When the mobile phone was invented, little did we realize how much this piece of technology would be embraced by Filipinos. In fact, “texting” in the Philippines was seen as a social phenomenon in the late 1990s, with the country ranking first in the world in text message use. Even now, wherever you’d go, you’d see somebody clutching a mobile phone. High-level executives conduct a lot of business through the device. Even sari-sari stores in remote areas display “karatola” [posters] advertising pre-paid loads.

Embracing this phenomenon in 2003, BridgeIT, an international collaborative effort of Nokia, International Youth Foundation, Pearson, and the United Nations Development Programme chose the Philippines as a pilot country for a program aptly called Text2Teach.

The Philippine Text2Teach alliance is composed of Ayala Foundation, Nokia, Globe Telecom, SEAMEO-Innotech, Chikka Asia and PMSI-Dream Broadcasting Systems.

This uniquely Filipino innovation aims to enhance education opportunities for children and resource solutions for teachers in developing countries. BridgeIT believes that Text2Teach can contribute to raising the quality of basic education in the country.

Text2Teach Philippines couldn’t have come at a better time. Our education system faces almost insurmountable challenges. Perennial classroom shortages, coupled with not enough teachers, have made access to education difficult for many school-age Filipino children. The daily struggle to prevail over crippling poverty prevents many families from sending — and keeping — their children in school. On the other hand, many parents apparently find little value in sending their children to public schools, citing the deteriorating quality of basic education as evidenced by the Philippines ranking third from the bottom among 54 countries in the 1999 International Mathematics and Science Study involving 13-year-old children.

Text2Teach focuses on the 11- to 13-year-old age group because children at this age are just beginning to absorb large amounts of information. It is also at this age range when children start to develop their abstract thought and conceptual reasoning capabilities. Through Text2Teach’s videos, the wonders of the natural world are graphically presented as concepts and ideas. And the lesson plans, correlated with specific student objectives and supported by detailed suggestions for discussions and activities, make teachers’ lives easier.

“Text2teach is one of the best ways of teaching science because I saw many things I have not seen before. It is a great help to pupils like me because I don’t just imagine — I see what I hear and read.” — Jael, Grade 6 student

Initially, Text2Teach enables teachers to simply use the mobile phone to order video clips, which are then delivered via satellite, stored in the media master, and viewed on TV. This startup phase ended in 2007 but the 203 recipient schools continue to benefit from the program.

The second phase, launched this year, is even simpler: the teacher just plugs the mobile phone pre-loaded with educational videos to a TV set and plays the video lesson. New videos are accessed by downloading them through the mobile phone, using Globe’s 3G technology. The videos are integrated into lesson plans specifically aligned to the Basic Education Curriculum and designed for Grades 5 and 6 students in public elementary schools.

Research shows that Text2Teach significantly increases learning outcomes. According to the National Institute for Science and Mathematics Educational Development in 2004; and the University of the Philippines’ Demographic Research and Development Foundation in 2007, Text2Teach could spell the difference between some learning and no-learning at all in a poor learning environment.

Because of this, the Philippine Text2Teach alliance has decided to expand its scope and reach. Nokia has provided funding to implement Text2Teach to 350 new schools and has turned over the national project management to Ayala Foundation, which is also tasked with raising counterpart public funding. This public-private partnership strategy makes Text2Teach more sustainable and cost-effective, and enables the program to move on a larger scale.

Just recently, Text2Teach was launched in 20 schools in Ilagan, capital of the northern province of Isabela, the first recipient of the program’s second phase. The project has the full support of Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca and Ilagan’s Schools Division superintendent, Dr. Corazon Barrientos. More than 3,100 Grade 5 and 6 public school students in the division stand to benefit from this welcome intervention. The Text2Teach program will be introduced to more areas as the year progresses.

Text2teach demonstrates how mobile technology can be effectively used for learning. It also illustrates how the private and public sectors can work together in bridging the educational and digital divide around the world. The project has definitely put a different dimension to mobile technology, opening the door to concepts and ideas that a child may otherwise not have the chance to explore.

The Department of Education could consider scaling up Text2Teach (an ICT-enabled project initiated by the private sector) and mainstreaming it into the country’s basic education system.

Marisse C. Catangay is Text2Teach program manager under Ayala Foundation’s Center for Social Development.