Filipina educator wins int’l literacy award

WASHINGTON—Yvette Tan, a Filipino educator and researcher of the Education Development Center, Inc. was one of the top six awardees during the International Literacy Day held in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 7.

She was actively involved in multi-media technology on education data gathering covering the southern Philippine  provinces of Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and those in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Tan’s innovative technique on “The improved collection and use of student reading performance data in the southern Philippines”  bested more than 450 submissions from 25 countries.

The study looked into the use of affordable technology such as the cellular phone SMS messaging (texting), which is popular in the Philippines.

After confirming that close to 90 percent of public school teachers in the Philippines were cellphone users, the Education Development Center, Inc. based in Newton, Massachusetts developed the plan for early feedback and data encoding of student reading performances.

The new system allows early analysis of reading programs and appropriate responses by education officials. The project was done  in coordination with Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills. Pinoy News