Narrative Report

As a requirement in our Educ 302 (Ecology of Educational Administration), I participated

on the 48th National & 9th International PAFTE Convention with the theme “The Rise of
Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Professional Teachers and Teacher Educators, last
October 17-19, 2019, at Grand Men Seng Hotel, Davao City.
I. Introduction
PAFTE is a network of caring and competent teacher educators and is a prime
mover for quality teacher education. It is a learning community of teachers-leaders
engaged in continuing education, innovations and scholarly works. It is an advocate of
the teaching profession and a prime mover for national development. Last October 17-
19, 2019, the Philippines Association for Teachers and Educators (PAFTE) held its 48th
National & 9th International PAFTE Convention with the theme “The Rise of Artificial
Intelligence: Implications for Professional Teachers and Teacher Educator at Grand Men
Seng Hotel, Davao City. Artificial intelligence AI) is wide-ranging branch of computer
science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks the typically
require human intelligence. AI is an interdisciplinary science with multiple approaches,
but advancements in machine learning and deep learning are creating a paradigm shift
in virtually every sector of the tech industry. The seminar was led by Dr. Brenda B.
Corpuz, the President of PAFTE National and with the different speakers. And they are:
Rev. Fr. Glenn Paul M. Gomez, Dr. Jessie PNG, Ms. Rhodora Angela F. Ferrer, Rev. Fr.
Rey S. Retardo, Rector, Ronaldo A. Motilla, and Lyra Gomez.

II. Narration of Events:

DAY 1 – October 17, 2019 (Thursday)
I arrived in Grand Men Seng Hotel at 12:30 in the afternoon. I registered my name
first in the Registration Area for the attendance. The convention started at exactly 1:00
in the afternoon with singing of national anthem, followed by a prayer, Davao Hymn and
PAFTE Hymn. Then, participants were introduced by Dr. Milagros L. Borabo and welcomed
by Hon. Pilar C. Braga. After that, Dr. Maricar R. Casquejo gave her message for us and
she also shared short insights about artificial intelligence. The introduction of the keynote
speaker and setting of direction was given by Dr. Brenda B. Corpuz. Hon. Perfect A. Alibin
was the keynote speaker, and he delivered his speech well. Then, Rev. Fr. Glenn Paul M
Gomez discussed about the artificial intelligence from the perspective of a psychologist.
He gave a lot of jokes to motivate the crowd. That is why all of the audience were focused
on what he was saying. Most of his jokes had a meaning that gave a great impact to
everyone. The last lecturer was Dr. Ronaldo A. Motilla and he discussed about beauty
and wellness. The topic was very interesting especially to women. There were questions
in my mind that I want to know in this topic, like, can be there any relationship between
beauty and well-being and how does beauty impact our overall health? Then I have
learned that beauty wellness is more than a trend, it’s a health issue, mine and theirs.
Moreover, the last part of the program for the 1st day was the raffle draw led by Dr. Hilda
C. Montano. Unluckily, I didn’t get any prize.

DAY 2- Oct. 18, 2019 (Friday)

On the second day, the program started with a eucharistic celebration among with
our Christian co-participants led by Rev. Romulo G. Valles. It was followed by a lecture
“The Rise of Artificial Intelligence” and was discussed by Dr. Jessie PNG. She told us that
advances in modern computing technologies have created an explosion of major
breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The concept of super intelligent
artificial beings can be originally traced back to antiquity, but has recently become a
leading topic of discussion in public dialogue and mainstream media as AI technologies
become increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. Popular shows, such
as Westworld and Black Mirror, explore the ideas of consciousness in machines
juxtaposed with human consciousness, and are often set in a grim and apocalyptic future.
The existential threat of artificial super intelligence has become a popular topic of debate,
with public figures such as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and Elon Musk warning against
the dangers of creating super intelligent AI systems. It was then followed by Ms. Lyra
Gomez wherein she discussed about Developing Smart Brains through Mind Mapping.
According to her the big influence of AI in many sectors and industries is noticed more
and more each day as it becomes almost natural for business to adopt AI technology in
diverse forms if they want to experience a significant progress. Thus, AI has already
influenced different industries. To begin with the creation of advanced systems and self-
driving cars to chatbots, AI is continually transforming how we live and how businesses
operate. After that, we had a Research Presentation and then ate our lunch after. There
were also other lecturers in the afternoon. Before we went home we had our raffles.

