SnT in a Box: ICT professionals and educators working together towards the development of science and mathematics education

Amongst the vital components in nation building is ensuring good quality education. However, in the Philippines this important aspect of development is not being given appropriate attention. In fact, national and international assessments point out that our basic education is weak with the emphasis on science and mathematics education.

An active community of educators and the integration of technological innovations in basic education may not be the panacea to the current state of science and mathematics education but these will definitely act as catalysts to the needed reform in the education system.

We need to have events and venues wherein educators and information and communications technology (ICT) professionals will be able to interact with regard to the enhancement of the state of science and mathematics education. A dynamic interaction which will result into new methods of teaching science and mathematics while integrating into these innovations the promotion of scientific culture and the maximization of available resources will play vital role to make a big leap in the improvement of the existing state of basic science and mathematics education.

With this in mind, the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) with the support of the IBOP Asia initiated the SnT in a Box project. The SnT in a Box aims to explore Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to aid instruction of basic science and mathematics. It intends to bring applicable tools from high-end researches to basic science teaching. For example some simulation tools will be included in the SnT in a Box project in order to better explain some concepts in Physics while we also incorporate visualization of complex reactions in the fields of Chemistry.

The SnT in Box will not replace actual experiments to introduce concepts. But it will allow students to understand concepts beyond the laboratory restrictions. For example, changing parameters in chemical reactions may be expensive for rural schools in illustrating different cases. But with the SnT in Box, students can experiment creating different cases using FOSS tools in a computer. These will allow them to analyze and explain concepts through experimental cases. The SnT in a Box will help students visualize concepts using FOSS tools in a computer. The prevalence of cheap computer parts now will make this tool available to most schools.

In addition to this, the SnT in a Box will open new areas of applications of ICT in basic science education. ICT is commonly used in education to provide access to limited resources; like books, journals and other materials. This compilation of FOSS tools is a different way of enabling teachers in presenting science concepts in an interesting manner.

The SnT in a Box will also provide educators new skills in using computer programs already common in research institutes. The main challenge on this initiative, however is training teachers in using the FOSS tool included in the compilation. But once appreciated, this set of tools can be used not only in teaching but in actual research works of teachers. We hope that through this project and through the availability of ICT tools, the culture of scientific research can be enhanced among high school and elementary teachers.

Also, it is important to take note that a vital component of the SnT in a Box project is to build a congregation of ICT professionals and educators working on the basic concepts of science and mathematics and also the enhancement and application of technology. The ideas, knowledge, skills and experiences of ICT professionals and educators are vital in developing a more effective and cost-effective instructional materials which will assist the advancement of basic science and math education.

Because of this, the CPU and IBON Partnership in Education for Development (IPED) organized an event titled “Workshop on Trends and Development in Basic Science and Math Education”. This workshop/seminar was held on 15 May 2009 at Balay Kalinaw in The University of the Philippines – Diliman.

The workshop/seminar brought together members of the education sector particularly the science and mathematics teachers and ICT professionals from different parts of Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog. A total of sixty-two (62) delegates were present during the workshop.

The objectives for this activity are:

1. To pull together the good practices and effective teaching methods which can be replicated for the use of the education sector;
2. To have an initial list of instructional tools which are appropriate and will best explain the difficult concepts in science and mathematics;
3. To initiate the formation of a community of educators and ICT professionals which will actively work on the creation of apt and effective methods and materials which can help in improving the state of the basic science and mathematics education

The objectives that were set for this particular activity were achieved. The educator participants came from different schools, thus varied experiences were shared on the floor. All the speakers shared useful skills, knowledge and experiences to the delegates and most of all, we were able to initially set up a group of educators and ICT professionals who are willing to work together to build alternative teaching instruments using FOSS.

While CPU and its partner organizations are continuously building and strengthening the partnership of educators and ICT professionals, the CPU is also in the process of developing the educational FOSS tools which will be used in the SnT in a Box project.

The CPU will be launching the the SnT in a Box to its pioneer schools in the last quarter of 2009.

***The complete report on the Workshop on Trends and Development in Science and Mathematics other files related to the sad event can be found at www.opensciencebox.org.

*** This article was submitted as a 2nd Blog Entry to the IBOP-Asia Project on 30 May 2009.