Education/News/September 2021/Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom Module Distribution in the Philippines

Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom Module Distribution in the Philippines

Author: Anthony B. Diaz, Network Organizer, Art and Feminism User Group

Social Media channels or hashtags:

• Eduwiki Community PH
• Art and Feminism in the Philippines FB Page

Summary: Printed modules of ‘Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom’ were distributed to eight schools in the Philippines, which will be utilized by the teachers of these institutions.

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  Julius Bulahan on Wikipedia Workshop
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  Recepients of the Modules together with the Wikimedians
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  Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom Module 1-3 Distribution in the Philippines.

With the emergence of the pandemic, the educational system in the Philippines has taken a total shift from a face-to-face set-up to a modular method or if accessible, for online lecture. Not all students have the means to participate in an online class especially in urban and coastal areas where data connections are almost below normal capacity. Teachers on the other hand needed to devise specific techniques and learning modalities in order to cater to their student’s needs. While Wikipedia and its other sister projects are at hand, the stereotype of this open resource as being editable and unreliable is not a new thing in the country. Guidebooks and manuals such as the recently created by the Wikimedia Education group are a good start for educators who want to maximize the use of Wikipedia in their teaching practices. Mr. Julius Bulahan, through a rapid grant request, was able to reproduce copies of these helpful guides for distribution to public schools, which then will be utilized by Media and Information Literacy teachers.

Printed modules of Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom were distributed to eight schools last August 27, 2021. Some of the officials of the Department of Education ― Division of Naga City were present at the event; Mr. Honesto Pesimo, Education Program Supervisor, and Mr, Joseph M. Condeno, Ph.D., Senior Program Specialist. Recipients of the teachers' guide are the following schools, Camarines Sur National High School (435 teachers), Cararayan National High School (77 teachers), Concepcion Pequeña National High School (78 teachers), Tinago National High School (46 teachers), San Isidro High School (10 teachers), Sta. Cruz High School (7 teachers), Leon Q. Mercado High School (33 teachers), and Morada Ramos ES (38 teachers). This was in time with the DepEd Naga’s Gadzette Division Writeshop. Mr. Bulahan was able to share in a brief talk about the possibility of using Wikipedia in the local education system. A total of 30 teachers and education specialists were present during this event. Teachers were also invited to apply for the Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom Training of Trainers.

A follow-up lecture was also held on Camarines Sur National High School on August 31, 2021, where Mr. Julius Bulahan discussed the core topics of Wikipedia and how teachers can utilize it especially in creating their own articles. Teachers are now more enthusiastic to be volunteer translators, editors, and content creators.