ITE FINAL TERM | WEEK 13
VIGNETTE
Apple Trade Secrets Revealed?
Nicholas Ciarelli, an ardent supporter of Apple, has run the
company's website (www.thinksecret.com) since he was 13 years old.
He is currently a Harvard student and serves as the paper's editor.
Ciarelli, whose website disseminates news and rumors about Apple,
angered the company by announcing the advent of a new Mac mini for
$499 and the iLife software bundle two weeks before they were
formally shown at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San
Francisco.
Apple, which is renowned for keeping its business strategies
and products very under wraps, responded to the illegal release as an
assault on its priceless trade secrets. Its lawyers launched a lawsuit,
alleging that Ciarelli's requested information regarding items that
hadn't yet been introduced. from those who gave Apple information in
violation of their confidentiality agreements by disclosing information
that was later made public online.
According to Ciarelli's comment, "I use the same legal news
gathering techniques as any other journalist." I talk to sources, look into
tips, follow up on leads, and confirm information. I think these methods
are evident in Think Secret's track record.
On the one hand, some contend that the Uniform Trade
Secrets Act bars disclosure of information obtained from those subject
to nondisclosure agreements by third parties; on the other hand, many
contend that Ciarelli's actions were protected under the First
Amendment and that Apple should have concentrated on finding and
disciplining the employees who leaked the information.
Intellectual Property
A piece of art, a book, a movie, a formula, an invention,
some music, a procedure, etc. that is unique and "owned" or produced
by a single individual or group is referred to as intellectual property.
Music, literature, movies, and other created works are all
protected by copyright laws. Patent laws safeguard successful
inventions. Combining copyright, patent, and trade secret laws creates
a complicated body of law that deals with intellectual property rights.
For example, some inventors argued that copyrights, patents, and trade
secrets hinder creation by making it more difficult to expand on the
ideas of others. Such regulations can also raise possible ethical
difficulties for IT firms and consumers.
It is difficult to define and regulate the correct amount of
access to intellectual property.
Copyrights
The creators of "original l works of authorship in any
tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from"
are granted copyright and patent protection, which states that the
government shall have the authority "to promote the Progress Science
and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors
the exclusive Rights to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
which individuals have the only right to perceive, reproduce, or
otherwise convey, whether directly or with the use of a computer or
mechanism. share it, show it out, perform it, or copy it. in duplicate. the
creation of derivative works.
Term of Protection
1. The copyright in works shall be protected during the life of the
author and for fifty (50 years after his death. This rule also applies
to posthumous works.
2. In case of works of joint authorship, the economic rights shall be
protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty
(50) years after his death.
3. In case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the copyright
shall be protected for fifty (50) years from the date on which the
work was first lawfully published: Provided, That where, before
the expiration of the said period, the author's identity is revealed
or is no longer in doubt, the provisions of above guidelines shall
apply, as the case may be: Provided, further, That such works if
not published before shall be protected for fifty (50) years
counted from the making of the work. (
4. In case of works of applied art the protection shall be for a period
of twenty-five (25) years from the date of making.
5. In case of photographic works, the protection shall be for fifty
(50) years from publication of the work and, if unpublished, fifty
(50) years from the making.
In case of audio-visual works including those produced by process
analogous to photography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings, the term shall be fifty (50) years from date of publication
and, if unpublished, from the date of making.
Protection for Performers, Producers and Broadcasting
Organizations
(1.) The rights granted to performers and producers of sound
recordings under this law shall expire:
(a) For performances not incorporated in recordings, fifty (50) years
from the end of the year in which the performance took place;
and
(b) For sound or image and sound recordings and for performances
incorporated therein, fifty (50) years from the end of the year in
which the recording took place.
In case of broadcasts, the term shall be twenty (20) years from the date
the broadcast took place. The extended term shall be applied only to
old works with subsisting protection under the prior law.
Software Copyright Protection
Computer software copyright utilization brings up
challenging concerns of interpretation. For instance, a software
developer may study the functionality of a copyrighted program made
by a rival and then produce a similar application that achieves the same
goals and functions. The copyright holders must demonstrate an
uncanny similarity between their program and the new software that
can only be explained by copying in order to establish infringement. If
the new software can prove that, there is no violation, though. For
instance, two software developers may theoretically create two distinct
versions for a straightforward game like tic-tac-toe without violating
the copyright of the other
Patents
A patent is a property right granted to innovators. A patent
enables its owner to prohibit anyone from creating, using, or selling a
protected invention and provides legal action against anybody found to
have violated the patent's terms. A patent, as opposed to a copyright,
forbids independent production in addition to copying. The second
inventor is prohibited from utilizing the protected innovation without
the consent of the original patent holder, even if they independently
create the identical thing without being aware of the first inventor's
creation.
Prior art is the existing body of knowledge that is available to a person
of ordinary skill in the art.
An invention must pass the following four tests to be eligible for a
patent:
 It must fall into one of five statutory classes of items that can be
patented: processes, machines, manufactures (such as objects
need by humans or machines), compositions of matter (such as
chemical compounds), and new uses in any of the previous four
classes.
 It must be useful.
 It must be novel.
 It must not be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the
same field.
The Court has ruled that three classes of items cannot patented: abstract
ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena. Mathematical subject
matter, standing alone, is also not entitled to patent protection. Thus,
Pythagoras could not have patented his formula for the length of the
hypotenuse of a right triangle (c² = a²+ b²).
When someone uses another person's patent without authorization, this
is called a patent infringement. There is no set cap on the financial
punishment for patent infringement, unlike copyright infringement. In
fact, if a court finds that the infringement was done on purpose, it has
the power to double the amount of damages sought by the patent
owners by up to three times. A counterattack on the allegations of
infringement and the legality of the patent itself is the most typical
defense against patent infringement. The plaintiff must still
demonstrate each aspect of at least one claim and that the infringement
resulted in harm, even if the patent is legitimate.
Software Patents
The creators of "original l works of authorship in any
tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from"
are granted copyright and patent protection, which states that the
government shall have the authority "to promote the Progress Science
and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors
the exclusive Rights to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
which individuals have the only right to perceive, reproduce, or
otherwise convey, whether directly or with the use of a computer or
mechanism. share it, show it out, perform it, or copy it. in duplicate. the
creation of derivative works.
Submarine Patents and Patent Farming
A definition or format that has been adopted as a de facto
standard by the industry or that has received the approval of a reputable
standards body is referred to as a standard. Operating systems, data
formats, communication protocols, and electrical interfaces all have
standards. Because they allow hardware and software from many
manufacturers to function together, standards are incredibly helpful.
