empowerED Podcast with Francis Jim Tuscano

Do you want to write your own fictional story or publish a personal blog but you don't know how to go about it? Have you experienced writer's block? Are you a teacher who's having a hard time getting your students to write? 2022 Global Student Prize finalist Leah Angela Cioco joins our podcast and shares how, as a young published writer, she learned that knowing oneself can be one incredible way of becoming a better writer, whether professional or for personal development.

Reports of cheating in tests during remote learning reached an all-time high! Since students were not with their teachers and on their own, the temptation to cheat was much stronger. Ma. Angelica B. America, Economics teacher in Senior High School (Xavier School) and college instructor (Ateneo de Manila University) joins us as we reflect if we can really stop students from cheating in class. The discussion revolves around the areas of assessment design, using technology tools in assessment, and values formation in students. 

In this episode, Imran Hassan, EdTech Trainer for Asia and the Pacific at EdPuzzle, joins us as we rediscover and re-learn flipped learning and how it helped learners during the pandemic lockdown and how teachers can integrate flipped learning into their daily learning experiences. 

In this third episode of the special hybrid or hyflex learning mini-series, we examine recurring challenges in Hybrid/Hyflex Learning and find ways to address them. We survey the following areas: learning and assessment, teacher readiness, space and infrastructure, and most importantly, safety, support, and equity.

In this second episode of the special hybrid or hyflex learning mini-series, we dive deep into UNESCO's three-step approach into designing the school's Hybrid/Hyflex Learning Program, focusing on the importance of understanding context, needs, and capabilities of the school community.

We continue to witness recurring surges of covid infection in our communities that affect schools. The education systems need to be ready with a resilient learning continuity program. In this first episode of the special hybrid or hyflex learning mini-series, we examine hybrid or hyflex learning and its role in ensuring that learning continues amidst recurring school lockdowns or restricted on-site or in-person learning.

How can a student win a US $100,000 Award and help change the world? A special and surprise episode drops today before lunch!

Ancelmo Miguel Catalla, the first Filipino student finalist in the Global Student Prize, drops by to share his experience of being a Global Student Prize finalist in 2021 and gives tips on how to prepare, get nominated, and even self-apply for the prize. Director Margarita Consolacion Ballesteros of DepEd-ICO shares words of wisdom and inspires students and teachers to join the nomination.

Global Teacher Prize 2021 Finalist Steven Kolber (Australia) shares how the universal design of learning and AI can be tapped to elevate learning, explaining how UDL and AI can help teachers to be more effective educators to provide better learning experiences to students. 

Education during the pandemic has been challenging. Teachers had to learn new skills and face their fears in shifting to remote learning. For the past months, Mark Anthony Jamisal has been rendering service to the Philippine education community by training teachers on how to use technology tools to enable remote learning and leading an online tutorial program for parents and students at home. He shares how these programs have been great opportunities to bridge teachers, students, and parents despite the distance.

These times have been tough for the youth, with challenges not just in their academic life, but also in their own personal relationships and lives. Joel Hawod, UNIFFIED’s 2021 Most Influential Teacher, joins us and shares his experiences of guiding high school students in this pandemic. He talks about fostering and sustaining authentic relationships with students despite the barriers of lockdowns. UNIFFIED is the largest nonprofit Filipino-American Educators Association, a multi-service 501(c3) organization based in the United States of America.

The work of a teacher does not end the moment the dismissal bell rings. For some teachers, the work extends even outside the classroom, supporting students, their families, and other members of the community. Global Teacher Prize 2021 finalist Michelle Rubio from the Philippines shares how her community inspired and led her to realize that teaching is not simply about training young minds, but also guiding and supporting them with one's heart.  

The Philippines' first Global Student Prize finalist Ancelmo Miguel Catalla of Quezon Science High School joins empowerED Podcast and shares his experiences as a student journalist and how youth journalism can help students be more involved on current relevant social issues. Miguel also talks about the situation of the youth as they cope with the demands of school at this time of the pandemic. 

