Republic of the Philippines

Col. E. De Leon Elementary School

Schools Division of Paranaque City

           Education is dynamic. It is continuously moving and evolving with the times. To keep up with the trends in education there is continuing professional development among teachers. There are many ways to grow in one’s profession but the best one yet is through trainings and webinars or aptly called VINSET which stands for Virtual In-Service Training because it is done virtually through Google platforms such as Meet and Zoom.

          Normally, INSET is within the school only, but with the innovations of the Department of Education it has become centralized. DepEd’s ICTS-Ed Tech has been the focal point of the webinar providing a wide array of speakers and topics addressing today’s educational evolution. The VINSET is streamed nationwide giving equal learning opportunities to all teachers across the country.

         From August 30 to September 3, 2021 VINSET 2.0 took effect. Due to the resounding success of the first VINSET conducted last March 15-19, 2021 with more than half a million participants nationwide, DepEd once again reached out to all Filipino educators hoping to double the participants which is not surprising as the teacher have more access to internet as the DepEd Sim Card and Connectivity Load has been rolled out.

            In accordance with the Department of Education’s annual implementation of Mid – Year in Service Training, Col. E. De Leon Elementary School had extensively prepared for this to facilitate professional training and learning opportunities for teachers. Additional topics and resource speakers from the Division of Paranaque are interspersed to that coming from the DepEd – Tech central office. With the support of current school head Dr. Susan J. Corro, and the leadership of the focal person, Daisy C. Nacario and her technical working group namely Bliss Loy, Alvin Morano, Arlene Nebres, Lucille Mendez, Joanne Alcantara, ICT coordinators and grade chairmen in all level, CEDLES successfully implemented the said event.

          The topics from this training was not picked randomly. It is the summary of the teachers’ needs and weaknesses based on the Electronic Self – Assessment Tool (ESAT). From the result of the teacher’s individual ESAT it has been found out that many teachers still need to upgrade their ICT technical skills and majority need the knowledge on how to make innovations that will enhance teaching practices.

          “Education is the most powerful weapon in which you can change the world.” Said Nelson Mandela. So, every training and webinar is another opportunity for teachers to gain knowledge and skill on the best way to improve their craft. It is even more crucial now due to the shift from face-to-face classes to distance learning.

                                                            – LUCILLE T. MENDEZ