AUTHOR GUIDELINES FOR EM-TECH RESEARCH PAPERS
Christopher Darwin Abigan, Kim Alison Caasi, Michael Aries Larosa, Carina Julie Mae Linao, and
Timogthy John Salvador.
EM-TECH S15
kimalison_caasi@yahoo.com.ph
De La Salle University - Manila
ABSTRACT
This research paper will be discussing the issue about “Lack
of Technologies in Public Schools”. It also contains an in
depth analysis on how technologies affect the teachers and
students, especially in public schools. In addition, this paper
aims to open the minds, especially of the teachers to
technological advancements as they are effective tools for
teaching. Their willingness to be radical regarding this idea
is really essential as it is them who often oppose to changes.
Lastly, realizing the condition of public schools in the
Philippines can be a good start for the government to come
up with better services and programs.
1. INTRODUCTION
Currently the world is becoming high-tech, which means that
books are becoming less relevant in the lives of the people.
Books are being digitized for the convenience of the people
who wish to acquire more knowledge in any given field.
This would lead to a brighter future for education, for the
internet is a web of knowledge and each information that can
be accessed in the net can be used to produce unimaginable
things.
Through technology, we can confirm the
information within the net, and find out the ideas of others
regarding different kinds of issues. This would allow the
world to collaborate as on in order to become a superior
being and if we were to combine technology with education
this will allow the students the progress faster than previous
centuries. This would allow students to learn and unleash
their potential in creating a better world for us to live in.
2. LACK OF TECHNOLOGIES IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS
2.1. Conditions of public schools in the Philippines
As the world evolves, changes are progressively happening
and affecting the people’s environment as well as their
norms and attitude. Technology has something to do with
these changes which, people are currently and continuously
experiencing.
Filipino children enter public school at about age
four, starting from Nursery up to Kindergarten. At about
seven years of age, children enter a primary school (6 to 7
years). This is followed by secondary school (4 years),
(Wikipedia, 2009). DepEd initiatives on the use of ICT in
education were embedded in the DepEd Modernization
Programme, begun in 1996, involving the introduction and
use of modern technology to improve the teaching and
learning process, educational management and support
operations in the educational system. The General
Appropriations Act (GAA) laid the grounds for the
provision of IT equipment in public secondary schools,
providing the necessary funds for the procurement of
hardware and software, teacher training and courseware
development, (UNESCO, Philippines, 1996). This act
benefited six hundred sixty-one public secondary schools
and more than seven thousand secondary school teachers
and principals. Thus, since 1996, the government has
granted many public schools to be equipped with high-tech
materials and learning resources. The GAA has also been
providing trainings to the public school teachers in order to
aid them in using these new technologies such as computers.
Currently, the Philippine government is aiming to
provide physical infrastructures and technical support to
most of the public schools. The government also aspires to
develop competence among students and teachers by using
ICT – based materials. The operational targets for these are
expected to be reached by 2009 and these are the following:
 5% of public secondary schools and 50% of public
elementary schools shall have a computer lab equipped with
basic multi-media equipment
 All public science-oriented secondary schools shall
be connected to the internet
 All public schools shall have an electronic library
system
 75% of the public school teachers will have been
trained in basic computer skills and in the use of the internet
and computer aided instruction (CAI)
 All public schools shall be provided with
appropriate educational technology equipment packages
(UNESCO, Philippines, 2009).
However, the challenge in achieving these goals is
the thought of having money to implement all the plans
regarding improvements on education, specifically on public
schools’ situation. Public schools are government owned,
meaning the funds for these schools come from the
government as well. And with the current condition of the
Philippine government, people are mostly doubtful that the
government can afford and release funding for the projects
and goals mentioned above.