A patented technology, method, or idea may unintentionally
or intentionally be included into a standard. If this is the case, the patent
holder may demand a fee from any party who implements the standard
or may refuse to grant particular parties permission to utilize the patent,
preventing them from utilizing the standard in practice. A submarine
patent is one that is concealed within a standard and doesn't come to
light until the standard is widely used. A cunning patent owner may
persuade a standards group to utilize a patented product without
disclosing the patent's existence. The patent holder may eventually seek
payments from each party using the standard. Patent farming is the term
for this tactic.
Patent No. 5,838,906, which is owned by the University of
California and licensed exclusively to a tiny software business called
Eolas Technologies, could be an example of a submarine patent. The
patent explains how a web browser may use outside programs. The
owner of the patent sued Microsoft for using the idea after concealing
it for years. After a federal jury determined that Microsoft's Internet
Explorer browser violated the patent, the university and Eolas were
given a $520 million award in August 2003. In response to a request
from the well-known Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide
Web and head of the World Wide Web Consortium, the patent office
started an examination of the patent in November 2003. He maintained
that the existence of prior art—previous uses of the technology—
should render the 1998 patent null and void. A federal judge affirmed
the initial ruling in January 2004, ordering Microsoft to pay $520
million because Internet Explorer violated the patent. Microsoft's plea
for a new trial was denied by the court, and to make matters worse, she
also mandated the payment of more than $45 million in interest.
Trade Secret Laws
A trade secret is a piece of commercial information that has been
kept secretive, has some element of originality or uniqueness, has
secretly taken work or expense to acquire, and represents something of
economic worth. Information, such as a formula, pattern, compilation,
program, device, technique, method, or procedure, that:
 Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from
not being generally known to, and not being readily
ascertainable by, persons who can obtain economic value from
its disclosure or use.
 Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the
circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
Only when businesses take precautions to secure information is it
deemed a trade secret. Identification of all the information that has to
be protected—including secret company strategies, market research,
and patent applications—is the first step in designing a trade secret
protection strategy.
Employees pose the biggest threat to the company's trade
secrets since they might unintentionally leak them or steal them to
benefit financially. Employees must be informed by their employers of
the value of protecting company information confidentiality.
Information that is considered to be trade secret should be clearly
marked as private and should only be available to a select group of
persons. When it comes to business information nondisclosure, the
majority of firms have rigorous standards.
Organizations frequently try to prevent workers from disclosing secrets
by including nondisclosure terms in employment contracts because
they run the risk of losing trade secrets when important employees go.
Having an experienced member of the human resources
department conduct exit interviews with each departing employee is
another approach for protecting trade secrets. Reviewing a checklist
that addresses confidentiality concerns is an important part in the
interview process. The leaving employee is required to sign an
acceptance of responsibility not to disclose any trade secrets after the
interview.
Noncompete clauses are another tool that workers may use
to prevent competitors from using their intellectual property when
important employees go. For a certain amount of time, sometimes one
to two years, such agreements
LEGAL OVERVIEW
The Battle Over Customer Lists
In sectors where businesses compete for many of the same
customers, losing consumer information to rivals is an increasing
worry. There are several instances of employees using their employer's
client list for personal gain. For instance, Harrah's Entertainment said
that a former employee stole a list of 450 rich customers' names,
addresses, and histories of their credit and accounts from a Harrah's
database before quitting to work at a rival casino.
Additionally, a hacker obtained access to AOL's subscriber list
and used the email addresses to advertise his online gambling company.
AOL's 30 million members' information is kept in the company's data
warehouse, to which only a few workers have access. The hacker, who
had been employed at AOL for over five years, didn't have access to
the information, but he used the guise of another worker to access it.
AOL maintains credit card details separately, thus the hacker only
obtained screen names, zip codes, credit card types, and phone
numbers.
Does a company's client list thus constitute a trade secret covered
by intellectual property law? Legally speaking, a client list is not
always regarded as a trade secret. The court won't recognize the list as
important, sensitive information if a corporation doesn't do the same
internally. When making this decision, the courts must take into
account two factors. First, did the company exercise caution by taking
the following measures to keep the list a secret?
 Labeling confidential
 Storing in locked facility or in a password-protected computer
 Limiting access to a small number of people on a need-to-know
basis
 Requiring employees to sign nondisclosure agreement that
specifically mentions customer lists
Second, did the company invest time or resources to create the client
list? The more a company invested in developing its customer list and
the more of a competitive advantage the list gives the company, the
more probable it is that the list will be accepted as a trade secret by the
courts. A client list that is easily reconstructed by gaining access to
publicly accessible sources, including trade publications or even the
phone directory, will not be considered a trade secret.
Since many people mistakenly believe that customer lists are public
information, employees should be made aware of the privacy of such
lists. In certain organizations, staff members are informed about court
cases involving customer lists that were stolen and threatened with
legal action for stealing trade secrets.
KEY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUES
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of stealing and representing someone
else's thoughts or words as one's own. It has become simple to copy
and paste paragraphs into term papers and other documents without
using correct citation or quote marks as a result of the proliferation of
electronic information and the expansion of the Internet. Hundreds of
online "paper mills" that let consumers obtain whole term papers only
serve to exacerbate the issue. Many customers pay little attention
despite certain paper mills' cautions that their services should only be
used for study. As a result, plagiarism is becoming a problem in
educational settings ranging from primary schools to graduate
programs. A lot of people copy work outside of academia. It has been
charged against well-known playwrights, singers, journalists, and even
software engineers.
Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering is the act of disassembling something
in order to comprehend it, create a replica of it, or enhance it. Although
reverse engineering was first used on computer hardware, it is now
frequently used on software as well. Reverse engineering entails
dissecting software to produce a new model of the system in a different
configuration or at a higher degree of abstraction. Reverse engineering
frequently starts by utilizing program code, which allows you to extract
design-stage elements at a higher abstraction level in the life cycle. In
other words, compared to the program code of the same information
system, design-level aspects are less concrete and more conceptual.
Compiler and decompiler concerns are related to other
reverse engineering problems. A compiler is a language converter that
transforms the assertions of computer programs written in a source
language (such as COBOL, Pascal, or C) into machine language, which
is composed of binary codes made up of Os and 1s that a computer can
understand and use. Software is typically provided in machine
language form when it is purchased by a client from a software
producer. Reverse engineering compilers and decompilers are devices
that can interpret machine language and generate source code.
By analyzing the coding and functioning of a competitor's
software, one can use decompilers and other reverse engineering
techniques to create a new program that either mimics the original or
interacts with it. Therefore, reverse engineering offers a means of
gaining access to data that another company may have designated as
confidential or copyrighted.
