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RAFI Grants Smartphones to SEED Awardees
by Rich Jasper Adolfo, RAFI EDU Intern
Most of us are blessed to be living a comfortable life. But behind all that comfort, it can be hard for us to appreciate the little luxuries that not most people can enjoy.
The Seal of Excellence in Education Development or SEED is an annual evidence-based awards program of the Education Development Program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI EDU). It aims to gather and analyze relevant data as bases for strengthening, modifying, or introducing new interventions to improve the quality of public education and recognize and reward outstanding school community performance.
Jovencio N. Masong National High School (JNMNHS) located in Bogo, Cebu, was one of the awardees of the SEED 2018’s Secondary Category, where the school proposed the 21st Century Alternative Learning Mode Project. The project aims to help conduct digital modular classes to 35 students in the seventh grade, using the smart phones granted for their asynchronous online learning.
Students of JNMNHS expressed their worries on learning through online classes, brought by the unusual setting they will be adapting this school year. Fatima Tampus Andrino, one of the students, shared how she prefers the usual face-to-face learning as it was easier for her to learn. Nonetheless, she continues to look into the bright side – with the use of a smart phone, it allows her to retain communication with her teachers, especially when she encounters a hard time understanding the subject.
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Parents of the students were overjoyed that their children had been granted mobile phones for their online classes. “I’m very grateful to RAFI for supporting the needs of the students, for us parents, it’s a big help and aid in their studies.” said Miriam M. Pedrano.
Although there were some disadvantages in the new mode of teaching such as connectivity issues, teachers have made it clear that the disadvantages do not outweigh the advantages. This set up has also enabled the teachers to innovate their mode of instruction like supplemental video lessons. Overall, they were grateful for the smart phones as it gave them and the students the advantage of overcoming the new norm.
Elizabeth Bilaos, the principal of the school concluded by saying: “JNMNHS is so grateful with RAFI. With the provision of smartphones to our students, education made it easy for our learners. We are so blessed to have you, RAFI.”
The Education Development Unit of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI-EDU) helps in the formation of effective learning environments by providing high-quality, cost-effective school infrastructure and by capacitating school communities for the continuous improvement of learning outcomes.