At present, the students in public schools have been
left behind by their counterparts in the private schools.
Based on preliminary report of Department of Education
(DepEd), only 50% of the 4,336 high schools nationwide
have computer laboratories. But most of them need to be
repaired or upgraded because after these computers have
been delivered to schools, they have not been properly
maintained. A computer laboratory consists of a minimum of
10 computers (COMSTE, 2008). Also, there is an urgent
need to fill up the shortage of public school buildings to
accommodate the increasing number of enrollees in our
public schools.
To date, the national classroom - student ratio for
elementary and secondary public schools is still far from the
ideal ratio of 1:30, due largely to the free education
program, which has not been met by a corresponding
increase in the number of classrooms.
As per DepEd records, the total nationwide
classroom shortage is 41,197 - at current prices, the
government will be in need of at least P16 Billion of
additional funding to be able to crack the classroom
shortage. Furthermore, it also reported that 20% of the
country's classrooms have no proper ventilation, 27% have
no lighting, 55% do not have electricity, and 25% have no
ceilings. It also added that in 2005, 20% of elementary and
secondary schools did not have science laboratories,
(COMSTE, 2008).
Today, the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF)
and the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd)
agreed to roll out OEF’s ThinkQuest technology program to
500 public elementary schools across the nation, reaching
50,000 students and teachers over the next two years.
ThinkQuest is a protected, online learning platform that
enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their
classroom curriculum and students to develop critical 21st
century skills, including creativity, communication,
teamwork, and technology skills.
All in all, a lot of projects have been implemented
about technology in education. However, people do not
actually feel the presence of these improvements in public
schools because evidently, developments in the field of
teaching and learning in public schools are not seen. Also,
other teachers are not guided in using these technologies if
ever the government grants ICT equipements to these public
schools.
2.2. Reasons why public schools need technologies
The government implemented the formation of public
education in the hope that everyone would be offered an
equal opportunity to achieve the realization of his or her
own dream and to pursue a life full of accomplishments and
privilege. However, this strategy of the government still has
its downsides and failures. It had failed to supply each child
with the same chance to achieve his goal instead has only
fostered segregation, discrimination, and mass inequality. It
is a global reality that poverty causes people not to have the
best education. Considering that there are still millions of
Filipinos who can not even attend school due to poverty and
geographical constraints, the Filipino children who are
currently studying in public schools, however, are not given
an acceptable quality of education. Only 1 in 5 children,
ages 3-5, have access to day care or preschool services.
(Save the Children, 2007) Different researches and studies
showed that there are massive numbers of students inside a
classroom. There is an approximately 80-100 students in
each classroom having only one teacher and limited school
supplies in the poorest public schools in our country.
There are thousands of public schools in the
Philippines with huge number of students compared to the
number of books and reference materials in an ordinary
public school, technology has been proposed as to attend to
the problem of education. In fact, there has been a proposal
of cyber education
In order for us to know the reasons why technology
is a need in schools especially in aiding the learning process
in public schools, we must first take a glimpse of the benefits
of technology specifically multimedia in education.
Multimedia tools, applied with awareness of the
realities of organizational culture, structures and finances,
have been shown to enhance the performance of learning
systems(Mishra, 2005, p. 1). “While the term “multimedia”
has not always been associated with computers, there is no
doubt that it is the merging of increasing powerful
computer-based authoring tools with Internet connectivity
that is responsible for the growing interest in and use of
multimedia instruction, in both distance and face-to-face
environments…Also, the term “multimedia” refers to the
provision of various audio and video elements in teaching