Reverse engineering is increasingly forbidden under
software license agreements. Reverse engineering can be helpful in
finding security flaws and defects in software.
Open-Source Code
Proprietary software creators historically have not made
their source code accessible, although current developers do not adhere
to that idea. Any software whose source code is made accessible for
usage or modification as users or other developers see fit is referred to
as having open-source code. The fundamental idea behind open-source
software is that when code is accessible to programmers for reading,
redistribution, and modification, the software advances, may be
modified to fit new demands, and defects are quickly found and
corrected. Supporters of open-source software think that this method
generates better software than the conventional closed approach. There
is a considerable quantity of open-source software accessible, such as
the MySQL AB, Ingres, and Linux operating system.
Competitive Intelligence
The collecting of information that is legally attainable for
the purpose of giving a business an edge over its competitors is known
as competitive intelligence. For instance, some businesses have staff
members who keep an eye on public notifications of property transfers
to spot potential competition plant or shop expansions. Continuous data
collection, analysis, and assessment are necessary for a successful
competitive intelligence operation, along with carefully regulated
transmission of the pertinent information to decision-makers. The
strategic goals and decision-making processes of a corporation
frequently include the use of competitive intelligence.
Industrial espionage, which uses illicit methods to gather
corporate information that is not accessible to the public, is not the
same as competitive intelligence. Industrial espionage is a serious
offense with severe consequences. Almost all of the information
required for competitive intelligence may be gathered by reading
published material or conducting interviews. An competent analyst can
draw conclusions that lead to important information by combining this
data with analytical tools and sector knowledge.
Analysts and businesses might face major consequences if
they don't use competitive information responsibly. For instance, the
Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) officially acknowledged in 2001
that it had obtained information about Unilever, a rival in the
multibillion dollar hair care industry, unethically. P&G's supervisors of
competitive intelligence engaged a contractor, who then hired a
subcontractor, to spy on the company's rivals. The main target was
Unilever, which produces Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and Pert while
P&G distributes products including Salon Selectives, Finesse, and
Thermasilk.
At least one incident of the spying involved searching
public trash outside the Chicago headquarters of Unilever.
Additionally, it was claimed that agents of competition intelligence
disguised themselves to Unilever staff as market analysts. (P&G admits
the trash digging, but it disputes any misrepresentation took place.) The
operatives acquired vital information on Unilever's brands, including
new-product rollouts, selling prices, and operating margins.
P&G promptly suspended the campaign and dismissed the three
managers in charge of hiring the agency when senior P&G executives
learned that the firm had been engaged by the corporation was acting
unethically. Then P&G took an unprecedented action: it came clean
about its own wrongdoing, admitted it to Unilever, gave them the stolen
data back, and began negotiating a resolution. The chairman of the
board of P&G took personal responsibility for making sure that none
of the data collected will ever be used in P&G business planning. High-
level conversations between P&G and Unilever officials over several
weeks resulted in a covert agreement between the two businesses. .
Tens of millions of dollars are said to have been given to Unilever by
P&G.
Several executives for hair-care companies were also moved to
different P&G divisions.
Competitive intelligence specialists concur that the
company P&G engaged went beyond the bounds of moral business
conduct by going through Unilever's trash. They do, however,
commend P&G for reaching out to Unilever so promptly after realizing
the damage. Such quick response was deemed to be the optimum course
of action. Unilever could have sued P&G in court if a settlement
couldn't be reached, but it would have exposed humiliating information
and further damaged a brand that is widely seen as being very ethical.
A public trial also had the potential to harm Unilever. The trade secrets
at the center of the dispute may have been revealed in depositions and
other trial evidence. This could have made proprietary data less
valuable.
Cybersquatting
Anything that enables a customer to distinguish the goods
of one firm from those of another is considered a trademark. A
trademark might be a phrase, sound, word, packaging design, or logo.
Consumers sometimes rely on the labels on items since they are unable
to check goods or services to evaluate their quality or source.
According to trademark law, the trademark owner has the right to stop
third parties from using the same mark or one that is confusingly
similar. A mark is covered by trademark protection for as long as it is
used.
Making their brand names a part of the domain names for
their websites is the greatest approach for businesses that want to have
an online presence to leverage the strength of their brand names. When
Web sites were originally created, there was no process in place to
verify the validity of requests for Web site names, which were
distributed based on who made them first. In the hopes that the owner
of the trademark would purchase the domain name for a significant
quantity of money, cyber squatters registered domain names for well-
known brands and corporate names to which they had no relation
ITE FINAL TERM | WEEK 14
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TRENDS AND ISSUES
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
A branch of computer science concerned in making computers behave
like humans do. It was still in the ancient times that they were dreaming
to create intelligent machines that can engage on behaviors that humans
consider intelligent. It was only in the later years that smart machines
is becoming in reality. Many researchers now are creating systems that
mimic human thought, understand speech, and beat the best human
chess player and countless other feats never before possible.
Application of AI
Game playing
Refers to programming computers to play games such as chess and
checkers. The most common AI for game playing is chess. IBM had
developed a computer chess player named Deep Blue which won over
the defending world champion Gary Kasparov in 1997.
Speech recognition
Is a technology where computers recognize human language to perform
such task. In later years, speech recognition reached a practical level
for limited purposes. This technology supposedly will replace the use
of keyboard because you will just give instructions to the computer.
But human went back to the use of keyboard and mouse because of
convenience in using them.
Understanding natural language
Allows computers to understand natural human languages. Research
are still working in progress in developing systems that converse in
natural language, perceive and respond to their surroundings, and
encode and provide useful access to all human knowledge and
expertise. Natural-language processing offers the greatest potential
rewards because it would allow people to interact with computers
without needing any specialized knowledge. You could simply walk up
to a computer and talk to it. Unfortunately, programming computers to
understand natural languages has proved to be more difficult than
originally thought of.
Computer vision
Makes useful decisions about real physical objects and scenes based on
sensed images. This is to make images and objects as real as it can be.
At present, there are only limited ways of representing three-
dimensional information directly, and they are not as good as what
humans evidently use.
Expert systems
Refer to programming computers to make decisions in real life
situations such as helping doctors diagnose disease based on
symptoms. In the early 1980s, expert systems were believed to
represent the future of artificial intelligence and of computers in
general. To date, however, they have not lived up to the expectations.
Many expert systems help human experts in such fields as medicine
and engineering, but they are very expensive to produce and are helpful
only in special situations.
Heuristic classification is one of the most feasible kinds of expert
system given the present knowledge of AI. This will put some
information in one of a fixed set of categories using several sources of
information. An example is advising whether to accept a proposed
credit card purchase. Information is available about the owner of the
credit card, his record of payment and the item he is buying and about
the establishment from which he is buying it (e.g., about whether there
have been previous credit card frauds at this establishment).