DAY 3- Oct. 1, 2019 (Saturday)

At exactly 8:00 in the morning, the first speaker started her lecture about PRC
Iniatives:Career Progression. Dr. Rosita L. Navarro was the lecturer. I was late for this
session that’s why I was not be able to hear about it. I came around 9:00 in the morning
where Dr. Paz I. Lucido and Dr. Paraluman R. Giron were giving updates about the latest
issues in PRC. They also have mentioned that the convention has a 15 CPD units which
is an advantage for us. As for myself, I can use it when I’ll be renewing my license. Then,
Dr. Evelyn R. Fetalvero also gave an update about DepEd. She shared to the participants
about its latest issues, plans and developments that teachers could get benefits from it.
After the giving of updates, where Dr. Rita May P. Tagalog also gave an update about
TEC, we had a paper presentation. Then we had a sumptuous lunch. In the afternoon,
we started at 1:00 wherein Ma. Rhodora M. Santos discussed about clarifying
misconceptions about artificial intelligence. She had mention that many individuals have
confused Artifial Intellegence with automation, sometimes going as far as using the two
terms interchangeably. The reality is, while the general concept may be similar, the two
are distinctly different. Furthermore, this confusion has led to a number of other myths
and misconceptions. Afterwards, the PAFTE Officers, Board of Directors such as Dr.
Brenda B. Corpuz, Dr. Imelda E. Cuartel, Dr. Mercedes A Macarandang and Dr. Romeo
M. Daligdig had their reports about PAFTE’s new developments, new plans and next target
plan, and new proposed amendments. They also have mentioned the objectives of the
organization such as, to promote and maintain unity, professionalism and excellence
among teacher educators, teacher education institutions and professional teachers; and
to raise and maintain standards of teacher education and enhance the nobility of the
teaching profession through effective leadership and enlightened fellowship. Then,
impressions were given by some of the participants while the evaluation was given by Dr.
Melchor S. Julianes. It was followed by a closing prayer led by Mercidita R. Japay and
singing f PAFTE Hymn. And the last part was the raffle draw and the giving of prizes
where everybody were so excited to get their prizes.

III. OBSERVATIONS/PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

Problems are inevitable of every activity conducted. It enables us to see what to
improve in order for a program to become successful. During our convention, we have
encountered few problems such as, a: there were no available seats for the late comers
during the first day, b: the committee for the accommodation of participants did not
prioritize the early registrants, c: they did not controlled the number of late registrants
which resulted to exceed the expected number of participants, d: there were lack of foods
during the second day, many were not served for their lunch and lastly, there were too
many participants that tends to be overcrowded, that’s why participants at the back could
not hear well the lecturers or speakers.
However, during the proper lecture, most of our speakers have enough knowledge
about the topic he or she is discussing. It was enriched with powerpoint presentation and
discussions. The session was interactive and participatory to enhance learning. We were
be able to hear some of the experiences of some of the speakers that they have shared
and be able to reflect it to our real life. There were also raffles and prizes for the
participants which we really enjoyed. I also observed that many of the participants were
interested to the topics being discussed and many participated with the speaker while
listening enough to learn.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS
First, I suggest that they provide handouts for all the participants of the convention
so that the participants will have notes to compile and use it while the discussions goes
on so that they don’t need to copy instead they will focus on listening to the speaker.
Second, the committee for the accommodation of participants should limit or control the
number of participants, the lesser the better. Or, if they allow large number of
participants, they should provide better audio speakers at the back so that everybody can
hear the lecturers. Lastly, they should give more priority (in terms of seats and foods) for
the early registrants than for the late registrants.