Department of Education Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Ayala Foundation Co-Vice Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Nokia Director for Community Involvement Gregory Elphinston, and Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu to expand nationwide the mobile teaching project “Text2Teach” (T2T).

It targets 850 public elementary schools nationwide to be used for English, Math, and Science lessons starting this schoolyear.

Staring July, the fourth phase will be implemented, making the T2T program available in Visayas and Mindanao. It also aims to upgrade the 205 satellite schools from the earlier phases. By the end of Phase 3 in August, there will be 555 Text2Teach-enabled schools. This means about 40,000 pupils, and almost 1,800 school heads, teachers and DepEd officials will benefit from the project.

Phase 4 of T2T will strengthen the partnership between the companies involved and the LGUs. DepEd regional offices will provide the training for the teachers while LGUs will provide larger counterpart funding for the program. In Phase 4, Pearson Foundation will return to the program to help in developing new downloadable educational materials for English, Science and Mathematics.

Text2Teach was launched in the Philippines in 2004. In seven years, it has helped improve the performance of students all over the country. This is possible through the through downloadable Math, Science, and English educational videos using Nokia mobile phones and Globe internet connection.

Utilizing the power of mobile technology, students in Grades 5 and 6 are able to watch any of the almost 400 educational audio and video materials loaded in the Nokia N86 8MP phones and equipped with the Nokia Education Delivery (NED) application.

NED allows teachers to download and easily access educational audio and video files on Math, Science and English. These are designed for the project with the aim to provide highly effective visual aids for teachers. NED also creates an interactive, student-focused learning environment in the classroom which makes the students eager to go to school.

Aside from the NED technology, Text2Teach recipient schools also get a Globe SIM card provided with P150 worth of free pre-paid load monthly for one year, a 29-inch colored TV, 3-day teacher training and teachers guides.

Current recipients testify that the tools provided by the T2T project help in the performance and attendance the the students.

Congratulations to Globe Telecom, Nokia, and Ayala Foundation for a laudable project!