Year IV students’ blog for Internet Education

Today, the computer is something that is usually seen inside a house. A lot of people these days know how to use them and is quite familiar with the internet. Some parents work in offices during nighttime. It would be a good idea to use computers in schools to send report cards to parents, but what about those who cannot even afford it? The truth is, I do not agree with UK’s idea about using the internet for sending report cards. It would be unfair to those who do not have enough money to buy their own computer.

In my case, I did not agree for this project because a lot of people especially here in our country are poor. Many people can’t afford to buy even there everyday food, what more if they have to buy one computer.

If we wanted to save the trees, I would say that this is not a good reason to push through with the project. If we really want to save trees, we have to educate our selves and others to learn the right way to use paper. Maybe, for one, we have to learn to recycle and reuse paper, if we can. Yes. I believe that it is hard to make a first step, but if we really try our best and put all our energy to achieve our goal, why don’t we try?

I also say that the project is not good too for us human especially for children, because we need to communicate. Yes, we can communicate with other people especially in the other side of the world by using the computer, but still in reality we only communicate with the computer. If we push through with this project, may be the next generation will not know how to talk with other people personally, face to face. We need to socialize for us to understand each other. We are social beings, there for we need to relate with other people.

I think the idea of giving reports on grades about the students is not that good. The whole 24 hour/7 days a week report giving is just hard for many. First some teachers will have a hard time because it will require more work for them. Some people may not afford a computer or the internet in their homes. It may not be available everywhere in the U.K., so I doubt that this will happen in the Philippines by 2010. I think the old fashioned way is the best system and families like it. I think the biggest drawback for the new system will be stress and lots of it because many teachers will have to work harder, children will be more pressured about their grades and parents may be shocked by the reports about their sons/daughters. Having report card days from time to time is enough for the school and the parents.

In the internet today we can do anything basically with it. Because we can research anything in the internet and communicate with our friends or family through internet. In the UK project they would want to put up the progress report of the students in each school. So that parents can see what the progress of their children during school time.

They are also having a debate if this is good for them. Well it is also good because they can see all the time what their child is up to in school.

If we use that here in the Philippines it’s very convenient for the parents to know that progress of their children in school. But this method should really be tested and if it really works for all of the parents and if it is okay then the schools can use it. In the near future we can use this method so that we can use the internet more often and also we can learn many things from it at the same time.

The electronic grading system will be very helpful if adopted here in the Philippines. Parents can be more hands-on in the progress of their child. Even if they are very busy in their own offices, all they need to do is spare a few minutes to check on their child’s progress. Having electronic grading system, though, would need technology that is not common in the average Filipino household. It would mean computers and internet connection. But internet cafes are popular in this country. Accessibility of computers is not that hard, but not always convenient either since they would have to pay everytime they go to the internet cafe. It would also be hard for the older generation to catch up on the technology. Since they would be the ones who are going to benefit on the electronic grading system, they should be computer literate. I think that schools who would use this grading system could provide basic education to the parents on how to access and understand the grading system. On the other hand, schools and teachers might complain about additional workload. This would mean upgrading the system of schools. Nowadays, grades are computed and put in the computers. Making a copy on the web shouldn’t be that hard. Besides, it would be advantageous to the school to have an electronic database of students’ grades. Storage space wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

This could take awhile before having the system adopted due to the lack of funds and equipment here in the Philippines. Computer and internet should be common in households for this system to be implemented.

The idea of being updated on your child’s grades daily is nice. The problem is the money. If I will propose a law, I’d need enough money. It’s really better to be there in person than to be somewhere else. Sure it’s time consuming but there’s more money needed to fund this law. We’ll have to think about the lack of PCs and internet connection, Low computer literacy among the majority of the population especially among older generations and the extra time for teachers. It is a good law but here in the Philippines, we can’t handle that right now. We are in debt and providing computers and all will just add to that debt. Maybe when there’s a time that’ll make everyone a computer literate and own a computer and when a teacher’s salary is increased for the extra work then we can have this law. Not only do we have a problem with the money to have this kind of system but to make sure that the computers don’t go to waste and all. How will the Filipinos actually pay for the computers? It’s really gonna be hard for the people who are poor.

This project by the government of the UK is great for parents that want to track their kids in school. This would be a different story for students who will always conscious of their actions. If this will be adopted in our country, it would be good but there are a lot of problems that we shall encounter. First, not all of the Filipinos can afford to buy a computer set. Even though computers are much cheaper today, it is still expensive. Second, most Filipinos are computer illiterate. This would mean that it will take them a lot of time to learn how to use the computer. Last, it would be a hassle for the school personnel to manage the work. It would give them more work instead of focusing on their classes. If I were a congressman, I wouldn’t suggest this project. In public schools, there are more than 50 students in a one section. If we are to monitor each of them, it would be very difficult. There is also a problem of having the government to spend too much on this project. Maybe this project will be more better if we do this when we have the money for this big project.

Being a student at the present time, I know how difficult for a parent to keep up with their children’s grades. The most common reason for this is that parents are usually occupied by their work which causes them to have a short time to spend with their children. This innovation is quite interesting, but for a third world country like the Philippines, not everybody has a hold for a computer or access to the internet and maybe worse not everyone knows how to use a computer.

If parents really love they children, they will make time just to spend their lives with them. For those parents that are busy with their work, they could propose a system that will work for both them and their children, like asking their kids to write down the scores they got in every exam and leave it on the table and to check for honesty, check it again during your free time or on weekends. And for parents that is not too pre-occupied by their work, they could get the contact numbers of their children’s teachers and ask them to have a rundown of their kids grades. Spending time with your children is a requirement as a parent and a promise made by every parent in the world.

First of all I don’t agree with the project because of the following reasons:

1. Lack of PCs and internet connection in the average Filipino household. There is a lack of PCs and internet connection in the Philippines because we are a third-world country. Why should people have computers with internet connections if they are already having a hard time providing food for their family. One of the last things they should worry about is a computer that has an internet connection.
2. Low computer literacy among the majority of the population especially among older generations; As I was saying, since the Philippines is a poor country with not the best education. Public schools are having a hard time teaching high school students basic English and now they should teach them how to properly use a computer?
3. Teachers’ complaints that it might mean more work for them. This is very true. Public teachers are already underpaid and over-worked they don’t need more load on their backs.

All I’m saying is that we should prioritize. It could be possible to make this project optional for the parents for a number schools that can afford to do it. But even this can separate the small time parents and children meet in a day which, in turn, makes the parent-child relationship weaker and more distant. This project would not be practical for the Filipinos because we are not first-world countries.

For me, if the UK Project will be imposed to the Philippine Educational System, it will do us a lot of good. Having computers and internet connection will be very beneficial to all users because as we all know, internet is a gateway to information– worldwide. Regarding the low computer literacy among our population, I think that everyone needs to learn how to use it anyway. Computers nowadays are means of communication, so learning how to use one is (again), beneficial to you.

Lastly, I think that this will be a positive project for the teachers because meeting some parents may not be necessary anymore. Or, meeting the parents will take a shorter time. So, this is not actually a problem for them because it is less time consuming.

If this will be done in the Philippines, I hope that it will be implemented in the right way because I think that it would really advantageous to our educational system.