and training materials. Usually, the delivery of the media is
by computer, and increasingly, it involves the Internet in
some way, but the storage and delivery devices, as noted
above, are secondary to the forms of the stimuli that reach
the user(Mishra, 2005, p.2-3)”
Specific Media Characteristics
For some time, media have been used with more traditional
delivery methods (lectures, tutorials) to support essential
teaching objectives, such as the following(Wright, 1998):
 Clarifying and illustrating complex subjects
 Adapting to individual learning styles
 Improving retention and aiding recall
 Reaching nonverbal learners
According to Mayer,2001, “Instead of asking which
medium makes the best deliveries, we might ask which
instructional techniques help guide the learner’s cognitive
processing of the presented material”(Mishra,2005,p.4)
The varying characteristics of different presentation
media and modes, and their implications for learning, have
direct implications for the design of multimedia strategies
and materials.
Sound can supplement visual information and can be
used to attract attention, arouse and hold interest, provide
cues and feedback, aid memory, and provide some types of
subject matter(heart or machinery sounds, voice clips).
Music can be used to augment feedback, grab attention or
alert users.
Graphics and color can be used for various purposes,
from simple decoration to higher-level interpretation and
transformation (helping the observer to form valid mental
images). Animation can sometimes shorten learning times by
illustrating changes in the operation or state of things.
Video (motion or sequence of still graphics) can be used
to show action and processes to illustrate events that users
cannot see directly or clearly in real time.
Hypermedia is the linking of multimedia documents,
while hypertext is the linking of words or phrases to other
words or phrases in the same or another document. (Mishra,
2005)
Properly designed, a technology-based learning
environment provides students with more options than are
typically available in traditional learning situations, in
content, pace, preparation, and review of prerequisites, and
for activities such as collaboration, consultation, and
testing/evaluation. Among the benefits of technology
delivery are the potential for less required training time;
greater mastery and better transfer of skills; more
consistency in delivery of content(a particularly important
outcome of skill training); and greater student persistence,
completion, satisfaction, collaboration, and self-
direction(Mishra, 2005).
Advantages of the Internet for teaching, under ideal
conditions, include the following (Heinich, Molenda,
Russell, & Smaldino, 1996, p.263):
 Engrossing: The opportunity for deep involvement,
capturing and holding learner interest.
 Multisensory: The incorporation of sounds and
images along with text,
 Connections: Learners can connect ideas from
different media sources, for example, connecting
the sound of a musical instrument with its
illustration.
 Individualized: Web structure allows users to
navigate through the information according to their
interests and to build their own unique mental
structures based on exploration.
 Collaborative creation: Software allows teachers
and learners to create their own hypermedia
materials;project-based learning provides
opportunities for authentic collaboration(Mishra,
2005).
With the intention of establishing the relevance of
technology in public education, the role of technology
specifically multimedia in education has been discussed.
There has been a large digital divide between private
and public schools in terms of the facilities and equipment,
research materials, books, and others. Thus, the quality of
education in public schools is affected. With vast
innovations in technology, public schools will be able to
catch up.
According to Stephen Downes, “Proponents of public-
school education will have to embrace not only new
technologies that support learning and new pedagogies that
leverage those technologies, but also new forms of
organization suggested by those technologies and
pedagogies. Where in the past we have relied on
standardization as our guarantor of quality and access, we
will in the future be looking toward more flexible measures-
measures rooted in the needs expressed and pursued by an
increasingly diverse population. We will be able, in ways we
haven't previously, to enable each person to pursue his or her
own educational objectives in his or her own way. And as
the economic imperatives that demand a standardized
curriculum fade, the educational, social, and economic
benefits of diversity not only will become clearer, they will
become imperative(Options and Opportunities, 2008).”

