DepEd Educational Technology Unit (ETU)

Under the framework of the Office of the Undersecretary of Administration’s Public Schools of the Future, the Digital Rise Program of the Department of Education aims to promote and solidify the innovation and digitization project that will support the needed requirements of the K-12 Curriculum in delivering a quality, accessible, relevant and liberating education for all. The key success of this program targets the different components and facets of skills development which will enable the technological advancement of infrastructure and infostructure. Alongside of which is the empowerment training program in using ICT effectively in any type of learning environment which is the most essential ingredient in making this transformational framework revolutionize the traditional practices of Philippine education.

The nature of education evolved from its traditional format of instruction. With the rise of technology and the development of learning tools which generally dictates the future direction of industry and future jobs, the Educational Technology Unit (ETU) is created to be the link between the curriculum and ICT that will focus on bridging the gap to further understand the complexities of the emerging pedagogy and blending the perfect technology to make the teaching and learning process effective.

The DepEd Mission statement provides a clear overview of how “Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure an enabling and supportive environment for effective learning to happen.” This statement, albeit unpopular to the general public, has existed since the Department’s establishment and has been providing unparalleled service to the basic education sector. This aspect of governance is the backbone that supports the whole basic education system that is the DepEd.

Under the Department Order, the Governance side of DepEd underwent a radical shift in conjunction with the K to 12 implementations on the teaching and learning process. One significant strand the DepEd Change Management Team (CMT) has recognized is the Governance and Operations strand. This strand is the core enactment of RA 9155 (Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001).

It has been noted in several CMT workshops that as the Department is continuously growing in size—with the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum—the administrative structure did not increase. Instead, with the implementation of EO No. 366. s. 2004. the organizational structure of both the Regional DepEd Offices and Schools Division Office was streamlined in terms of personnel-to-client ratio.

The Educational Technology Unit (ETU) will be instrumental in making a fast pace deliverable to support the digitization and mobilization of instructional learning materials in the Department. Likewise, it is the key element to support the alternative ICT programs in a form of Open Educational Resources (OER) to augment deliverables of supplemental lessons related to DRRM. health and wellness, youth formation, inclusive education, learners with special needs, alternative learning system, special programs, and the like.

I. DepEd Educational Technology Unit (ETU) Implementation Team

The ETU Implementation Team will be led by the Undersecretary for Administration and supervised by the Director IV of ICTS. The identified team members are public school teachers detailed in Central Office.

The ETU will have strong coordination with the different bureaus of the Curriculum and Instruction (CI) Strand to support learners’ and teachers’ educational technology needs that are current, adaptive, real-time, and future-ready.

II. DepEd Educational Technology Unit (ETU) Team Members

Team members of the Educational Technology Unit may be designated by the Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA) as recommended by the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS). It shall be composed of an ETU Head/Lead and Education Technology Specialists. (Please refer to Annex A)

III. Key Deliverables

Provide educational technology capacity building program to transform the teaching and learning practices aligned with the responsible, ethical and effective use of ICT.

Provide soft skills development and enhancement program in the effective integration of ICT into teaching and learning using the emerging education solutions.

a. Learning Management System

b. Content Management System

c. Classroom Management System

d. Open-source OER

e. Learner Centered Learning Environment Offline Modules

f. Productivity Tools (Microsoft Office 365. Google Apps in Education)

g. Digital Arts and Design (Adobe Creative Cloud and Autodesk)

Deepen the use of ICT to transform learning using different models.

a. Augmented / Virtual Reality

b. Gamification

c. Internet of Things

d. Creative Technologies

e. Mobile Application Development

f. Conferencing or Flipped Classroom

g. Open-source creative software

h. Digital learning resources

i. Productivity tools

j. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

k. Makerspace and 3D Printing Technology

l. Coding / Programming

Lead the research development program focused in new innovations and development in educational technology.

a. EdTech support for learners with special needs

b. DepEd Commons (Open Educational Resources)

IV. Functions and Responsibilities

Educational Technology Design and Innovation Development

Provide accessibility by designing educational platforms, applications, devices, materials, and environments that support and enable access to content and educational activities for all types of learners and enhance the educational technology skills of teachers.

Training and Capacity Building Program

Enable and monitor the effective use of technology infrastructure on a nationwide scale by conducting capacity building program and change transformation perspective with emerging technologies, open educational resources and digital contents to support the requirements of the K-12 Curriculum.

ICT Innovation Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation

Support educators by conducting ICT innovation research, rexdew and evaluation on a nationwide scale relative with the rapid advancement of technology to make them prepared for new learning experiences that can inspire and empower them to provide more effective teaching for all learners.

V. Strategic Goals

1. Support the Sulong EduKALIDAD vision of DepEd in providing human development projects and capacity building program for teachers most specially targeting the soft skills and ICT literacy component in the teaching-learning process.
2. Bridge the digital divide from access to quality education by providing ICT platforms to support and augment the requirements of all types of learning environments.
3. Craft a National Technology Plan to supervise the development and transformation of public schools in using ICT in its most effective and efficient way to connect the disconnected.
4. Continuous development and improvements of educational technology solutions to prepare and make Filipino learners and teachers future-ready.
5. Expose and showcase educational technology solutions to neighboring countries in the region about the Digital Rise Program and making the Philippines an EduTourism destination.

Education Technology Unit Team Members

ETU Head/ Lead	Mark Anthony C. Sy
Educational Technology Specialists	Allan E. Palaganas
	Aprellene B. Marquez (detailed)
	Rose Marie D. Abecia (detailed)
	Rowena A. Reyes (detailed)
	Salvador E. Manansala I (detailed)
	Sherwin G. Lomeda (detailed)
	Ariel A. Delos Santos (detailed)
	Mark Anthony F. Papa (detailed)
	Raymond B. Casama (detailed)
	Mark Anthony F. Jamisal (detailed)

The Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA) may designate members of the ETU as recommended by the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS).

Source:

Alain Del B. Pascua
DepEd Undersecretary