MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL (PIA)--About 628 Subanen learners from Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) in Conception, Misamis Occidental, are now actively using STARBOOKS, the country’s first Science and Technology (S&T) digitized library, in seven public schools.
After six months of deployment, teachers have observed significant improvement in learners' competence. The beneficiary schools were Concepcion National High School, Malvar Elementary School, Migubay Elementary School, Balongkot Elementary School, Debaloy Elementary School, Concepcion Central School, and San and Francisco Elementary School.
"In the few months of using this offline teaching tool, we have noticed great results on the side of our learners through their actions and the way they respond to given commands and directions during classes. They are now much more eager to come to school compared to those last times when the said scientific referencing tool hadn’t yet been installed. They become more attentive, energetic, and participative in class if the STARBOOKS is the teaching tool to use during discussions", said Ms. Winilyn C. Magdusa, San Francisco Elementary School.
Learners can now explore and learn science and technology in a more comprehensible and enjoyable way despite their isolated geographical location since its installation on September 16, 2022.
Moreover, teachers expressed gratitude to DOST-10 for the assistance, as it helped them deliver their classroom lectures innovatively. "It revolutionized my teaching strategies to the extent that I can explore and connect my subject to interdisciplinary schemes, and for the scientific referencing tool", said Jamael Marohombsar, Debaloy Elementary School.
STARBOOKS is a science digital library developed by the Science and Technology Information Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-STII) to make S&T information accessible and available to the public, especially those without access to the Internet.
With STARBOOKS installed, learners in these seven GIDA schools can now easily access thousands of digitized science and technology resources, meanwhile, teachers’ dilemma of accessing relevant S&T-related information for their lectures has been addressed. (DOST-10/PIA-10/Misamis Occidental)
