Picture courtesy of TeamAsia. TESDA and Googlers hold a Google+ Hangout with TESDA provincial offices in Regions I, III, VI, X, XI and ARMM. From left: Aileen Apolo, Google Southeast Asia Head of Outreach; Executive Director Maria Susan Dela Rama, Project Manager for eTESDA PMO; Sec. Joel Villanueva, TESDA Director General; Janet Yoon, Country Manager for Google Apps Supporting Program; and Chelle Gray, Southeast Asia Google Developer Groups Manager.
MANILA, JUNE 17, 2013 – The Philippine Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the country’s key agency for provision of technical vocational education and training (TVET), has announced that it is working with Google to enhance collaboration and communication between its employees.
More specifically, the partnership confers TESDA trainers, personnel and students access to a collaborative suite of free online apps via Google Apps for Education, which are also being used by other educational institutions. The use of these apps will allow these trainers, students and personnel to store data online and share it with peers via Google Drive, conduct online video conferences using Google+ Hangouts (which can be integrated with TESDA’s existing Online Program), craft websites with Google Sites, manage work or class schedules with Google Calendar, and send and receive email with a tesda.gov.ph domain name.
The plan involves initial implementation of the project in TESDA’s central office, after which it is to be expanded to TESDA offices in other regions and provinces. It is also slated to see service in TESDA Technology institutes. To help increase local technological competency, 50 to 80 TESDA information technology trainers and administrators, hailing from Metro Manila and Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, will also undergo training, including attending workshops, to help them learn to use the aforementioned Google Apps properly.
TESDA Secretary Joel Villanueva said that technology is playing a key role in schools and educational institutions, where it helps students learn, adding that TESDA’s adoption of Google Apps was a testament to this.
Google Apps Supporting Program country lead Janet Suzie Yoon expressed her hope that the use of these apps would provide a novel learning experience for both educators and students, as well as help grow the reach of technical vocational educations among Filipinos residing both locally and internationally.