Also, as mentioned above, multimedia enhances the
learning of the students which is needed in public schools.
ICT for Education or ICT4E has a growing relevance to the
society and public schools are the main concern in uplifting
education with the help of information and communications
technology. Through the integration of ICT and instructional
support, public school teachers will be able to impart
knowledge to the students. The country should invest in ICT
training for public school teachers to incorporate it in the
learning paradigm. It will help the public school students to
survive in this highly competitive world.
2.3. Lack of computer literacy of teachers
Why is not computer usage increasing in the classrooms at a
more expeditious rate? Is it merely because of the cost of
integrating computers in all schools? Or is it because of the
lack of computer literacy of the service teachers? Both
actually affects the usage rate of computers in classrooms,
however, the latter reason takes a bigger part in it.
To allow the computers to be used for teaching,
teachers who are expected to utilize that first need to buy the
idea that technology has additional valuable contribution in
the classroom. However, this is quite difficult to achieve as
most of the teachers, especially the senior ones, are locked
to the past and they do not want to look what’s ahead of
them. They are still more into the yesterday’s methods than
tomorrow’s, due mainly to their fear of changing their
ways—the words “I am afraid…” are always heard from
them. With this, the need to collaborate, problem solve,
hypothesize, practice, reform, fail, and succeed arises. But
before that, they must learn how to escape from their old
zone such as outdated curricula, standards that are not
supported, and pedagogy that is more applicable in the 19th
century than in the 21st century (UNC Horizon, 2006).
Another factor of computer illiteracy of teachers
today is their educational background. Schools of education
do not have the necessary preparations in making their
students (pre-service teachers) computer literate. The do not
integrate computers in their curriculum because even the
school management still wants to offer training in traditional
classrooms. This should not be the case—students taking up
courses on education should be make known to computer-
based environment during their education—learning how to
use telementoring utilizing the internet like emails, creating
webpages, web-based learning management systems, etc.
(UNC, 2006).
Truly, it is not impossible that there are still teachers
who know how to use computers to make their teaching
more efficient and more effective, however they are few
(and of course, younger educators are more up-to-date to the
latest technologies in their field). Moreover, even if these
teachers are computer literate to a certain extent, it is likely
to happen that they can not put the knowledge to use in
relation to the preparation of lessons and grades mainly
because the schools are not equipped. Therefore, these are
the things that need to be known in order to find a more
defined cause of teachers’ lack of computer literacy
(Reynaldo Mones, personal communication, March 11,
2009):
 How many are literate and to what extent?
 How many are literate and are able to apply this
knowledge?
 How many are literate but could not apply the
skills?
 What is the extent of computerization in the public
school system?
 What is the extent of related IT infrastructure like
the availability of LCD prjectors, etc.? And the list
goes on…
Individuals (both teachers and students) who are
computer literate have greater benefits than others who lack
that knowledge as most institutions today hire people that
have good background on technologies. Thus, government
needs to invest much to promote it to students and teachers
(Satharasinghe, n.d.).
In our country’s setting, it is hardly seen if there are
really developments regarding this issue. Without us
realizing it, there are actually planned projects by
Department of Education about the integration of ICT in the
Philippine’s educational system. The goal of the plan
(Philippine Education Technology Master Plan) is stated as
“to deliver quality education that is accessible to all through
the use of IT and other innovative technologies” (UNESCO,
2009).
Department of Education (DepEd) is also into the
professional development of teachers, both in private and
public schools. Usually, public schools send a few teachers
to computer literacy training, who would then pass on the
training of peer teachers. Private schools usually hire ICT
service providers to give training to their teachers. The
DepEd especially give training to teachers that teach
Technology and Home Economics (THE) and since 1997,
they strengthen establishment of ICT training to teachers of
English, Science, Mathematics and THE (UNESCO, 2009).
Actually, there are some private sectors that give
training for teachers. Intel and Microsoft have a current
program called Intel Teach to the Future program which
targets to teach 1,000 teachers on the condition that each
teacher would train 20 others (UNESCO, 2009).
2.4. The Philippines’ Cyber Education Project
Recently, the Philippine’s Department of Education (DepEd)
announced its new promising proposal called the CYBER
EDUCATION PROJECT (CEP) which aimed at “providing
an efficient and cost-effective solution to the need to deliver
educational services to public elementary and secondary
schools throughout the whole archipelago” (Cadias, n.d.).
Cyber Education is defined as a brand new form of
education in which instructional and management activities
are carried out mainly based on E-Learning technologies. It
includes concepts like “online education”, “E-Learning”,
“virtual education”, “digital education”, “multi-media
learning” and among others. The Philippines’ Cyber
Education Project is accurately described as a Satellite-
based Distance Learning Program (Cadias, n.d.).
It was learned that the Satellite-based education in the
Philippines was conceptualized during the time of President
Fidel V. Ramos. The idea was to use the country’s Agila
satellite system, which was launched into orbit in 1997, as
the tool. However, it didn’t push through. Now, President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s government is trying hard in
realizing this development amidst the strong and challenging
