Kindergarten learning goes digital thru Smart Technocart
Husin
Ludsuman Abduhalim, Principal I of Maluso Central Elementary School, couldn’t
wait to show the mobile digital laboratory to his kindergarten pupils when he
gets back to Basilan.
Teacher
Sin, as he is called by students and co-teachers, thinks that this latest
initiative from Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) will help make learning more
engaging for the young learners in his school.
“Our
kinder kids, who are mostly five-year-olds, are excited about using the
gadgets. I’m pretty sure they will be motivated to learn with the help of
technology,” he assured.
Teacher
Sin said even the students’ parents were amazed when they learned that their
children will get to use tablets in kindergarten school. More often than
not, only students in higher grade levels or in high school get to use gadgets.
Just
like Teacher Sin’s students, kindergarten learners from 14 other public schools
across the country will soon experience digital learning through the Smart
TechnoCart, an innovative mobile digital
laboratory designed to facilitate formative learning among young pupils with
the use of mobile devices and applications.
Each
Smart TechnoCart contains 20 tablets for the use of students; a tablet, laptop
and projector for the use of the teacher; Smart Bro pocket WiFi with load for
connectivity; and the Smart One Campus, a learning management system to help
administrators and teachers track and measure their students’ academic
performance. Its compact and portable design makes it easy for the
teacher to transfer the laboratory from one classroom to another. To help
schools optimize the use of the Smart TechnoCart, teachers are also given
training on tablet basics. They are also provided training on child and
curriculum development by the Community of Learners Foundation (COLF).
The
Smart TechnoCart tablets are pre-loaded with the Batibot mobile app, the first
localized mobile app aligned with the Kindergarten curriculum based on the
hugely popular children’s television show. Developed with COLF and
startup partner OrangeFix, the mobile app makes available educational content
from the TV show into the mobile device for mobility and accessibility.
Just like the TV show, the Batibot app is also in Filipino.
“The
Smart TechnoCart is a mobile laboratory designed to address the need of young
students for interactive and engaging learning tools to help them better grasp
basic concepts. It does make for smarter learning,” said Ramon R.
Isberto, head of Public Affairs at Smart.
The
other public kindergarten schools identified by the Department of Education
School Divisions as initial beneficiaries are: Batu-Batu Central Elementary
School, Datu Halun Laboratory Elementary School, and Yusop Dais Elementary
School from Tawi-Tawi; Calasiao Central School, and Mangatarem Central School
in Pangasinan; Bacacay East Central School, and Polangui South Central School
in Albay; Tipo-Tipo Central Elementary School of Basilan; Antonio L. Jayme
Elementary School, Education and Training Center School II, and Rodolfo A.
Medel Sr. Elementary School of Bacolod; Banilad Elementary School, and Regino
Mercado Elementary School of Cebu; and Parañaque Central Elementary School for
Metro Manila.
“The
Smart TechnoCart is perfect for millennials. That’s how kids consume their
content now—they learn using their tablets and smart phones. I have a
nephew who, when he was two years old, can already navigate the tablet, and he
couldn’t even talk yet! Children who saw a tablet for the first time were able
to open it within 5 seconds without help. It comes naturally to them,” said
Stephanie V. Orlino, senior manager and head of education programs at Smart
Public Affairs.
Bringing
back Filipino kids to Filipino
Equally
important is the push for Filipino content that is aligned with the
kindergarten curriculum.
“What
makes the Smart TechnoCart unique is we didn’t stop with these devices. We
developed the first localized mobile application aligned with the kindergarten
curriculum, which is Batibot. This is our contribution to help promote
literacy, using the mother tongue, among young students,” added Orlino.
The
Batibot app features beloved characters like Manang Bola. The interactive
educational application teaches kids letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. The
app also engages them in children’s stories and sing-along videoke.
In
2013, Smart commissioned a study on the effectiveness of tablets as tools for
learning in kindergarten. Study showed that students introduced to
tablets improved far greater than those without tablets. “When kids learn
letters and numbers, the kids need to see it, hear it, and touch it. The
students can do all these with tablets,” Orlino added.
Last
year, Smart started training teachers of public elementary schools on how to
maximize tablets for teaching and learning under the Tablet 101
initiative. During the one-day training course, the teachers learned how
to create widgets, maximize battery life, how to use the privacy settings, the
learning mobile apps they could use, and how to get these from the Google Play
Store or the Apps Store, for Android, and iOS devices, respectively.
Smart,
through its LearnSmart program, has implemented various initiatives aimed at
enhancing Philippine education across the learning stages. To know more about
Smart’s education initiatives, and how you can help other kindergarten schools,
click here: Smart TechnoCart./PR
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