Attached is an Aide Memoire from DepEd Undersecretary Alain Del B. Pascua on the DepEd Mobile App – Support for Learning Engagement and Flexibility.
The bandwagon of every smart device is a vast collection of applications in compact mode. Our daily needs and interactions, such as ordering food and groceries, paying our bills, and sending birthday greetings, are instantly addressed and communicated with accuracy when access through a mobile application from the internet. Hence, it is not a remote idea that the education sector should likewise adapt this utility and gain the maximum use and potential of mobile apps.
The common material associated with the mobile apps is found in Google Play Store and Apple App Store. These can be an e-book reader, productivity tool, immersive supplemental resource, gamified activity, video editing and streaming, and many more. In just a click away, these mobile apps provide a friendly environment in navigating different buttons that stimulate creativity, digital proficiency, and engagement amongst end-users and offer the best tools for data collection.
Through its popularity and accessibility, many educational institutions consider the creation of a customizable application to support their different requirements and ease of use and functionality.
DepEd Mobile App
The DepEd Mobile App is a big project that will also cover the capacity building of the teaching force, initially gathering information in a more efficient way where reports are generated in a timely manner. Its function may soon expand to teachers and learners themselves building simplified Android application tools to create engaging materials that can also be found in the DepEd Commons and the DepEd Learning Management System (LMS.)
The Information and Communications Technology Service-Educational Technology Unit (ICTS-EdTech) in the long run will create a menu of available applications per subject to help teachers identify helpful resources in making their interaction with learners more worthwhile. Teachers with a knack and interest in building simple mobile apps may undergo training and/or be provided with guided sessions. With this premise, teachers who are interested to become mobile app developers will undergo guided sessions to do the following:
- Convert learning materials in a mobile app format.
- Create gamified offline activities.
- Develop a podcast format of supplemental tool.
- Learn to build applications using block coding.
- Enhance existing Open Educational Resources (OERs) in a mobile apps format.
Part of the Digital Rise Program of the Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA) is the aspiration that public school teachers be at par with the global teaching community using technology to engage learners and inspire the younger generations of this country.
The DepEd Mobile App is a great opportunity and a big leap towards more flexible learning. The future is now and it is running on smart devices. There is a need to immediately understand and resolve the challenges and prepare teachers and learners through mobile apps. These are gateways to many opportunities and also a very good platform to reach the Last Mile Schools.
