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TWELVE public high school teachers recently defended their thesis as required to complete the Smart Mentors program of Smart Communications Inc. and earn a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Design and Technology.
The teachers form part of the second batch of 25 scholars under the Smart Mentors Program. The rest are scheduled to defend their thesis within the month.
Envisioned to develop teachers of the ?NET? generation, the Smart Mentors program is part of the training component of the Smart Schools Program (SSP), a flagship community service initiative of Smart that aims to uplift the standard of public education in the country through the integration of Information Communications Technology (ICT) in classroom teaching.
?The thesis defense signals an end in terms of completing the program. But as far as Smart is concerned, this is just the beginning. The real test of whether the program works is how you apply the knowledge that you have acquired to your students,? Public Affairs Group head Ramon R. Isberto told the teacher-scholars as he formally opened the thesis defense.
University of Makati (UMak) Executive Vice President Dr. Edita Chan, who chaired the thesis panel, thanked Smart for giving public school teachers, especially those in the provinces, a chance to improve their professional qualifications and develop their potential.
?Many of us, especially those who have families, set aside our ambitions for higher learning because the cost is too much. We cannot deny the fact that ICT is here. For the quality of education to improve, we have to embrace ICT in education,? she said.
UMak is also the degree-granting institution after the teacher-scholars successfully hurdle the 11-month course, which is designed to equip teachers with knowledge and skills to integrate ICT in basic teaching methods.
During the course, each teacher-scholar will begin mentoring 15 teachers within and outside his school and division.
Those who passed the screening process this year include six teachers from Mindanao, six from the Visayas, four from Southern Luzon and nine from Northern Luzon.
Now on its second-year run, Smart Mentors is implemented through the Philippine Business for Social Progress and supported by the Department of Education.
