Make Learning Fun for Our Internet-Savvy Students #edcmooc

Nature Prophet - DOTA 2

In one of the official press releases of the House of Representatives' web site (dated August 4, 2012 by Jazmin S. Camero), the number of out-of-school youth (OSY) in the Philippines has risen. Noting that 6 million of the 39 million Filipinos whose age is from 6 to 24 years old are considered to be out-of-school youth. Twenty eight (28) percent of the OSY stopped studying because of the high cost of education while 27 percent was due to lack of interest. The latter interests me to write about what we can do to curb this number.

Before I share my view on how we can address the increasing number of OSY, let me share to you what John Daniel said about using technology in education. He said that technology can be used to make education accessible to those who can't afford to send their children to school. With the use of the internet, teachers can provide materials through online and students can submit their requirements and earn credits. This is very appealing here in the Philippines because of the abundance of internet shops, mobile devices, laptops, and WI-FI spots. Unfortunately, this may not be true for all Filipino families. But it makes education accessible.

To reduce the number of OSY, I suggest that we push for online education and target those students who stopped going to school. Especially those 27 percent who are not interested in studying anymore. My observation is that these students don't find it enjoyable to go to school and labor on listening and doing school work. They rather prefer to go and play outside. And in most cases I can see these students in internet shops playing online games and even those with laptops and mobile devices.

The video above is a workshop for players of DOTA 2.

It is going to be challenging to design online classes that mimics the "game plays" of  popular sites such as Facebook and Yahoo games. One example is by teaching math with the feel of a game. Just like in high school where playing checkers involved solving math equations. But this time with more actions, arcade-type or puzzle-like. I believe this is doable in due time.

When the internet takes most of the attention of our students, let's grab their attention by using the internet to educate them instead.

Rhene Munez

E-Learning and Digital Culture online course at

Coursera.org

References:

- Jazmin S. Camero,"Number of Out-of-School Youth Increasing",  Press Releases - House of Representatives, August 4, 2012, http://www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=6343

- John Daniel,"Technology is the Answer: What Was the Question?",  Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa, Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, May 26, 2002, http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5909&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Image from Examiner.com by Brian Keen - http://www.examiner.com/article/dota-2-nature-s-prophet
Video from Youtube uploaded by DotaCinema - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGmPLHvq4og