Robredo seeks help of creative minds to form materials for online class

File photo of Vice President Leni Robredo addressing the nation about the coronavirus. Screengrab from her Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines – As the country’s educational systems shift to a distance learning mode, Vice President Leni Robredo and her office are spearheading another donation drive — this time to seek the talents of production houses and media companies.

In a post on her personal Facebook account on Thursday, Robredo appealed to those in the media industry, like videographers and filmmakers, to help them create instructional materials for students in preparation for online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is Robredo’s latest campaign in relation to the distance learning method, after seeking donations of old but functioning gadgets, which will be given to teachers and students without access to these devices.

“After meeting and consulting with teachers and education experts, our office has also decided to produce videos to help teachers and parents in the transition towards distance/blended learning,” she said.

“These instructional videos are meant to encourage our teachers and our parents as they face this big change. We believe that their roles in educating and nurturing our children are even more crucial, now that our students are outside the conventions of our classrooms, using different platforms and tools for learning amid this pandemic,” she added.

According to Robredo, instructional videos would not only help teachers, but would spark interest from students and make online learning “less intimidating.”

“We are working with teachers and experts for this series of how-to videos, hoping to make distance/blended learning less intimidating, and to equip our teachers and parents so they can better handle the needs of the students in their homes and communities,” she explained.

“Given the wide range of topics to be covered, we would be needing more help, so that these videos can be produced before the school year begins. This is where we hope to meet more production houses and creatives who may wish to lend their talents to this cause,” she added.

Due to the continuous spread of COVID-19, President Rodrigo Duterte decided that face-to-face classes should not resume until a vaccine or antibody against the coronavirus is available.

However, several problems have been raised with a distance learning approach, as some areas have weak internet connection due to poor signal.  Photos of teachers in Davao de Oro camping by the roadside to get a efficient data connection signal went viral, prompting sectors to question the government’s treatment of teachers.

Duterte said that they are looking at providing far-flung areas that have no access to electricity and internet with radios, to ensure that students continue studying.

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Enrollment turnout has been low, with only 10.5 million out of 27.2 million students signing up for the upcoming school year.  But a student group and another teacher’s group speculated that this may only be the tip of the iceberg, as a historic drop-out may be recorded.

This is not the first time Robredo has called on the private sector to mount a response to the ongoing pandemic.  The Office of the Vice President teamed up with partner-agencies to bring personal protective equipment and free shuttle for health workers, dormitories for frontliners, and recently temporary shelter for medical frontliners in the Lung Center of the Philippines.

Robredo said that interested parties can reach out by sending e-mail to [email protected], using the subject [Distance Learning Instructional Videos], or by calling 09985968820.

JPV