THE DEPARTMENT of Education partnered with Microsoft Philippines and CloudSwyft Global Systems, Inc. for the launch of its Computerization Program Virtual Labs.

“The Department is always open to technology advancements and digitalization. We aim to contribute and advance to the digital reform in the education sector,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

Virtual labs technology allows Senior High Schools to deliver a broad range of advanced software applications with very high speed and performance on their own devices (be they laptops, tablets, or mobile devices) – anytime, anywhere – regardless of the cost of the device being used.

This will give students access to an engaging learning environment.

DepEd’s Information and Communications Technology Service Director Abram Abanil said the virtual labs will allow the use of heavy-graphics applications such as Adobe creative applications or Autodesk software tools used by the learners for class activities and outputs. Teachers can utilize these applications in the development of online education materials to support the different learning modalities of the agency.

CloudSwyft, the global leader in virtual lab solutions for the education sector, partnered with Microsoft to deploy the solution, powered by industry-leading cloud infrastructure, Microsoft Azure, to ensure agility, security, and scalability.

“Our partnership with Microsoft has brought us so many projects such as driving digital literacy, skilling, enhancing accessibility to technology, and much more that our learners and teachers can utilize to advance digital education in our country. We are grateful for this partnership and the opportunity to work with CloudSwyft, and we hope to launch more projects soon,” DepEd Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua said.

CloudSwyft and Microsoft created over 4,200 virtual labs for SHS students, teachers and office employees. The tech companies launched these initial virtual labs across the DepEd pilot schools, including DepEd Bagong Silang High School, Las Piñas City National Science High School, and Las Piñas City National High School.

“While we are a global company and work to provide our proprietary virtual labs solution at scale to leading education customers and governments across all major continents, we are proudly based in the Philippines and privileged to serve our fellow Filipinos and to contribute to a more equal and advanced learning environment for all SHS students,” Dann Angelo De Guzman, CEO of CloudSwyft, said.

“As we continue to face the realities of this ongoing pandemic, much has changed, and we have plenty to be optimistic about as we all move forward towards rebuilding our way of life. Hybrid is the next normal for all Filipinos. Technology adoption across industries needs to be scaled and accelerated to support the nation’s workers and students,” Joanna Velez Rodriguez, Public Sector Director of Microsoft Philippines, said.