THE DEPARTMENT of Education and the Global Networks Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language of Thailand recently conducted the Free International Multidisciplinary Webinar Series for Teachers to help upskill and equip Filipino educators with the integration of educational technology.

The webinar provided an avenue for teachers from various countries to connect and share teaching experiences during the pandemic.

“There are a lot of technologies today, so many gadgets which make us do so many things and achieve so many goals and projects all at the same time. We surely can multi-task. ICT will help us in the long run as we continuously provide basic education to our learners,” Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

Undersecretary for Administration Alain Pascua shared the efforts being done by the department in uplifting educational technology in the country.

“We have been innovating and implementing programs such as the use of TV, Radio, the use of different authoring tools for the development of Open Educational Resources, and the use of different Learning Management Systems. All of these education technology tools are being scaled up at a rate that has never been seen in our country and around the world,” Pascua said.

“Education is about sharing, and we are very pleased to share our learnings from implementing these various programs through the speakers that are lined up in this webinar. We also look forward to learning about your best practices so we can adopt them in our country,” he added.

The three-day webinar gathered experts and specialists from different areas of studies to equip and empower educators in their areas of specialization integrated through educational technology.

DepEd Information and Communications Technology Service Director Abram Abanil acknowledged the huge challenge to education brought about by the Covid19 pandemic.

“As many of you know the Covid19 pandemic has changed the way we live, the way we work, and the way we educate our children. We are glad to co-organize this event where teachers from all over the world can share their experiences in responding to the pandemic,” he said.

“These new ways of using technology help make the delivery of education more effective even after the pandemic. We hope that this webinar series will give you some insights and some ways you can take back to your respective classes,” Abanil added.

GENTEFL Thailand President Andy Cubalit shared that their goal is to strengthen and expand partnerships with other organizations to provide an avenue for teachers to connect, share, and learn best practices and experiences.

“Some topics include something new, something old, and something forgotten and it’s just a reminder for you. But our hope is for you to produce a strategy or technique, something fresh, unique and engaging, and helpful for your students,” Cubalit said.

The webinar set the stage for the launching of the Literary Expo. A project under the Literary Special Interest Group, its aims to hone and showcase teachers’ skills in writing poetry, short stories, as well as poetry reading, declamation, oration, and storytelling.