No Holds Barred (082)

By Ike Señeres

Cable, Satellite, the Internet and Cellphones Can Deliver Distance Education with Quadruple-play Convenience

In my younger years when I was with the UP Mountaineers, I used to climb mountains “Because it’s there”. This is now the same reason why I am using technology to deliver on-air and online education to all levels, to all locations in the Philippines. I want anyone to learn anything from anywhere, using any available means. Why? Because it’s there!

In earlier columns, I talked about Harry Tambuatco who is helping us deliver on-air education via cable and satellite. I also wrote about Bycon Bulatao who is helping us deliver online education via the Internet, through the technology of video streaming to computers. This is actually internet protocol (IP) technology that we are using.

With cable, satellite and the Internet working together, we have now actually achieved triple-play capability to education programming. Soon however, we will be able to deliver online education via the cellular phone network, through the technology of video streaming to cell phones that have 3G access. With this move, we will be able to have quadruple-play capability. Students may not want to watch lessons on a small screen, but what if that is the only means available to them? Why am I using this relatively unused means of delivery? Because it’s there!

If he is alive today, Dr. Jose Rizal would be scandalized by the fact that there are about 9-million to 16-million children who are classified as Out of School Youth (OSY). By any measure, this is absolutely unacceptable, and we as a nation should be ashamed that we have allowed this to happen.

Since we are a member of the United Nations, we should realize that this very-high figure is indicative of the fact that we are too-far away from the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of achieving universal education. This is the reality that we must face, and there is no excuse to that we could think of to exonerate our guilt, considering that the technologies that are needed to solve this problem are already available and are affordable.

Why Online Education Is More Desirable

O nline education is of course the more desirable, because the Internet is more interactive, and the graphic effects are more powerful. Given a choice between on-air education and online education, I would go for the latter, but practical reasons, we should make use of any form of connectivity that is available and is more affordable.

The truth is, we have not even fully tapped the potential of cable television even if it is already available almost everywhere. Through the wide coverage of Destiny Cable in Metro Manila, we will soon be able to deliver on-air education via cable television to most parts of the metropolis, complemented by satellite television in areas that could not be reached by cable.

Because of the Social Education Network (SEN), it is now possible to meet the MDG target of universal education before the set deadline on 2015, assuming that all the players in this exercise will cooperate and move fast. After Metro Manila, we are going to extend the reach of the SEN project to the other cable areas in the provinces.

With the infra component practically spoken for, we are now working on the content side for the DEPED Channel. As assured by Mr. Paul Soriano of the DEPED, many top teachers are now ready to produce the content needed by this project. Prof. Mel Garcia of De La Salle University (DLSU) is also taking steps to tap the entire DLSU manpower base into this project.

In a recent development, the Commission for Higher Education (CHED) has also shown an interest in creating a separate CHED Channel for all four year courses. CHED Executive Director Atty. Lito Vitriolo said that the legal basis for this already exists, through the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program (ETEEAP).

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reports that our functional literacy rate is 84%, and that is generally interpreted to mean the percentage of people in the population who could read and write. That is good for bragging rights, but is no good for our people if they are not educated enough to get jobs. Newly appointed Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel Villanueva has hit the nail in aiming to increase the employable rate of TESDA graduates that is now 20%. To help TESDA, it may also be good to have a TESDA Channel. # # #

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