AI History
Turing’s Test is a test which analyzes or examines whether a computer
has a humanlike intelligence. It was proposed by a British
mathematician. The computer is said to pass the Turing’s test if the
panel believes that the entity possesses humanlike intelligence.
Turing’s test is sometimes referred to as behavioral tests for the
presence of mind, or thought, or intelligence in putatively minded
entities.
It was in a 1951 paper that Alan Turing proposed a test
called “The Imitation Game” which he thought would settle the issue
of machine intelligence. The first version of the game involved no
computer intelligence whatsoever. Imagine three rooms, each
connected via computer screen and keyboard. In one room sits a man,
in the second a woman, and in the third sits a person who will serve as
the "judge" who will decide as to which of the two people talking to
him through the computer is the man. The man will attempt to help the
judge, offering whatever evidence he can (the computer terminals are
used so that physical clues cannot be used) to prove his man-hood. The
woman's job is to trick the judge, so she will attempt to deceive him,
and counteract her opponent's claims, in hopes that the judge will
erroneously identify her as the male.
Later, Turing proposed a modification of the game. Instead
of a man and a woman as contestants, a human of either gender at one
terminal, and/or a computer at the other terminal will participate. Now,
the judge's responsibility is to decide which of the contestants is human,
and which the machine is. Turing proposed that if, under these
conditions, the judge was less than 50% accurate – that is, if a judge is
as likely to pick either human or computer – then the computer must be
a passable simulation of a human being and hence, intelligent. The
game has recently been modified so that there is only one contestant,
and the judge's job is not to choose between two contestants, but simply
to decide whether the single contestant is human or machine.
Web Technology
Internet
Refers to a collection of computers and cables forming a
communications network, just like telephones and cables forming the
telephone system. The Internet is intended to carry computer data, like
telephone network which is intended to carry conversations. The
Internet carries various data including email, videoconferences, and
instant messages. The Web page contents are another type of data that
is carried over the Internet. In other words, the Internet is a network of
all networks where a user at any computer, with permission, can access
and get information from any other computer.
The Internet was envisioned by the Advanced Researched
Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US Government where they called it
as ARPANET then. They aim to create a network that would allow
users of a research computer at one university to be able to "talk to"
research computers at other universities. This is because they wanted
to protect the messages that are being routed or rerouted in the event of
a military attack or from any other disaster that can destroy their
communication.
Intranet
Is a private network contained in an enterprise that includes
connections through one or more gateway computers to the outside
Internet. Its purpose is to share company information and computing
resources among employees. It can also facilitate working in groups
and teleconferences. On the other hand, extranet is a private network
that uses the Internet technology and the public telecommunication
system to securely share a part of a business's information or operations
with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other businesses.
Extranet
can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to users
outside the company. It has also been described as a "state of mind" in
which the Internet is perceived to do business with other companies as
well as to sell products to customers.
In order to use Internet, you must have a web browser installed on your
computer to access different web pages and sites.
 A web browser is an application software allowing users to
access and view web pages.
 A web page is a page consisting of HTML documents stored on
a web server.
 In contrast, web sites are a collection of connected web pages
stored on a web server.
The most popular web browsers nowadays are Microsoft Internet
Explorer and Mozilla Firefox which is downloadable for free. The
appearance of a web page or site varies depending on the versions of
the web browsers. For higher versions of browsers, the animation and
appearance of the page and site are more enhanced because of their
added support for animation, virtual reality, and sound files.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) are the two most important elements of the Web.
Both contain “hypertext” in their names. Hypertext is a key concept
for understanding the Web. The idea of hypertext originated much
earlier than the Web, or even the Internet. An article called “As we may
think” written by an engineer named Vannevar Bush, in 1945 described
a microfilm-based machine called the Memex that could link associated
information or ideas through “trails”. The idea became known in the
mid-1960s when Harvard graduate, Ted Nelson, conceived the term
“hypertext” to describe a computer system that could store literary
documents, link them according to logical relationships, and permit
readers to comment and annotate what they read.
Many areas of hypertext have become a reality on today’s Web. Every
Web page is based on a document stored in a file identified by a unique
address, called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or a web address.
You can type the URL to the Address bar of a web browser to access
any documents. Another way is by clicking an underlined word or
phrase called a hypertext link (or simply “link” or “hyperlink”) to
access related documents. An example of a URL is
http://www.google.com, while example of a link is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink
HTTP and HTML are the two basic building blocks from which today’s
Web-style hypertext is crafted. You’ll have a better grasp of how the
Web works and its potential for future development if you have some
background on these building blocks.
The two (2) major ingredients that define the Web are HTTP and
HTML. You’ll have a pretty complete list of the basic technologies
that make the Web work.
A Web server stores one or more Web pages of a Web site. Each page
is saved as an HTML document. This document may be plain text, or
ASCII, document with embedded HTML tags. Some of these tags
indicate how the document is to be displayed when viewed in a
browser. Other tags comprise links to related documents, sound files,
and graphics that are also stored on Web servers. Aside from storing
these files, a Web server runs a Web server software that carries
requests for specific Web pages.
Web client software called a browser is used to surf the Web
(as defined above). If you type a URL into the browser’s Address box,
you are actually requesting an HTML document of the Web page that
you want to view. The browser forms a request for the specified file
using a command provided by the HTTP communications protocol.
Meanwhile, the Web server is “listening” for any HTTP
requests. When the request arrives, the Web server examines it, locates
the HTML document that is being requested, and sends it back to the
computer. When the request is fulfilled, the server moves on to process
other requests. If in case additional components are needed for the Web
page that the browser is displaying - a graphic, for instance, the browser
must issue a new request to the server for that component.
The Web is only one of the services that the Internet offers.
They almost changed our ways of communicating to others, such as
through emails, discussion of certain topic, and the likes. Many times,
communications take place completely in writing – without the parties
ever meeting each other.
Email
Short for electronic mail, is the transmission of messages via a
computer network. It is the original service that the Internet offers.
Before, only the scientists and researchers that work for government-
sponsored projects to communicate to their colleagues based on other
locations uses this service. Today, email is said to be the primary source
of communication whether for personal or business purposes. Email
programs are used to create, send, received, forward, store, print, and
delete messages. Such programs include Outlook and Outlook Express
which are the popular among other email programs.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Is an Internet service that allows a user to upload and download files
from other computers on the Internet. Uploading refers to the process
of transferring a file to the Internet while downloading refers to the
process of obtaining a file from the Internet. The file refers to
documents, graphics, and other objects from a computer server. An
FTP server is a computer that allows you to upload/download files. An
FTP site is a collection of files that reside in an FTP server
Newsgroups and Message Boards
Is an online area that allows a group of users to discuss a particular
topic. In such a discussion, one will send a message to a group then the
other group will read and respond to the message. Usenet is what they
call the collection of tens of thousands of newsgroup about multitude
topics. Topics may include news, recreation, society, business, science,
and computers.
