ROMBLON, Romblon — The Schools Division Office of Romblon has hit another milestone as they sign a Memorandum of Agreement with eight (8) local cable operators for continuous learning in the division amid COVID-19 pandemic. These newly established partnerships will strengthen the department’s effort to continuously deliver quality education through various platforms. Specifically, this will pave a way for TV-Assisted Instruction, which is seen to be one of the top preferences of the learners in the division.
The following local cable operators have signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Education-Romblon: (1) Romblon Cable Corporation (Romblon, Romblon), (2) Alcantara Cable TV Corporation (Alcantara & Looc, Romblon), (3) Gateway Cable TV Network (Calatrava, Romblon), (4) San Agustin Cable Antenna Corporation (San Agustin, Romblon), (5) Accutronics System Inc., (Odiongan, Romblon) (6) Santa Fe Cable and Internet (Sta Fe, Romblon), (7) Star Cable Corporation (Odiongan, Romblon), and (8) Magdiwang Cable TV (Sibuyan Island).
“As the Department of Education recommends the use of available media, such as television and radio, to facilitate distance learning, we are grateful to our local cable operators for collaborating with us in ensuring and promoting access to quality education through this multimedia platform. I am proud to say that Romblon is the first division in MIMAROPA Region to adopt TV-assisted instruction”, SDS Servando said.
These local cable operators pledge to allot sufficient airtime for the programs of the division in order to cover all the most essential learning competencies. This initiative of DepEd-Romblon hopes to steer more partnerships and linkages in order to reach more learners for a more inclusive education.
Romblon Cable Corporation Chief Executive Officer Dr. Venancio C. Lo said. “We are committed to fulfill our corporate social responsibility and moral obligation to help the government in any way that we can especially in the field of education during these trying times.”
Meanwhile, Odiongan National High School- the School of Choice is the chosen school to pilot the TV-assisted learning delivery modality. During the visit of SDS Servando, ONHS headed by PIV Noel Joseph Machon, conducts the dry-run for the TV-Assisted instruction. SDS Servando and some division key officials witness the process of production of the instructional videos and check the quality of instructional materials being produced.
Mr. Joseph Menorca, the focal person of TV-assisted learning delivery modality, praise the hard work of the teachers assigned to this project, “It is good to have tech-savvy teachers who can create videos with high standards and quality content. Because of the collaborative efforts of our ICT team and teacher-broadcasters, we have produced instructional videos that are not just educational but also entertaining. We will continue to work together so that TV-assisted instruction will thrive in our division.”
In order to provide enough TV-assisted instructional materials, SDO Romblon calls for the submission of video learning materials from the different schools in the division. These locally-made video materials are undergoing quality assurance so as to be ready for airing in the local cable channels around the province. SDO Romblon formed a Quality Assurance Team to make sure that the videos to be aired in the TV-Based instruction qualify with the standards. The QA Team is headed by Mr. Ruben dela Vega, EPS-LRMDS and co-chaired by Mr. Joseph G. Menorca, TV-Assisted Instruction Coordinator and Mr. Noel Joseph M. Machon, Modular Instruction Coordinator. The members of the team are the following: Education Program Supervisors, Mr. Nick Stanley Mendoza (ITO), Mr. Jomer R. Martinez (HT-I), Mr. Franco M. Rico (P-I), Mr. Neil R. Roda (HT-I), Mr. Alvin R. Fabrique (T-I), Mr. James Bryan I. Maham (T-I), Mr. Mario V. Johray Manongdo (T-I), Mr. Leopoldo M. Mago Jr, (PDO II- LRMDS), Ms. Leona Lynn Famorcan (LibII-LRMDS).
Further, the division is also communicating with the Knowledge Channel Foundation for a possible partnership to allow them to use their instructional video materials for the TV-based instruction.
SDS Servando lauds the efforts of everyone in the Division of Romblon and said, “We always make sure to do the best that we can and exhaust all means that we have just to deliver our services to our learners no matter what the circumstances are and wherever they may be. After all, this is what we pledge to fulfill, to deliver quality education to Filipino Learners.”
