DICT DISTRIBUTES LAPTOPS, TABLETS TO SAN JUAN

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) provided tablets, laptops and pocket Wi-Fi to the City of San Juan to be distributed to public school students in the city.

“This initiative is part of our efforts to assist the education sector, especially our students and teachers, as our country adopts blended learning for the continuance of education amid the ongoing pandemic,” DICT Secretary Gregorio “Gringo” B. Honasan II said.

“Your DICT targets to replicate the success of this initiative in other local government units as well,” he added. A total of 12,500 tablets, 1,000 laptops and 1,000 pocket Wi-Fi were turned over to San Juan in April.

According to San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora, grades three to six students of Pinaglabanan Elementary School will receive laptops with pocket Wi-Fi as they have been selected as the pilot school for distance learning, while other Kinder to Grade 12 students from all the other San Juan public schools will receive tablets.

All devices are pre-loaded with DICT and Department of Education (DepEd)-developed teaching and learning digital content. Quick links to the DepEd teaching and learning portals (DepEd Commons, LRMDS) are also installed on all devices.

The DICT also targets to increase students’ knowledge about cybersecurity. The DICT has partnered with the City of San Juan in producing CyberSafe Learning materials. The said materials provide tips on how users could maximize the use of ICT while minimizing risks and threats online.

The said initiative is part of the Digital Teachers and Digital Learners Project under DICT’s Digital Education Program, which aims to facilitate digital transformation in the education sector and help address challenges in the delivery of basic education in the K-6 during and beyond the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Similarly, the DICT and San Juan City also partnered for the pilot implementation of the Vaccine Administration System (VAS) last April 13. DICT VAS or D-VAS is part of the Vaccine Information Management System (VIMS) developed by the Department in support of the national immunization program of the government.

Still part of its initiative to support the education sector in the new normal, the DICT has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) with the establishment of the Public Education Network aimed at providing digital connectivity to all public schools and DepEd offices nationwide.

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