Mailing Lists
Is another online service where email addresses are stored. All email
addresses stored in it receives the message when a user uses it. In
essence, a mailing list is like a distribution list usually used to group
certain email addresses.
Chat Rooms are a technology that consists of online and live
communication over the Internet. It is a location in the Internet server
that allows users to have almost like a real-time communication.
Anyone in the chat room can participate in the conversation which
usually is specific to a particular topic. Before you can enter a chat
room, you must be connected to a chat server through a program called
chat client which can also be downloaded from the web.
Instant messaging
Is in essence a chat but you can choose certain users that you want to
communicate with. Not like chat rooms that talk about a particular
topic, IM allows you to communicate all the topics that you want. Many
users make use of IM for personal purposes but be sure to always
observe “Netiquettes”.
Internet Telephony
Commonly known as Voice over IP (Internet Protocol), allows the user
to speak to other users over the Internet using computers, mobile
computer, or mobile devices. You will need a high- speed Internet
connection, Internet telephone service, and a microphone or telephone
to be able to use this technology and place a call.
The following are various types of web sites to choose and search
from.
Portals
Are sites that offers you a variety of Internet services such as search
engine/or subject directory, news, sports and weather, free web
publishing services, reference tools such as yellow pages, stock quotes
and maps, shopping malls and auctions, email and other forms of online
communication.
News web sites
Provides you newsworthy material including stories and articles
relating to current events, life, money, sports, and weather. Most news
that is uploaded on the Internet is not included in the print because it is
the most updated media. Newspapers, televisions, and radios are the
ones that maintain the news web sites.
Informational web sites contain factual information. Many
government agencies provide information such as tax codes, loans you
can mortgage from SSS. Other organizations provide information such
as public transportation schedules and published research findings.
Business/Marketing web sites
Provide you marketing and business contents that promotes and sells
products and services. Up to date, most business and marketing
companies have their own web sites where you can place your orders
online and simply browse in their products.
Educational web sites
Offer you exciting and challenging course in formal and informal
teaching and learning. There exist many educational web sites that
allow online training for employees and classes for colleges. Most
instructors use these types of web sites to enhance classroom teaching
by publishing course materials, grades, and other related class
information.
Entertainment web sites
Offer users an interactive and engaging environment. Popular
entertainment web sites offer music, videos, sports, games, ongoing
web episodes, and the likes. Other complicated web sites tie up with
other networks to allow users to vote in their polls on television shows.
Advocacy web sites
Provide contents that describe a cause, opinion, or idea. Its purpose is
to convince the reader of the validity of the cause, opinion, or idea.
These web sites usually present views of a particular group or
association.
Blog, short for web log,
Is a journal format regularly updated that reflect to the interests,
opinions, and personalities of the author and sometimes the site
visitors. These consist of ideas and collection of thoughts in an informal
style of a single individual. Personal web sites are a private individual’s
site usually not associated in any organization. This is usually about
someone’s interest that may contain their own images, favorite music
and videos, and the likes for some personal reasons. Some intend for
job hunting and so they post their resumes. Some simply want to share
life experiences with the world.
A search engine is a program that finds web sites and pages. It helps
the user find particular information about certain topics or locate
particular web pages for which they do not know the exact web address.
There are thousands of search engines available, some are general and
can perform searches on any topic but some restricts to certain subjects
like finding people, job hunting, or locating real estate.
A search text box is available. It is where you enter a topic, a subject
or a keyword which can be a simple word or phrases that will define
the item about which you want information. Search engines respond
with results that include thousands of links to web pages that answer in
little or no bearing on your research.
Google is the largest search engine in the web whose purpose is to
organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible
and useful. Queries received by Google reaches several hundred
millions each day through its various services. As of February 2004,
Google received 2.5 billion queries.
Google uses an algorithm called PageRank that ranks web pages which
matches a given search string. The algorithm computes a recursive
figure of merit for web pages based on the weighted sum of the
PageRanks of the pages linking to them. Aside from indexes and
HTML that Google caches, there are other 13 file types that it can
search: PDF, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Flash SWF, plain
text files, among others.
Yahoo! is the first navigational portal to the web created by Jerry Yang
and David Filo, both electrical engineering graduates at Stanford
University. They built this portal by creating and organizing their own
favorite web sites in 1994. The next year, Yang and Filo, together with
some fellow students named it Yahoo! and released it to the Internet
community.
Yahoo! stands for Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle. What
makes Yahoo! unique than the others is that its staff members build the
directory by assuming the role of a typical web researcher.
ITE FINAL TERM | WEEK 15
E-COMMERCE TRENDS AND ISSUES
Electronic commerce (EC)
Is a new trend in modern selling and merchandising technologies that
allows customers to engage in all stages of a purchase decision while
completing those steps electronically rather than over the phone with a
printed catalog or in a physical shop. A client may view product
information, choose products to buy, make safe purchases, and have
the transaction handled financially through electronic commerce.
Kalakota and Whinston (1997) define EC from these perspectives:
 From the standpoint of communications, EC refers to the
transmission of data, goods or services, or financial transactions
over telephone lines, computer networks, or other electronic
channels.
 From a business standpoint, EC is the use of technology to
automate workflow and commercial transactions.
 From the standpoint of services, EC is a tool that responds to the
demand of businesses, customers, and management to reduce
service costs while enhancing the quality of goods and speeding
up service delivery.
 From an online standpoint, EC offers the possibility to purchase
and sell goods and data through the Internet as well as other
online services.
Electronic commerce applications started in…
Electronic commerce applications started in the early 1970’s, with
such innovation as electronic fund transfers (EFT). However, only
significant firms, financial institutions, and a few brave small
businesses were included in the applications. Then came EDI, which
broadened the scope of transaction processing from financial to other
types and increased the number of participating businesses from
financial institutions to manufacturers, merchants, and services, among
others. Then came a ton of more uses, like stock trading and reservation
systems for vacation. The phrase "electronic commerce" was
established with the early 1990s commercialization of the Internet and
its quick expansion to millions of prospective consumers. C
applications also grew quickly at this time. The creation of networks,
protocols, software, and standards was one factor in the technology's
quick development. The rise in competition and other commercial
pressures is the additional factor.
