SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE - MALABON CITY

Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones always says, “Education must continue even in times of crisis, whether it may be a calamity, disaster, emergency, quarantine, or even war.”

Today, the first day of the enhanced community quarantine of Luzon and the 8th day of class suspensions from the time that Metro Manila was placed under community quarantine, we are silently launching DepEd Commons. DepEd Commons is an online platform for public school teachers to support distance learning modalities which can be accessed at https://commons.deped.gov.ph precisely to continue the delivery of basic education to our children.

We have longed for the time when suspension of classes will not in any way obstruct nor delay the education of our school children. Whenever we experience typhoons, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and armed siege, we worry about the lost days and opportunities for the next generation's education. Now in the midst of coronavirus and community quarantines across the nation, we are happy that our dream of a working and relevant online platform comes into fruition. This is the time we have longed for.

DepEd Commons is not complete nor perfect. It still has many limitations: contents are not yet that many, evaluation and ranking have not yet been included, separate channels for teachers, parents, students, and officials have not yet been established - but the times calls for its introduction. Circumstances have forced us to make it live.

DepEd Commons was designed as a direct solution to give access to online review materials and Open Educational Resources (OERs) during class suspensions and other similar circumstances.These supplementary online instructional materials will be used as alternative forms in the teaching-learning process which is different from the usual face-to-face encounter.

OERs in DepEd Commons are authored by public school teachers who are subject experts, properly cited and acknowledged. Teachers can retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute the content by blending it with a learning management system to deliver a distance learning modality. Teachers are encouraged to make their own OERs or to improve and customize those that are already uploaded.

The use DepEd Commons and Edmodo together with other online educational delivery platforms is highly encouraged especially in situations where face-to-face instruction is impossible. However, online classes are given as an option for those who have access to internet and equipment such as smartphones, tablets, laptops or desktop computers.

Those who do not have access to these requirements can opt for paper-based homework and are not required to visit internet cafés for health security, they are closed anyway in quarantined areas. Teachers have the discretion to adopt appropriate modalities of instruction provided that they follow strict compliance to the guidelines, policies, and reminders given by DepEd.

We acknowledge the reality of the situation where DepEd Commons and its OERs are not accessible to all teachers and learners. Many of our schools still do not have connectivity and access to internet. But in this extraordinary situation we find ourselves in, we must walk before we run. We must start somewhere and work our way towards the ideal where all teachers and learners in the country can access such resources. Until that time, we offer DepEd Commons and OERs to those who can make use of them, as we continue to work for the connectivity of all our schools and offices.

The DepEd Information and Communications Technology Service-Educational Technology Unit (ICTS-ETU) is ever ready to assist our teachers on OER matters. They can be reached at email address edtech@deped.gov.ph. Teachers can search DepEd Workplace for OER groups that offer exchange of ideas and online capacity building and join the Workplace group “Alternative Learning Platforms.”

Materials in DepEd Commons are a response to the United Nations Declaration of 2012 in Paris to support and give access in harvesting instructional supplementary materials.

There are many challenges we face in ensuring the continuity of education, but one thing is for sure, DepEd is steadily moving forward even in this extremely difficult situation.

We offer you DepEd Commons - from the teachers, for the teachers, for the learners.
Para sa bata, para sa bayan.

---

ALAIN DEL B. PASCUA
Undersecretary for Administration