UPOU Conducts Training of Master Trainers for the PLDT

Infoteach Outreach Program

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) trained a new set of master trainers for
the Phase 4 of the implementation of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Infoteach
Outreach program on 9-10 January 2017 at the UPOU Oblation Hall in Los Baños, Laguna. The 20
master trainers are Division Information and Communication Technology (ICT) coordinators and
selected public school teachers from the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Divisions in
Rizal, Cavite Province, Cavite City, Ilocos Norte, Laoag City, Cebu Province, Mandaue City,
Santiago City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Davao City.
The participants were oriented on the format and logistics of the infoteach outreach program and
their roles as master trainer. They were also trained on how to use and teach the module. The
training was conducted using blended mode approach to allow participants to experience online
learning.
Topics that were discussed during the two day training were Microsoft Productivity Tools and the
Open Source Equivalents; Internet Productivity and Collaboration Tools; Green IT, Responsible Use
of Social Media, Multimedia Literacy, Effective Communication Skills, and Global Citizenship. The
training participants were also introduced to Basecamp, an online project management platform that
the project will use to facilitate collaboration and monitoring of project activities. Lectures were given
by Chancellor Melinda dP. Bandalaria, Asst. Prof. Roberto B. Figueroa and Asst. Prof. Myra c.
Almodiel.
The online learning component required the participants to submit their training outputs through the
Basecamp and share these materials with fellow participants as Open Educational Resources
(OERs). The exercise was also envisioned to enable the participants to be familiar with the
collaboration and monitoring platform. The online component of the training was implemented from
11-13 January.
The Infoteach Outreach Program is a collaborative undertaking of UPOU, PLDT, Technical
Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA) and DepEd to enable the teachers and
students acquire the digital skills for the 21st century teaching, learning and working. The program
was further improved to make the training curriculum responsive to the external dynamics that
impact on education. This 4th phase of Infoteach Outreach Program will capitalize on the digital
skills of the participants and focus on the digital productivity tools, being responsible global citizens,
and anchoring them to lifelong learning opportunities. (Eleanor Payawal-Manipol)