 Ubiquity - Internet/Web technology is accessible anywhere,
anytime, via mobile devices, including at work, at home, and
elsewhere. The boundaries of the market are no longer applicable,
and it is no longer restricted by time or place. There is now a
"marketspace" where people may shop. Both customer
convenience and shopping prices are improved.
 Global Reach - The technology is applicable everywhere on
Earth, spanning national borders. Cross-cultural and cross-
national commerce is possible without hindrance or change.
Potentially billions of clients and millions of companies are
included in the term "marketspace" globally
 Universal Standards – There is just one set of technological
norms, and those are the Internet norms. Around the world, there
is just one set of technical media standards.
 Richness – It is possible to send text, audio, and video
communications. Each of them is incorporated into a single
marketing message and consumer experience.
 Interactivity – Through user contact, the technology functions.
Customers participate in a conversation that dynamically adapts
the experience to each person and involves them in the process of
getting products to market.
 Information Density - The technology improves information
quality while lowering information expenses. Costs associated
with information processing, storage, and communication
significantly decrease, but the currency, accuracy, and timeliness
significantly increase. Information becomes accessible,
affordable, and reliable.
 Personalization/customization - The technology enables the
delivery of tailored communications to both groups and
individuals. Based on individual traits, products and services are
customized and marketing messages are personalized.
The benefits of ecommerce to merchants or organizations are as
follows:
 National and international marketplaces are added to the
marketplace via electronic commerce. A firm may simply and
rapidly find the greatest suppliers, the most suited business
partners internationally, and more clients with little investment in
money.
 Paper-based information creation, processing, distribution, and
retrieval costs are reduced by e-commerce. Companies can
reduce the administrative expenses associated with purchasing,
for instance, by using an electronic procurement system.
 The period between capital expenditure and the receiving of
goods and services is shortened by e- commerce.
 Additional advantages include a better image, better customer
service, streamlined procedures, enhanced output, and increased
flexibility.
The benefits of ecommerce to consumers are as follows:
 Customers may conduct business through e-commerce from
virtually anywhere, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
 Customers have more options thanks to e-commerce since they
may choose from a wide variety of sellers and items.
 Why Customers commonly find cheaper goods and services
through e-commerce because it enables them to search around
and make rapid comparisons.
 Rather than waiting days or weeks for information, customers
may now get it right away.
The disadvantages of ecommerce are as follows:
 Cost and justification - Building EC in-house may be quite
expensive, and any errors brought on by inexperience could cause
delays. Although there are numerous prospects for outsourcing, it
can be difficult to know where and how to start.
 Security and privacy - These concerns are particularly
significant in the business-to-consumer sector, particularly
security concerns that, when suitable encryption is employed, are
believed to be less serious than they actually are. Privacy
protections are continually being enhanced. The EC sector has a
very lengthy and tough problem convincing clients that online
transactions and privacy are actually highly safe. However, the
customers viewed these concerns to be very vital.
 Lack of trust and user resistance - Customers are reluctant to
utilize electronic money, paperless transactions, or unidentified,
faceless sellers. So it could be challenging to convert from
physical to internet retailers.
 Other limiting factors – Online experiences are not tactile. Some
buyers want to touch products, such as clothing, in order to fully
understand what they are purchasing.
Major types of E-Commerce
Business-to-Consumers (B2C) is a kind of online trade that caters to
direct customers. Purchasing is the key activity here. There are retail
sales to certain customers. For instance, a consumer or customer is the
type of shopper that often uses Amazon.com.
Benefits of B2C to Business
 Lower distribution costs
 New business opportunities difficulty with P2P companies is creating workable, ethical business
 More accurate and up-to-date consumer data (potentially anyway) structures. P2P networks like Kazaa and Groove are examples.
 Opportunity for added value services
 Better customer support Mobile Commerce
 Lower operating costs Is a subset of e-commerce that utilizes mobile phones and Palm devices
for transactions. This has mostly gained popularity in Japan and
Benefits of B2C to Consumers Europe, where it uses new wireless technology to supplement
 Convenience established online business models. Phone-based 3G, Wi-Fi, and
 Information Bluetooth are the main technologies utilized in mobile commerce. Even
if this technology is a letdown in the US, it is always improving.
 Ability to compare and choose among many offers
 Lower prices, at times but not always
 Personal Service
ITE FINAL TERM | WEEK 16-17
Business-to-Business (B2B) is a kind of e-commerce that benefits TRENDS IN EDUCATION
companies. Purchases are a crucial B2B activity. Purchasing differs 1. Online Education
from purchasing in that departments rather than lone people are Online education is a notion that can be offered much more easily than
engaged, official procedures are followed, significant sums of money ever before because of the broad adoption and influence of mobile
may be exchanged, and intricate discussions and contracts may be devices. Students with transportation issues or working adults can still
involved. access education without restrictions. Working adults who want to
master new skills and technologies are increasingly interested in online
Advantages of B2B education. The digital world is slowly being embraced by higher
education as well. Executive management courses, supplementary
 Lower:
o Purchasing costs
credentials, professional education, and online certifications are all
growing in popularity. Many working people choose to enroll in
o Sales costs
courses that they can easily learn while at work or at home.
o Marketing costs
 Reduced inventory
In the Philippines, online education is a new frontier. This suggests a
platform for offering instruction to students in remote locations via
 Efficient logistics videos and tutorials, where they may do so for a reasonable
 Lower cycle time price. Numerous schools around the country have chosen the Dynamic
 Better consumer support
Learning Program (DLP) and Learning Management System (LMS) as
B2B electronic commerce: areas of growth cutting-edge instructional frameworks. These can aid in learning even
 Goods
if students are unable to attend class. In the Philippine educational
o Computing and electronics system, the following are now the norm:
o Motor vehicles
o Petrochemicals
 Internet allowed school operations
o Utilities  teachers meet online with the students to stay connected
 Services with them
o Financial  school administration meets online to follow-up on tasks
o Professional  online classes to ensure that students continue to receive the
o Administration intervention needed, and to facilitate skills across different
o Travel telecom platforms and settings
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)  instructional materials were prepared in such a way that
Is a sort of e-commerce where users sell to other customers directly. there would be lesser online meetings and in consideration
Examples include people advertising in classified advertisements on of the students who don’t have gadgets and have limited
websites like www.buyandsell.com.ph and selling homes, vehicles, cell Internet access
phones, and other items. Another example of C2C is selling knowledge
and skills and marketing personal services online. To promote goods Article: Printed materials, online classes 'most preferred' for distance
for sale or services, some auction sites operate intranets and other learning – DepEd
corporate internal networks. By Michelle Abad
The Department of Education says the opening of classes on August 24
Benefits of C2C is pushing through, despite criticism regarding the government’s
readiness for implementing distance learning
 Increases liquidity (products, service, advice)
 Reduced search costs
Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
Is a kind of online commerce that connects people and enables them to
share data and resources without the usage of a central server. The

PREPARATION. A teacher at the Mabini Elementary School in Baguio
City prepares emergency kits for students and disinfects the premises
to prevent transmission of the coronavirus. Photo by Mau
Victa/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – The most preferred options students chose for
distance learning are printed modules or online classes for the next
school year, according to the Learner Enrollment and Survey Form
(LESF) conducted by the Department of Education (DepEd).
