DEPED Commons, the educational resources platform of the Department of Education, has served more than 9.6 million unique users nationwide, Education Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua said.

The platform ranked fourth in the overall trending Google searches and first in the most searched topic under the education category in the Philippines in 2020.

“The start was not that easy. There was lack of much-needed support and the training of teachers in the use of Open Educational Resources, which is the heart of the DepEd Commons,” Pascua said.

Though not ready for large-scale implementation, the platform was officially announced on March 17, 2020, in support of the implementation of the Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan.

“But through the Bayanihan spirit of everyone involved in the DepEd Commons, we have now reached over 9.6 million plus unique users who are diverse, coming not only from public schools but also from the Alternative Learning System, Special Education and from private schools,” Pascua said.

He lauded the teams behind the platform, including the Educational Technology Unit, Solutions Development Division, Technology Infrastructure Division, and User Support Division which are all under the Information and Communications Technology Service-Education Technology Unit headed by Director Abram Y.C. Abanil. The ICTS is under the Administration Strand led by Usec. Pascua and Assistant Secretary Salvador Malana III. DepEd Commons is part of the Public Schools of the Future Framework’s Digital Rise Program of the Administration Strand under the leadership of Education Secretary Leonor Briones.

Pascua disclosed that the department plans to expand the features of DepEd Commons, including certification of teachers, legal vetting, curation, and rating of content.

“DepEd Commons will continue to be relevant as another phase in the pandemic with vaccinations come in, as well as the talks of the resumptions of face-to-face classes in the future,” he said.

“One thing’s for sure, DepEd Commons will continue to move forward and will evolve to cater to the needs of the Filipino learners in times of pandemic, natural calamities, or even social unrest,” Pascua emphasized.

The DepEd Commons (commons.deped.gov.ph) can be accessed free of data charge in cooperation with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Telecommunications Commission, Globe, and Smart.