May 10, 2022— Committed to addressing the challenges in digital learning and education technology, the Department of Education (DepEd), through the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS), reported the milestones of its Digital Rise Program during the 2022 World Book and Copyright Day Celebration.

“We have come a long way, and we have learned a lot from the pandemic, but the greatest takeaway from this past year is that we have to be willing, flexible, and embrace technology,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones shared.

The Digital Rise Program, spearheaded by Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua through the directives of Secretary Briones, is an educational framework that anchors to the infrastructure, software, and capacity building of learners and teachers in technology.

According to the report presented by ICTS Director Abram Y.C Abanil, the Digital Rise Program has three major components. First of these components is the Digital Literacy, where the K to 12 curriculum is updated to include productivity tools like Word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations for Grade 4 to Grade 6.

Grade 7 learners will have basic programming skills subject while Grades 8 to 10 will have multimedia concepts as a subject focusing on video editing and graphics design. Lastly, vocational skills like computer servicing, technical drafting, and broadband installation are assigned to Senior High School students.

Through its second component, the ICT Assisted Teaching, DepEd aims to provide teachers with equipment, software content, and skills for their daily classroom teaching. The program also envisions providing laptops, smart TVs, and lapel speakers to each teacher and classroom.

Lastly, the ICT Assisted Learning for learners component of the program aims to grant access and adaptability through DepEd Learning Management System (DLMS) and synchronous blended learning.

In addition, the Department provided laptops and tablets to learners and teachers and the continuation of the Public Education Network through the DepEd Computerization Program.

The Department also partnered with Microsoft and Google to continuously provide software to its stakeholders. The DepEd Commons, Learning Resources Portal, and the DLMS are some of the platforms where learners and teachers can access DepEd contents like the self-learning modules, DepEd TV, and DepEd Radio episodes.

“I hope that this virtual discussion enlightened our fellow teachers and fellow education leaders in learning how else we can provide better educational experiences for the youngsters of the Philippines who need to become able 21st-century citizens,” Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio remarked.

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