political and economic concerns. The Satellite-based
Distance Learning Program links the schools to a nationwide
network that provides 12 video channels, wireless wide area
networking, local area networking and wireless Internet
connectivity. Through the Cyber Ed Project, the Department
of Education (DepEd) expects substantial improvement in
student performance. At the same time, its network will
provide cost-effective teacher training to close to half a
million public school teachers, enabling them to upgrade
their capabilities using virtual teacher training modules
(Cadias, n.d.).
DepEd’s P26.48-billion Cyber Education Project is seen
as a major solution to the myriad education problems. It is
claimed to totally enhance the traditional concept of
classroom teaching because teachers and pupils can
interactively view and respond to teachers in the live feeds
and computer-enhanced delivery of lessons. According to
the NEDA, of the total cost of P26.48 billion, 86 percent or
P22.77 billion of which will be financed through a loan from
China and the remaining 14 percent or P3.71 billion will be
funded by the Philippine government (Cadias, n.d.).
DepEd explained that under this project, a total of
37,794 schools or 90% of all public schools nationwide will
be connected in the next three years. These schools will
receive live broadcasts featuring lectures and presentations
from master teachers as well as course wares on demand and
other valuable resource materials. Furthermore, the Cyber
Ed Project is based on China's E-Education Project which
covers some 500,000 schools and universities. DepEd’s
official website revealed that the Cyber Ed Project is in
accordance with the ICT-based education agenda included in
the economic cooperation agreement signed by the
Philippines and China in June 2006 and it is undertaken with
assistance from Tsinghua University, China's premier
technology university (Cadias, n.d.).
3. CONCLUSION
First of the condition of the public schools in the Philippines
are not as effective as they should be. The condition of the
classrooms are below standards which forces students to be
in extreme conditions. Some of the classrooms actually
require renovation because there are rooms where there are
no proper lighting, or no ceilings, or no electricity, this
shows that the students are at risk. Due to the increase in
demand for education, people are starting to realize that their
children should be sent to school even if the schools is
considered a public schools but the schools cannot
accommodate all these students because they do not have
enough facilities for the students. Schools do not have
sufficient equipment for computer laboratories, science
laboratories, and other school facilities that should be
available for students to use. The technologies within the
schools may be implemented but the government should
know the limitations of the schools, the government should
understand what they should prioritize. It may be good that
the government has implemented policies for the public
schools to have technology but the government should
prioritize the students’
The reasons why public school need technologies is
because there are a large number of students but there are
not enough reference materials or books for them. Another
reason is that the traditional method of teaching can be
delivered by multimedia tools and through the tools the
students will be more fixated on the lecture due illustrative
representation of the topics. This would basically increase
the participation of students and the possible learning that
they might obtain from the lecture. The students will also
have options on obtaining the lecture using the multimedia
which would allow the student to review the session once
more. Student will also have the initiative to learn more
through the internet only if they are given a chance to use the
technology.
The computers in the schools are not being utilize
because of another factor and this factor is the lack of
computer literacy of teachers. Without knowing the
fundamentals of a computer the teachers will not be able to
present effectively if they were to use the computer. There
are times that the teachers are willing to learn but it will only
be additional cost which is why some of the computers are
not being used. The schools should provide computer
literacy training for the teachers in order for the schools
function more effectively.
The Philippines’ Cyber Education Project would
have given the students an opportunity to learn from top-
notch professors all over the world, if only the project was
successful. The public schools would be featuring the
lectures of the best professors and the students will be able
to learn more effectively, they will also be given the same
level of education as other schools if the said project was
accomplished.
[9] UNESCO (2009). ICT: The Philippines. Retrieved on
March 9, 2009 from the World Wide Web:
http://cms.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=1394.
[10] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) (2009). ICT in Education: The
Philippines. Retrieved on March 11, 2009 from
http://cms.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=1165.

Lastly, if the government was consistent in what

they were doing, the public schools right now might be
giving top-quality education. Technology can help students
learn more effectively but if the teachers themselves do not
know how to use the technology then it would be a waste.
The government should also prioritize on giving a better
learning environment for the students.

REFERENCES

[1] Cadias, A.M. (n.d.). The Philippines’ Cyber Education

Project: Pros and Cons. Retrieved on March 11, 2009 from
http://www.ajarn.com/Filipino/articles/cyberproject.htm.

[2] Carolina: University of North Carolina (2006). Teachers,

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2.html.

[3] COMSTE (2008). Angara Bats for a Sustainable

Modernization Plan for RP Schools. Retrieved on March 10,
2009 from the World Wide Web:
http://comste.gov.ph/content.asp?code=202.

[4] Options and Opportunities(2008).Stephen;s Web.

Retrieved on March 10, 2009 from
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[5] Oracle (2009). Oracle Information Release. Retrieved

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Teachers. Sri Lanka Department of Consensus and
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