission is to be known as a Center of Excellence in practical training and information dissemination on pig technology in South East Asia and the Pacific Region has been claiming that it is the first in the Philippines to implement an on-line training course in the field of pig husbandry. The modules they are offering are: 1) Breeding & Artificial Insemination, 2) Pig Housing, 3) Pig Health and Diseases, 4) Economics, 5) Record Keeping & Analysis, 6) Feeding and 7) Farm Management. Each module costs US$30.00.

This on-line training course was launched in January 2006 and was the first in the field of agriculture. The new technology of imparting knowledge to the clientele is at its experimental stage. As of the moment, the on-line course has gotten the interests of some 345 would-be participants but it has not yet materialized in the sense that the would-be participants have submitted their application already but have not paid the course fee. The problem of paying the course fee was overlooked by the eLearning course team, thereby the release of usernames and passwords is hampered.

The success therefore of an e-Learning implementation depends not only upon how well the course was planned and designed, but also on how well the other contributing factors, like payment, are well thought-of and put into place.

By Carmelo and Solita

The 5 e’s Project

In June 2002, Consuelo Foundation and the UNOCAL Foundation launched the 5 e’s Project (Educate, Enable, Energize, Employ out-of-school youth through E-learning) that aims to improve the employment prospects of 15 to 24-year-old out-of-school youth by helping them acquire skills through technical education.

The project capacitated two training institutions, Dualtech Training Center (DTC) and the Bicol Center for Community Development (BCCD), to strengthen and improve their technical training programs and to expand their reach.

The DTC operates in Manila and Laguna province. It takes in urban and rural out-of-school youth for a 24-month Electro-Magnetic course. Most of the course’s graduates became technicians in the industry and manufacturing plants in Metro Manila and the various economic zones in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces (CALABARZON area). DTC also supplies the manpower requirements of Lufttansa Technik, an aircraft repair facility in Manila.

The BCCD on the other hand, operates in the province of Albay and it conducts technical training for rural youth geared towards employment in the informal sector and community-based enterprises. The Center has brought together local communities, government agency (e.g. Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development), non-government institutions and local entrepreneurs to bring technical training, right at the doorsteps of the out-of-school youth. It has taken in a total of 183 youth, 153 completed various courses and 98 have found already found employment.

The 5 e’s Project enabled DTC to gradually shift from the traditional mode of training to e-learning. This complemented the new strategy of DTC to take in trainees on a monthly basis instead of the traditional semestral enrollment. As of April 2005, it has trained a total of 1,492,766 who have completed the course and already found regular employment immediately after graduation.

Phase II of the 5 e’s Project aims to sustain the initial success of the project and will focus on the setting up of two community technical training centers in two areas where UNOCAL Philippines Inc. (UPI) operates. Technical training will be conducted to benefit the marginalized youth from these communities. BCCD will be tapped to capacitate the Tiwi Community College to make the technical training programs running. Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City will conduct technical training in Barangay Bitin, Bay, Laguna in collaboration with the local government units of barangay Bitin, Limao and Sta. Elena.

The project is targeting a total of one hundred fifty youth (150), seventy five (75) from each area, to enroll in the various trade courses. Employment assistance through entrepreneurship training and micro-finance support will also be provided for those graduates who will opt for self-employment. Job placement and referrals will be done for those who will seek wage employment.

By Carmelo

20 Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have

During the last 15 years, we in education have moved at light speed in the area of educational technology. Whether you are involved in higher ed, secondary ed, elementary ed, or special ed, all of us find it difficult to catch up, keep up, and put up with fast-moving computer-based technology. Not since the introduction of the blackboard have we seen a piece of equipment make such a difference in how we teach. Today, not only do we use computers, but we also have laptops, wireless laptops, and tablet PCs. In addition, we have the World Wide Web, scanners, CD burners, USB drives, digital cameras and digital video cameras, PDAs, as well as video and DVD players. And most educators use a variety of tools-including video, e-mail, desktop conferencing, online programs such as WebCT and Blackboard, as well as video conferencing-to teach. Thus, it is no longer acceptable for educators to be technology illiterate.

With that in mind, here is a comprehensive listing of the technology skills that every educator should have. Because as computer and associated technologies continue to change and evolve, educators must continue to strive for excellence in their work. Today that includes continued time and effort to maintain and improve their technology skills (as much as some educators do not want to admit).

Here are 20 basic technology skills that all educators should now have:

- Word Processing Skills
- Spreadsheets Skills
- Database Skills
- Electronic Presentation Skills
- Web Navigation Skills
- Web Site Design Skills
- E-Mail Management Skills
- Digital Cameras
- Computer Network Knowledge Applicable to your School System
- File Management & Windows Explorer Skills
- Downloading Software From the Web (Knowledge including eBooks)
- Installing Computer Software onto a Computer System
- WebCT or Blackboard Teaching Skills
- Videoconferencing skills
- Computer-Related Storage Devices (Knowledge: disks, CDs, USB drives, zip disks, DVDs, etc.)
- Scanner Knowledge
- Knowledge of PDAs
- Deep Web Knowledge
- Educational Copyright Knowledge
- Computer Security Knowledge

By Laura Turner (sent in by Maria Rosa)