Feedback to student learning matters! So, what is hindering our teachers from taking advantage of this essential aspect of teaching-learning process? We again welcome Ivy Encinares, K-12 Filipino Language and Literature Department Chairperson at Xavier School-Nuvali, as she discusses institutional and systemic issues that hinder teachers from fully giving better feedback to their students, especially at this time of remote learning.

The remote education set-up has given parents their front-row seats in the online or remote learning classes of their children, including the different assessments given to them. Maleng Raysag, a teacher blogger and the head of Power Mac Business Systems, Inc, joins us in this episode and shares her experiences as a parent and how she manages her participation in the assessments given to his kids during remote learning. She also talks about the importance of agency and independent learning skills in kids to be better learners today.

How can teachers effectively foster collaboration skills in online learning if students are learning remotely? Alfonso Mangubat, PYP Coordinator & MS Social Studies Teacher at Tokyo West International School, joins us once again to discuss how students can learn better together using the right strategies and appropriate digital learning platforms and tools. 

In this episode, Dr. Ferdinand Blancaflor Pitagan, Dean of the School of Teacher Education at the National Teachers College, joins us once again and shares how Teacher Education Institutions should be learning from this pandemic and start re-imagining how teacher education should empower future teachers to be resilient and future-proof.

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How has the state of literacy changed in this time of the pandemic? What challenges and opportunities have we encountered in teaching students the basic literacy skills as we all do various mode of distance learning? Mr. Frederick Sotto Perez, president of the Reading Association of the Philippines, joins our discussion and reflects on what we have learned about literacy and education in times of quarantine. 

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Sister Felicitas Bernardo, SPC, Dean of the Graduate School of Education of St. Paul University-Manila and Chairperson of the National Basic Education Commission of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, joins our discussion on the challenges and opportunities that private schools in the Philippines continue to encounter. Sister Felicitas emphasizes how education institutions should help one another in order to survive and thrive in the pandemic.

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Life Coach Christine De Leon Alcala returns to empowerED Podcast and discusses how the youth have fared after more than a year into the pandemic. Are they sinking or swimming? How have schools supported the youth's well-being and social-emotional learning skills development?

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Jay Michael Jaboneta, Managing Director of NEXUS Innovation Labs, De La Salle Lipa and Co-Founder of the Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation, drops by to share his experience in mobilizing communities and partners to help schools at this time of the pandemic. He also talks about the recent project of the Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation in helping schools gain access to devices for distance learning.

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Certified Life Coach, Cristine De Leon Alcala, shares the common sources of stress and challenges in students and teachers as remote learning progresses this current school year. She discusses the essential roles of self-care, time-management, and self-awareness in coping with the negativities of the pandemic and gives helpful tips to thrive and be better.

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Dean Trixie Sison of the Department of Child Development and Education at Miriam College, a leading higher education institution in the Philippines, discusses how the early education sector has moved forward at this time of the pandemic. She dives deep into the challenges as well as the opportunities and key learnings in early education as the global pandemic continues to disrupt education.

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Is EdTech closing the gap in education or is it widening the big challenge of inequity at this time of the pandemic? EdTech Director and Apple Distinguished Educator, Trish Castro joins empowerED Podcast for a reflective discussion on how EdTech continues to play its role in delivering learning in this unprecedented time. 

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Santhi Karamcheti, a special education advocate and award-winning educator in India, discusses how the pandemic has affected the Indian education system and reflects on how special education continues to adapt and respond to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Santhi was a finalist at the 2016 Global Teacher Prize and co-founder of Eka Educational and Charitable Trust as well as the President of Special Educators And Rehabilitation Professionals Association (SERPA).

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What kind of school leadership will help schools and education communities to move forward as we dance with the COVID-19 Pandemic? Alex Bell, Director for Global Education and Outreach at Portland Education (UK) offers his thoughts and expertise in understanding the call for authentic leadership to better face the challenges of the pandemic. 

The Department of Education has recommended the use of blended learning as means to deliver learning at this time of school closures. 2016 MetroBank Outstanding Teacher and Apple Distinguished Educator, Winona Diola joins the show to talk about blended learning as an approach and modality of instruction. She also talks about using learning playlists in blended learning.