In a slide presented in a July 1 press briefing, the DepEd found around
2 million students want to learn online, while 3.8 million students want
printed materials as a mode of instruction (also called the “modular”
method).
Screenshot sourced by Rappler from the Department of Education
The LESF is filled out by all parents who enroll their children in school.
While there were 16.6 million enrollees at the time of the presentation
on July 1, DepEd planning director Roger Masapol explained there is
a "lag" in encoding the answers for the LESF, and so the total
respondents reflected on the survey were 10.9 million.
Masapol also said parents may choose to not answer every question,
and those who did answer could choose more than one answer for their
preferred modes.
While the survey reflects the responses of a few million students, they
still do not reflect the answers of all 16.6 million students who enrolled
for the school year 2020-2021 as of July 1. So far, this is also just
roughly 59% of the turnout of 2019, with 27.7 million enrollees.
The department estimates an enrollment turnout this year of 80%.
The DepEd is shifting to a distance learning approach for the next
school year to comply with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to
postpone face-to-face classes until there is an available coronavirus
vaccine. The school year is set to open on August 24.
Distance learning will be implemented in 3 different ways – online
classes, printed modules, and broadcasted lessons through television
or radio. (FAST FACTS: DepEd’s distance learning)
As of Wednesday, July 1, the DepEd’s units are “busy preparing the
self-learning modules for all subjects and grade levels.” Meanwhile,
regional offices are adjusting the distance learning programs to make
them more suitable to the situations on the ground.
2. Integrated Learning Solutions
It is not a practical idea for schools to wait until all learning is digital
before introducing children to it. The majority of schools now embrace
the realities of integrated learning systems. They want to meet the least
amount of demands on the digital infrastructure while still using
conventional textbooks as the foundation. In actuality, it is unjust for
certain students to continue to be ignorant of the advantages of digital
education due to connectivity and infrastructural problems. Learning
results may be greatly enhanced by using clever solutions, such as a
print textbook linked to audio-visual information for a smartboard and
connected to an online evaluation system.
3. Personalized Learning
As students may learn without worrying about device, location, or
scheduling restrictions, this will be a noteworthy trend of the year. As
a result, students may study without being constrained by their
comprehension level, learning style, or areas of strength or
weakness. For children with exceptional needs, this actually changes
the game since they now have the flexibility or freedom to learn at their
own speed and be prepared at the conclusion of the academic year. For
instance, dyslexic students are being helped by applications like
Dragon Speak to study through audiobooks in order to get over the
limits of textbook approaches.
4. Professional Development of Teachers
Of course, instructors are a crucial component of the learning ecology.
In order for students to experience the best of the current technology, it
is crucial to acquaint them with the competences and abilities of the
current generation. This only serves to increase the demand for
professional development courses as they may improve their lateral
thinking skills while also learning new teaching-learning
methodologies. To enable instructors of all grade levels have an
influence on current learning patterns, school officials are taking steps
to arrange these programs and training. Surprisingly, the tendency is
now evident at educational institutions in the public and private sectors.
5. Formative assessment solutions
More emphasis will be placed on the value of learning outcomes, which
is why formative assessment strategies are employed. In this digital
age, the traditional evaluation choices, such as simple memory exams
at the conclusion of a term, may be less effective. Learning has an
influence through formative assessments because they gauge student
development, evaluate how well the curriculum is being delivered, and
examine personal and social skills. In fact, because these procedures
are adaptive, students will experience the results in a customized way.
This is another reason why institutions increasingly choose formative
assessment over traditional cookie-cutter methods.
6. Cost Management in Education
Administrations will need in-depth planning as technology advances in
the education sector to guarantee appropriate investment. The control
of costs in the education sector will significantly improve with the right
plan. To save operating costs, educational institutions are anticipated
to spend more on cloud technology in the upcoming years. Due to
common services, it will also increase operational efficiency in the
education sector.
With the adoption of blockchain technology in the education industry,
printing and paper costs will go down. Every crucial document,
including degrees, certificates, and other legal papers, will be available
online. This will also lower the cost of manpower, which is typically
needed at institutes to handle, store, and maintain a large amount of
data. The cost of other sectors will decrease, but the computational
component will cost more money. Now, more and more classes are
linked. Therefore, the need for better computational resources is
inevitable. This expense will improve operations. Sending
information, executing transactions, and many other tasks will move to
digital formats and become easier.
7. The Changing Role of a Teacher
The 21st century has changed the concept of a teacher too. More than
a data feeder, the teacher has become someone who nurtures the
learners adequately. This trend has become the crux of the student-
centered approach to learning. The teacher has become a person who
guides his/ her class through activities and sharing the wonder of
discovery. Though involved in the activities, a teacher should keep an
eye on monitoring the personal progress of individuals and helping the
ones who need special attention and help.
Issues Regarding the Educational System
The colonial history of the Philippines, encompassing the Spanish,
American, and Japanese periods of authority and occupation, has had a
significant impact on the country's educational system. The most
significant and enduring contributions to the country's educational
system, though they were made by all of its conquerors, emerged
during the American occupation (1898); it was at this aforementioned
time that 1. English became the default language of instruction, and 2.
First, a public education system was developed, one that was explicitly
modeled after the American educational system and was further
managed by the recently created Department of Instruction. The
Philippines has a vast and widely comprehensive educational system
including elements like higher education, much like the United States
of America.
The current educational system in the Philippines firstly consists of six
years of obligatory schooling (from grades 1 to 6), which are loosely
separated into two levels, each consisting of three years. The Primary
Level is the first level, while the Intermediate Level is the second level.
Although the Philippine educational system has long served as a model
for other Southeast Asian nations, this has changed in recent years, and
the system has deteriorated. This is particularly evident and true in the
nation's more remote and impoverished regions.
