May 6, 2019
Teachers Learning From Google Educators
Last May 6, Google for Education in Partnership with Q Software Research Corporation hosted the Philippine Schools Learning Journey in the Google Philippines Office in the Netpark Building, Taguig City. Various teachers, school administrators, as well as business owners came to attend the said event.
The gathering's objective is to acquaint attendees what Google for Education is and help them get started with the Google for Education Program.
Ms. Aileen Apolo-de Jesus, Senior Program Manager - Google for Education APAC region, gave an overview of the Google for Education Program, anchoring on the call to Former US Secretary of Education, Richard Riley's statement, "We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet." Indeed, this statement was backed up by Google Educators who have graced the audience with their sharing of their own experience implementing G Suite and Chromebooks in their own practice.
Mr. Adrian Cruz, GEG Leader - South Manila, led the program by sharing the basics of how school go Google, its benefits, and features. He talked about how G Suite can be the tool to help teachers focus more on teaching rather than spending bulk of their time with admin work. He also mentioned how schools can get started with Chromebooks and how getting them licensed would definitely help IT heads of schools focus on policies and implementation of technology.
Best Google for Education practices in different institutions were shared by three seasoned educators. Mr. Clifford Bordaje particularly shared how using G Suite helped him engage his class and school journalism club, The Epistler, to be more productive. Ms. Mellissa Espiritu talked about her journey of using tools such as Screencastify with G Suite to reach out to her students even when she's not present in class. Mr. Angelo Armas shared his current projects in his school and how a humble public high school started its journey as a gone Google school, and eventually ushering his teachers to be Google Certified Educators as well. Their school is the first in the Philippines to have all their teachers certified for Level 1.
From the words of Ms Aileen, "technology is just a tool for educators, it is not, in itself education." This event brought together not just ordinary teachers and people, but educators with a heart and passion to reach out to the digital generation.
This event is made possible by Google for Education with QSR. You may get in touch with us to know how your school can go Google and avail of trainings and Google certifications for professional development. You may also visit our website to inquire about the Google for Education Program for schools: https://gsuite.qsr.com.ph.
We would like to thank Ms. Aileen Apolo-de Jesus, Mr. Adrian Cruz, Mr. Clifford Bordaje, Ms. Mellissa Espiritu, and Mr. Angelo Armas for gracing us with their presence. We would also want to extend our gratitude to Mr. Elbert Or of Pushpin Visuals for covering the visual communication graphics of the event. And of course, thank you to all participants who took time to join us and learn from each other as we move towards the Google revolution of schools in the Philippines.