GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 20 Dec) – The city government is planning to establish a modern mobile computer laboratory to enhance the implementation of its flagship computer literacy program (CLP).
Percival Pasuelo, executive assistant for information technology of the city mayor’s office, said they are currently drawing up a development plan for the proposed mobile computer laboratory, which would be deployed by next year in various villages in the city.
Dubbed “SHEEP CLP Goes on Wheels,” he said the mobile laboratory will mainly serve as the training facility for various computer literacy courses that would be rolled out in 2013 in the city’s 26 barangays.
Pasuelo said the mobile computer laboratory will be built at the back of a truck, which would later visit various places in the city where the SHEEP-CLP trainings will be scheduled.
SHEEP stands for Social Transformation, Human Empowerment, Economic Diversification, Environment Security and Regeneration and Participatory Governance and Transparency, which are the city’s main development thrusts.
The city government earlier launched the CLP as a major component of the SHEEP program’s education-related initiatives.
“This will bring the program closer to the people. This way, interested individuals like senior citizens, out-of-school youths, Madaris students and other residents who cannot afford to travel to the city may still benefit from the program,” Pasuelo said.
The official said the establishment of the mobile computer laboratory is one of the innovations that they have adopted to improve the implementation of SHEEP-CLP next year.
“SHEEP-CLP will continue to provide for the present needs and anticipate future trends through continuous innovations,” he said.
Aside from the deployment of the mobile computer laboratory, Pasuelo said they are planning to provide each public high school in the city with an Arduino board and mobile robot as part of its “Robotics for High Schools” program.
He said they will work with the Department of Education (DepEd) for the integration of the robotics program in the science curriculum and install electronic library systems in the speech-computer laboratories of local public high schools.
“We will keep on bridging the technology gap between the rich and poor and will continue to empower the underprivileged and marginalized sectors through our computer literacy courses or modules,” he said.
“SHEEP-CLP will focus more on action and bring effective computer literacy to the Filipino people,” he added.
SHEEP-CLP was launched by the local government in 1999 as the implementing arm of its information technology program.
In 2011, the city government introduced a “re-engineered” SHEEP-CLP to help mainstream information and communication technology education among local residents.
Through its partnership with DepEd, the local government introduced a series of ICT trainings and seminars featuring various computer-based technologies and skills in the Business Process Outsourcing industry.
The ICT modules covered call center training, AutoCAD drafting and design, computer animation, digital caricature and comic strip making, web and video blogging, basic computer programming, audio-visual presentation making, digital recording for bands, electronic music integration and “Facebook for senior netizens.” (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)