The Department of Education has an online tutorial program for parents and students who need guidance on learning modules as distance learning continues in this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
This is ETULay, which is a series of educational videos that are aired on Facebook live on the DepEd Philippines page every day. Here, various lessons for Kinder to Grade 12 are shown.
It is held by the Educational Technology Unit (ETU), which is under the agency’s Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS) office.
According to ICTS, the program has an average of 500,000 views per session since it was launched on January 4. The highest recorded 1.2 million views for one session.
It aims to address the challenges facing distance learning, according to ICTS director Abram Abanil.
“Ito iyong attempt namin to address iyong mga naririnig namin na problems with regards sa implementation ng basic education learning continuity plan natin, in particular iyong blended learning. Napansin namin, may kulang in terms of specifically orienting iyong mga parents, kung paano nila i-guide o tulungan iyong kanilang mga anak dito sa ating situation ngayon na wala nang face-to-face classes,” said Abanil.
DepEd offers online tutorial for modular learning
Modules from Calabarzon were used in the pilot implementation of the online tutorial, with a medium of instruction in Tagalog, Cebuano, and Ilocano.
Abanil explained that it can still be used by students in other regions because the modules are in DepEd Commons, where learning resources can be found from different places.
He added that all modules are based on “most essential learning competencies” so students will definitely still learn their required competencies.
But he said, when it comes to visuals, it is better to use DepEd TV. But if teacher-student interaction is the priority, an online tutorial is more recommended because students can ask questions in the comments section.
“Ginagamit namin ang language na nakasanayan ng mga magulang saka ng mga bata. So kung tingnan mo, mas relaxed actually ang atmosphere, so mayroong 20 minutes of discussion tungkol sa self-learning module. Tapos iyong isa sa primary advantage talaga, mayroong interaction with the parents and the learners,” said Abanil.