Four public schools in Lapu-Lapu City are the latest recipients of mobile digital laboratories called Smart Technocarts, which are intended to boost kindergarten learning using technology tools and solutions.
The cart, an initiative of mobile leader Smart Communications, Inc., can be easily wheeled from one classroom to the next and contains 20 seven-inch tablets, a laptop, a projector, and a Smart BRO pocket WiFi that comes with an initial load for Internet connectivity.
Representatives from Pusok Elementary School, Marigondon Elementary School, City Central School, and Pajo Elementary School led by Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Marcelita Solon-Dignos received their technology carts during the opening of the Asian Carriers Conference (ACC) 2015 last September 1 in Lapu-Lapu City.
The Smart Technocarts for the four schools were sponsored by the ACC, said Smart education program head Stephanie Velasco-Orlino, adding that each digital laboratory package is worth P200,000.
Fun learning
ACC president Edgar Antonio, who is also the PLDT head of carrier marketing and product development, said the conference allows telecommunications companies to do business with each other and give back to the community at the same time.
“We’re very happy to be a recipient of this program. We’re thankful to Smart, PLDT, and the ACC for this assistance to our schools,” Dignos said in an interview before the turnover.
With the right guidance, kindergarten kids will learn how to use the tablets to learn such subjects as English, Reading, Science, and Math in fun ways, she added.
Technocart beneficiaries
Two other institutions in Cebu, the Regina Mercado Elementary School and Banilad Elementary School, were among 15 learning institutions all over the country that each received a Smart-sponsored digital laboratory last June.
The other schools include three in Tawi-Tawi, two in Basilan, three in Bacolod City, two in Legazpi City, two in Pangasinan, and one in Parañaque City. According to Orlino, the early program recipients were those who had undergone Smart’s Tap and Learn: Tablets for Education or other training programs.
Orlino said Smart is opening an additional 20 program-matching slots for the Smart Technocart program this year. This means that an interested sponsor only puts up half of the amount for the mobile digital laboratory package and Smart takes care of the rest. Sponsors can be a company, foundation, local government unit (LGU), an individual, or even a group of friends, she added.
The Technocart package also comes with a one-year subscription to the learning management system called Smart One Campus. The platform allows school administrators and teachers to track and measure the performance and progress of students.
The tablets already contain the Batibot app, which is the first mobile application for literacy aligned with the K-12 curriculum. Outside of the Technocart program, the Batibot app may be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store to Android mobile devices.
To know more about Smart’s education initiatives, as well as how to sponsor Smart TechnoCarts for schools, please visit www.smart.com.ph/learnsmart.
