Tuesday, November 20, 2012

EduPower joins Abiva at the RAP National Convention 2012


With the theme K-12 and 21st Century Literacies, the Reading Association of the Philippines’ Annual Convention was held at the Century Park Hotel in Manila last November 8 to 10.  The three-day event opened with a keynote speech delivered by the Secretary of Education Bro. Armin Luistro to reading educators, teachers, and reading advocates from all over the country.

The convention focused on five related strands—(1) Early Literacy in the K-12 Curriculum; (2) Content Literacy in the First and Second Languages; (3) Technology Literacy in the K-12 Curriculum; (4) Assessment of Reading in the K-12 Curriculum; and (5) Implications of the K-12 Curriculum on Teacher Education and Development. 

As schools nationwide set in motion the implementation of a new basic education curriculum, Abiva and EduPower Publishing showed its support to the organization bringing with them the latest in technology-assisted reading and literacy programs that responds to the demands of the 21st century learning. 

Monday, October 22, 2012

NEWSMAKER ON-THE-SPOT CONTEST @ THE MIBF 2012


During the week-long run of the 33rd Manila International Book Fair, EduPower conducted a video report-making contest held within its booth.  The contest aptly titled "It is More Fun in our School" got students talking about the best things they love about their school.  

With the use of Newsmaker—a writing, speaking, and presentation software—students came up with their original written report that they read aloud and recorded just like giving a newscast. This on-the-spot contest tested the students’ creativity, originality, and collaboration skills as they worked together in writing their respective pieces and making the best recording. The spontaneity of it all brought much more challenge and extra fun as students tried to perfect their video outputs.  


In selecting the best presentation from among the 30 entries, the presentations were judged according to relevance to the theme, presentation aesthetics (such as use of animation, effects, and transition), creativity, originality, and delivery (grammar). Three winners were chosen and in recognition of their achievement, the students would receive certificates of recognition and a cash prize. 

 


At the stage area of the MIBF hall last September 16, the EduPower team presented all the students’ videos for public viewing.  Mr. Johann Paolo Garcia, EduPower's Business Development Specialist announced the three groups who emerged as winners of the NewsMaker Contest. 


 


 The winning students and their schools are as follows:
Students Names
School
Theme
Ms. Rose Anne Dimabuyu
Ms. Shaina Maniago
Ms. Samantha Rae Reyes
Holy Angel University
(High School)
Angeles City, Pampanga
“Why is it more fun in our School”
Ms. Princess Cabrera
Ms. Kristine Gorospe
Ms. Yya Sanggalang
Holy Family Academy
Angeles City, Pampanga
“FAMILIAN AKO!”
Ms. Giselle Aranilla
Ms. Lhea Villaluna
Ms. Jenny Rose Cerdeña
Polytechnic University of the Philippines (A. Mabini Campus)
Sta. Mesa, Manila
“FUNdayan ng Utak sa Pilipinas”
NewsMaker is an engaging platform where students get to practice their writing and speaking skills and improve their presentation skills; and it uses the power of immersive technology. Used appropriately and effectively in class, we believe that this software has great potential in strengthening the English communication skills of Filipino learners and contribute to global competitiveness of learners by enhancing their communicative competence and ICT skills.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Blended Learning For English Proficiency at the MIBF 2012




Technology has revolutionized education.  Learning and acquiring information has gone beyond the halls of the school, and teaching has become so much more interesting and dynamic than ever before.  The 21st century educator is slowly but surely adapting himself/herself to the learning style of the 21st century learner. With technology being a constant companion of the digital native student, the innovative teacher strives to create a blended learning environment where technology is used by students to gain knowledge and skills. 
There is an increasing interest in the use of technology in education.  But there is more to creating a blend of learning environment using technology. Just what exactly is Blended Learning and how does one get started? These are important questions that were answered last September 14 when EduPower Publishing Corporation brought to the MIBF a learning event entitled Blended Learning for English Proficiency.  
The learning session was facilitated by Mr. Jasper Vincent Alontaga, a professor at DLSU-Manila handling Educational Technology classes for both undergraduate and graduate levels.  From his presentation, Blended Learning or also called Hybrid Learning was defined as the convergence between face-to-face learning environment and computer-mediated learning environment. It is a combination of strategies and approaches in the process of teaching and learning using technology-driven instructional resources.  It was said that bringing in technology into the classroom is not to cut short teaching time for the teacher nor to fill-in a gap in the absence of things to do; several benefits of blended learning include pedagogical richness via access to new resources, increased flexibility and convenience, and differentiated instruction suited to the academic needs of learners.
from top left: Ms. Agnes Apostol, Project Director of EPC ICT4E; Mr. Jasper Alontaga, resource speaker; learning event attendees Dr. Alice Buni and Dr. Lorna Caballero of PLP with EPC Business Development Specialist Mr. Paolo Garcia
There are a number of blended learning models which educators can choose to implement. From a face-to-face driver model where teachers use online learning for supplemental instruction to an online driver model where courses are primarily online and students work remotely most of the time and face-to-face check-ins are sometimes optional and other times required.  As with any new idea, the task of blending can be daunting at first but knowing that in the convergence between the traditional and computer-mediated instruction lie the standard principles of learning theories such as discovery, constructivism, cognitivism, active learning, and interactivity. 
To get started in blended learning, educators should get to know available tools that will best complement classroom instruction. EduPower gave participants a sneak peek at its unique set of learning solutions for them to create and implement an effective blended learning experience. In building English proficiency, participants were invited to try English Discoveries Online, a blended learning solution that takes the best from both computer and classroom experiences to create a flexible, comprehensive mode of instruction that suits a wide range of learning styles and abilities.   
The learning event was held at the meeting room 3 of the SMX Convention Center.  Attendees include educators from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig, University of Makati, Colegio de Sta. Rosa-Makati, Phil. Cultural High School, San Sebastian College, La Consolacion, PNU, and Lorma Colleges among others.  EduPower commits itself to providing educators and learners with the best in print and digital learning materials. 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

33rd MIBF Opening Day

At the opening day of the 33rd Manila International Book Fair it was a busy Wednesday at the Abiva-EduPower booth at the SMX Convention Center with a constant influx of booth visitors. Book lovers, school librarians, educators from public and private schools, families, and bus loads of students all convened at the venue. They were all treated to warm smiles, sincere greetings, and fabulous gifts.

At the  EduPower booth, visitors got to experience the power of online learning technologies.  Educators and parents got a chance to see how web-based immersive learning technologies make learning more effective, engaging, and fun.  Children and students had a blast trying out Moo-o and Newsmaker--two of EduPower's award-winning interactive learning tools. 


Moo-o is an extremely fun and engaging digital storybook that motivates children to read fluently and expressively as they become one of the characters in the story they are reading. NewsMaker is an easy, affordable, and totally engaging platform where students get to practice writing, speaking, and improve presentation skills. 

Immersive technologies keep learners interested and hold their attention far longer than the usual demonstration technique; and not only does it engage the young but also the old.  Kids and adults got all hooked by the attention grabbing graphics and image capture capability of EduPower's learning solutions. 


A video report-making contest was held within the EduPower booth; with the theme "It is More Fun in our School" students got to use the Newsmaker program to tell the world why it's great to be in their school. Students had a lot of fun doing their recordings.  Participants include students from New Era University, Philippine High School for the Arts, National Christian Life College, Emilio Aguinaldo Colleges, University of Sto. Tomas, Holy Angels University, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines among others. Announcement of the winning videos would be on September 16 at 11:00 am at the stage area of the SMX hall.