The Philippines' educational system is plagued by a number of
problems on a national level
Quality of Education
The quality of education comes first. The results of the National
Achievement Test (NAT) and the National Career Assessment
Examination (NCAE) for the year 2014 reveal a drop in the standard of
elementary and secondary education in the Philippines. Both the NAT
and NCAE results from 2014 showed that student performance fell well
short of the desired mean score. Having said that, the comparison of
graduation rates between the highly urbanized city of Metro Manila,
which also happens to be not only the country's capital but also the
largest metropolitan area in the Philippines, and other regions of the
country like Mindanao and Eastern Visayas reveals the poor quality of
the Philippine educational system. Eastern Visayas and Mindanao, two
regions of the country, have primary school completion rates of about
30% or even lower than Manila, which can boast a primary school
completion rate of almost 100%. This type of data comes as no surprise
to the Philippine education system because children from metropolitan
regions in the country have the financial means to finish at the very
least their elementary school education.
Budget for Education
The money for education is the second problem the Philippine
educational system is dealing with. The Philippines still maintains one
of the lowest budget allocations to education among ASEAN nations,
despite the Constitution of the Philippines mandating that the
government devote the largest share of its budget to education.
Affordability of Education
The third significant problem that the Philippine educational system
consistently faces is the cost of education (or the lack thereof). There is
a significant accomplishment gap between various social classes in
terms of schooling. Students from low- and high-income, impoverished
households who are socioeconomically disadvantaged have much
higher dropout rates in primary school. Additionally, the majority of
tertiary level freshman students come from quite wealthy backgrounds.
Drop-out Rate (Out-of-school youth)
The worrisome rate of out-of-school youngsters in the nation,
according to France Castro, secretary of the Alliance of Concerned
Teachers (ACT). According to UNESCO data, there are 1.4 million
youngsters who are not enrolled in school nationwide. The Philippines
is also the only ASEAN nation to rank in the top 5 nations with the
greatest proportion of young people who are not enrolled in school.
Primary school dropout rates in 2012 were 6.38% and secondary school
dropout rates were 7.82%, according to data from the Department of
Education. According to Castro, "the rising cost of oil, electricity, rice,
water, and other basic commodities is further driving the poor into dire
poverty and contributing to the growing number of children who are
not in school." Therefore, when more families experience poverty,
there are therefore more pupils enrolled in public schools, particularly
at the high school level. According to the Department of Education's
2013 estimate, there are 7,470 high schools and 38, 503 primary
schools.
Mismatch
The gap between educational preparation and employment
opportunities is considerable. This has the potential to be a significant
problem at the tertiary level and is also the root of the continued high
rates of educated but jobless or underemployed persons. A Cornell-
educated congressman from the 1-Ang Edukasyon Party-list, Dean
Salvador Belaro Jr., claims that there are around 600,000 educated
unemployed people in the United States each year. The "education gap"
is the term he uses to describe the problem.
Brain Drain
Due to the current phenomena of globalization, brain drain is a chronic
issue that is seen in the Philippine educational system. It is projected
that 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) worked overseas
at any given time between April and September 2014. This continuous
mass departure has severe economic repercussions as well as an
unprecedented brain drain. Furthermore, Philippine society has
historically paid for the education of millions of people who go on to
spend their most productive years overseas. As a result, the Philippines'
already subpar educational system indirectly funds the rich economies
that host the OFWs.
Social Divide
There is a troublesome and obvious socioeconomic divide in the nation
with relation to educational prospects. An equalizing influence on
education has been observed in the majority of modern cultures. Due
to this gap in the social structure, education is now a part of the
institutional framework that separates the affluent from the poor.
Lack of Facilities and Teacher Shortage in Public Schools
Numerous infrastructure, including classrooms, teachers, desks and
chairs, textbooks, and audio-visual resources, are in limited supply in
Philippine public schools. 2003 Department of Education data.
According to Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz, there are over 17
million students enrolled in public schools in the Philippines, and with
a 2.3% annual population growth rate, there are roughly 1.7 million
births each year. This means that in a few years, more people will claim
ownership over their share of the (limited) educational resources. In
conclusion, there are too many pupils and not enough funding. Despite
the government's assertions that it is expanding the budgetary support
for education, the public school system frequently struggles with
shortages. Additionally, public colleges and universities steadily raise
tuition in order to earn money for infrastructure, making postsecondary
education difficult to attain or, more frequently than not, unavailable to
the poor. However, it is important to recognize what the Aquino
administration has accomplished with regard to classroom construction
during its five years in office – the number of classrooms created from
2005 to the first half of 2010 has quadrupled. Additionally, it was
reported that 86,478 classrooms were erected between the years of
2010 and February 2015, a figure that was much higher than the 17,305
classrooms that were constructed between 2005 and 2010 and sufficient
to make up for the 66,800 classroom shortfall in the previous year.
President Aquino discussed the government's achievement of a zero
backlog in classroom supplies, desks and chairs, and textbooks in his
fourth state of the nation address (SONA), noting that 56,085 new
teachers were hired in 2013 to fill the gap left by the shortage of
teaching materials. However, according to information gathered by the
Department of Education, there were 19, 579, 60 million textbook
shortages, 2.5 million chair shortages, and 80, 937 shortages of water
and sanitation facilities during the start of classes (June 2013).
Additionally, it was determined that 770 schools in Metro Manila,
Cebu, and Davao were overcrowded. The Department of Education
also made statistics available indicating that 5,425 appointments, or
91% of the 61,510 teacher vacancies, had been filled.
Issues regarding the K-12
Regarding the system's ability to deliver high-quality education, there
is disagreement. The results of the National Achievement Test (NAT)
and the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) for the year
2014 reveal a drop in the standard of elementary and secondary
education in the Philippines. Both the NAT and NCAE results from
2014 showed that student performance fell well short of the desired
mean score. Having said that, the comparison of graduation rates
between the highly urbanized city of Metro Manila, which also happens
to be not only the country's capital but also the largest metropolitan area
in the Philippines, and other regions of the country like Mindanao and
Eastern Visayas reveals the poor quality of the Philippine educational
system. The Department of Education also made statistics available
indicating that 5,425 appointments, or 91% of the 61,510 teacher
vacancies, had been filled.
The money for education is the second problem the
Philippine educational system is dealing with. The Philippines still
maintains one of the lowest budget allocations to education among
ASEAN nations, despite the Constitution of the Philippines mandating
that the government devote the largest share of its budget to education.
The third significant problem that the Philippine educational system
consistently faces is the cost of education (or the lack thereof). There is
a significant accomplishment gap between various social classes in
terms of schooling. Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, often
known as students from high- and low-income households who are
impoverished, have much higher drop-out rates at the primary school
level. Additionally, the majority of tertiary level freshman students
come from quite wealthy backgrounds. Last but not least, there is a
significant amount of mismatch, when there is a significant amount of
mismatch between training and real occupations. This has the potential
to be a significant problem at the tertiary level and is also the root of
the continued high rates of educated but jobless or underemployed
persons.