The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) is the latest approach in the improvement and

closing of gaps in student academic performance of students in the Philippines. Although the

COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge in education, leading to the

suspension of face-to-face teaching (UNESCO, 2020), education in the Philippines is

unhindered. This change has been particularly challenging in university undergraduate

engineering degrees since much of the learning process is based on practical applications,

laboratory classes, and direct contact with teachers and other students. The Department of

Education, despite the pandemic, has adhered with this thrust to still continue the delivery of

Basic Education to the learners.

Traditionally, high schools have received much of the attention in the discussion of

school reform. This is possibly due to the sequential proximity that high schools have to the

world of higher education or the world of work. Universities and employers are claiming billions

of pesos in expenses to remediate high school graduates’ inadequacies upon graduation. In

economic terms, the improvement of Philippine schools would seem beneficial to our colleges

and companies.

However, costs of improvement can grow exponentially for public school systems. The

greatest single expense, and most enduring transaction made by school officials, is that of

school facilities. For the School Year 2022, the Department of Education (DepEd) had allocated

more or less P589.2-billion budget for the expenses of school facilities.

Kennedy (2003e) points out that school officials must not only deal with the students in

the prevention of misbehavior and violence, but also on the physical nature of the school

building. Along with behavior, attendance and morale play large roles in school success. Killeen,

Evans and Danko (2003) go as far as to promote the inclusion of students in facility design in

attempts to increase ownership and attendance.

 A growing body of research contributes to the belief that school facility design impacts

student achievement, behavior, attendance and teacher retention (O’Neill, 2000). The impact of

the physical environment on educators is not ignored in current research. It has been

determined that the surroundings in which people function can greatly impact moods,

satisfaction and self-worth (Ma & MacMillan, 1999).

Students Specializing in ICT in Lanao del Norte

In the Division of Lanao del Norte, there are more or less 100 students who specialized

in ICT, particulary, Animation. For Balo-I, there are 20 students who are enrolled in Animation

as a Track for TVL; Maigo National High School has 21, Lanao del Norte National

Comprehensive High School has 20, Lala National High School has 29, and Kapatagan

National High School has 10 enrollees in Animation. All of theses students are under the TVL

Track for Grade 11 and Grade 12.

In Maigo National High School, there had been problems encountered especially in the

aspect of enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulty in instruction. Same is

true with the 4 other schools mentioned due to the fact that teaching ICT in this time of

pandemic makes it more difficult for the teacher to engage students’ performance in animation

and in motivating the said students to do better in their work.

Students’ Problems and challenges in the ICT Classroom

There are numerous problems and challenges that are encountered by the students in

this time of pandemic as well. Teachers are not the only people who are greatly affected but

most importantly, the students. Out of more or less 30 students from Maigo National High

School, the proponent of this study interviewed 20 of them and then asked the questions such

as: “What are your problems in learning animation as of this school year?”, most, or 20 of the

students answered that some instructions are unclear because of their inability to acquire good
internet connectivity. Another set of students answered that in their respective homes, they do

not have a conducive workspace or proper learning environment to be able to perform well in

classes.

One of the most important aspect in learning, especially in the TVL Track is the

convenience and conduciveness of the learning environment. However, in most schools in

Lanao del Norte, there are no standardized workspace for the TVL Students to have a

conducive and convenient workspace.

Teacher Problems and challenges in Teaching ICT/ Animation

A good school facility support the educational enterprises. Research has shown that

clean air, good light and a small, quite, comfortable, and safe learning environment are

important for academic achievement (see, for example, Cotton, 2001, Schneider, 2002). School

facilities play a vital role in the actualization of educational goals and objectives by satisfying the

physical and emotional needs of the staffs and students of the school. Henceforth, school

facilities can be briefly regarded to as the items which makes teaching and learning possible in

a school. In other words, school facilities can be referred to as the human and physical

resources that are needed or used in the school in order to aid learning and teaching. by human

resources we mean the personnel’s employed in the school to ensure learning. 

While factors such as student socio-economic status and parental involvement are

among the most important predictors of student academic performance of a school building

district and state hence improving school facilities offers a feasible opportunity for improving

academic performance. This has brought with it attendant problem such as inadequate school

facilities and consequently poor academic performance on students. Okeke (2009),

acknowledged this situation, when he asserted that with expansion of secondary schools

Nigeria. The same is true in the set up of ICT Rooms in Lanao del Norte. Teachers found it hard

for them to teach wile the classroom facilities are not conducive and convenient for teaching ICT
to Senior High School Students. This had already been an existing problem since face-to-face

classes and more so when the COVID-19 pandemic had spread last School Year. The priority of

the budget goes to the health facilities and school facilities had been left out. Moreover, the

school facilities that are used in most schools handling Senior High School students who are

under the TVL Track are not conducive for learning.

Significance of Utilizing newly designed and fabricated multi-functional table

Educators in the 21st century realize that students entering the classroom today are

much different from those who have come before. Today's students are demanding a change in

the classroom because of their ability to gather information faster than any other generation. It

gives users on-demand access to the content, tools, training, information, and support they

need to create and enhance learning relevance and efficacy through both school-provided and

personal technology. Learning is acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing existing,

knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different

types of information. Flexible Learning is a set of educational philosophies and systems,

concerned with providing learners with increased choice, convenience, and personalization to

suit the learner. The physical, human and financial resources invested in schools influence not

only the education provided to students but also aspects of teachers and their teaching that are

the focus of this study.

School facilities play a vital role in the ease and convenience of teaching especially for

the 21st century learners who are under the TVL Track and especially those who are studying

Animation.

School facilities improve the quality of the study environment in the school, thus

improving the quality of education. For example, if the classroom layout considers the room’s

facilities especially the working tables for TVL Students, then the students will be able to focus
and concentrate more on their studies with teachers facing fewer distractions. The student

output will be positively affected with the convenient facilities available for the students.

Schools can also better utilize a convenient and conducive multi-functional table as it

can minimize the hazards in teaching the subject (animation) to students. This provides the

opportunity to relax outside the classroom and allows them to refresh and refocus when

returning to lessons.

The classroom lighting also affects students’ performance. Studies found natural light

helps boost their morale and motivation, with long periods in artificial lighting negatively affecting

students’ concentration.

Classroom environment systems are effective because they increase student success

by creating an orderly learning environment that enhances students' academic skills and

competencies, as well as their social and emotional development.

The teaching-learning process cannot take place in a vacuum. In formal education

settings, it occurs as a result of interaction among members of the classroom. In classroom

settings, elements of teaching-learning process include: teacher, students, content, learning

process and learning situation. The learning situation or learning environment means the

conditions in which learning take place. Each classroom has unique teaching - learning

conditions. According to Arend (2007), classes may seem similar from the distance but are

different in its procedures and the processes.

A classroom setting has two major components, namely, physical component and

human component. Physical component comprises all the physical objects present in the

classroom e.g. black board, furniture, lightings, projector, books, computers etc., whereas the

human component comprises of individuals i.e., teachers and students in the classroom. It

generally involves the nature of interaction of teachers with students and student-student as

well. This pattern of interaction generates a particular atmosphere which may be called as
learning condition/situation/environment. This aspect is also called the psycho-social

environment of the classroom. Most scholars agree that students’ academic achievement varies

with learning conditions.