THE DEPARTMENT of Education has strengthened its partnership with Globe Telecom to ensure children’s online safety, especially with online learning as the new norm.

Mervie Yap, of the DepEd in Region 12, has expressed the agency’s gratitude to Globe: “I’d like to thank this telco giant… there has been no letup in the programs and support that it provides to us. We are thankful that even back then, decades ago, when DepEd was not as advanced and aggressive in digital education, Globe has already been there helping us initiating reforms in education.”

The Digital Thumbprint Program of which the giant telco is helping is a series of workshops on digital citizenship, online safety, and the responsible use of the internet.

In 2019, Globe turned over the face-to-face version of DTP modules to the education department for integration into the K-12 curriculum.

With the push to online education, Globe modified the in-class DTP module into online modules tackled through a series of webinars under the Global Filipino Teacher Series. The webinars are streamed via Facebook Live at the Globe Bridging Communities Facebook page and DepEd official Facebook page.

In one of the webinars, a panel participant identified as Sheila Estabillo, Manager of Cyber Safe Spaces Project of PLAN International Philippines, gave her insights on online safety for children.

“Teach kids about technology at a young age. Discuss the many benefits of technology as well as the risks. Discuss the importance of respecting privacy, protecting personal information and being critical thinkers and (also) have empathy,” stressed Estabillo.

She added: “Monitor what your kids are doing on the internet. And as parents or teachers, keep learning about this technology so we can keep up.”

Globe said its webinar series covers teachers and parents.

In the teachers’ module, focus is on critical thinking which is crucial to  educators to ensure the information they use for teaching is based on facts and are properly cited with credible sources.

The parents’ module reportedly discusses responsible parenting in today’s digital world, especially amidst the pandemic which pushed children to online activities like shopping, chatting, watching news, and learning. The risks for children involve cyberbullying, video game addiction, offline meetings, and online sexual behavior.

“There should also be a careful use of hashtags as predators use hashtags to look for victims online,” said Georges Dizon of Globe Business Enablement and Training Group.

The Global Filipino Teacher Series is open to all teaching and non-teaching staff of the DepED covering the central office, regional offices, and division offices, and all public schools nationwide.