My 2023 Starbucks Planner and Tumbler

Happy New Year, everyone! 

May this year bring all our wishes come true! 2022 brought so much good memories that I am grateful for. I am excited what personal goals I can unlock this new year. 

Sharing here my first accomplishment this year. 😁

My 2023 Starbucks planner with organizer and on-the-go coffee tumbler. 😍

#Welcome2023

Educational Local Knowledge Ecosystem

It takes a village to educate a child, and the child’s holistic journey to learning begins at home. I believe most challenges that both teachers and learners are experiencing right now are within the context of their microsystem. If the parents are unable to provide the necessities for their children to participate in blended learning like internet connectivity and gadgets for online classes, that is where the dilemma begins. We cannot blame the parents since some of them lost their job due to this pandemic. They may opt to choose the purely offline or modular modality, but a common predicament of this scenario is that learners may not be able to fully understand and achieve the content and performance standards as prescribed by MELCs.  

I do hope DepEd would explore the possibility of tapping other government agencies and private institutions as well to support us in these pressing concerns. I know that our government is doing its very best, moving heaven and earth just to deliver still quality education amidst pandemic, but I believe we should also start with some bold actions like investing to virtual learning infrastructures, amenities, and gadgets (with one is to one ratio), so that we can combat this digital divide that is very evident here in our country. 

Sharing here my output in Flex2Educate course about creating a poster showing my learners local knowledge ecosystem:

Homework: To Give or Not to Give?

 – that  is the question! 

I am honestly not a fan of giving homework even prior to pandemic. I would just see to it that all learning tasks are accomplished within our class time. Perhaps, it’s because most of the time there is a low turn-in of accomplished homework tasks, which will just disappoint me a lot. 

After, reading the articles assigned to us in our Flex2Educate course, I had so many realizations about giving homework! First, perhaps the low turn-in of assignments was caused by giving a boring, unengaging, and repetitive instructions for tasks that just forced them to accomplish those for scores. I could have prepared more relevant tasks that have definite purpose, doable, appropriate for their learning style and cognitive level, and with visual aesthetics appeal.  

Illustration by Marlon L. Lalaguna, 2020

We must get down to the nitty gritty of the nature and aspects of the homework we would like to give to our learners. Remember, that we are in this situation wherein we should look everything in different angles. Ask ourselves, if the task we will give them will hone the enduring learning competencies they really need to acquire for your subject? Is it really worthy of their time away from their family and on to the screen again? If this homework will just add “breadth” and not “depth” in their understanding about the most essential learning competencies, just don’t give it! Let the learners just enjoy their free time with their family and other hobbies they could work on instead while staying at home. 

Flex2Educate

I am so excited to share with you this another journey I am about to embark on to grow professionally - FLEX2EDUCATE. 

This course is a 15-day intensive course that provides trainees the opportunity to dive into different flexible learning modalities (this is where it gets its course name from) and create highly interactive and well-designed learning packages.

I am looking forward to learn a lot about how to thrive in this teaching profession amidst the challenges brought by COVID-19 pandemic. Sir Joel Santos, Thames International President, gave a valuable insight during his welcome message. He said that we should take advantage of this crisis to upgrade the quality of our education and provide great learning experiences for our dear learners. 

I hope there will be some workshops on how to create hybrid educational materials that can be delivered in different learning modalities. 

The FUTURE of education that we, educational technologists, usually talked about three or five years ago is here NOW! #EmbracingHybrid Education

New Reading Companion

Just got my new prescription reading glasses from Executive Optical - SM Valenzuela Branch!

As Andrea Camilleri, an Italian writer, once said:

Wearing glasses for reading meant surrendering to old age without the least bit of a fight. 

The writer just stated a fact! Haha 😁 

Nowadays, I usually read in e-book format and I am happy that my new pair of glasses are with computer eye-strain reduction and anti-radiation coating! 🤓

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

#LeisureReadingTime

Digital Illustration and My Favorite Stranger Things Characters

I just wanna share some of my recent digital illustrations here.😊 Since our specialization is TLE-ICT (Illustration), I felt compelled to showcase a sample demonstration for digital illustration. So here it goes...

For vectorizing Eleven, I used Adobe Photoshop as my digital illustration tool. Unfortunately, some of my learners do not have laptop or computer with Photoshop application, so I just challenged them to use their mobile illustration apps like Ibis Paint Tool, MediBang, or Autodesk Sketchbook and practice the digital tracing process through the application's painting tools. As for their performance task, I asked them to vectorize or trace their own profile pictures. Upon seeing their outputs, I could say that they did enjoy this lesson a lot. I'll try to post some of the best here, with  their permission of course.

Here is my vectorized version of Eleven from Stranger Things:

I also recorded my drawing process:

Also, with the use of Autodesk SketchBook app, I also tried to draw a Chibi version of Will Byers. I did show this as sample output for my students and not surprisingly some of them even came up with  better outputs than mine😀, which actually made me very happy! 

My 10:00 PM Thoughts on Distance Learning

Never had I imagined that our education would drastically shift from face-to-face into distance and virtual learning because of this COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, in the past, I was quite envisioning that we would really transitioning into a technology-mediated teaching and learning scenarios, but not in this hastily and very frustrating way. The digital divide in our country is so real that we cannot totally rely on virtual distance learning alone, knowing that many learners do not have online access. It is not just really equitable. Good thing is that the Department of Education offered different modalities so that learners with totally no online access can somehow continue their learning with the help of Self-Learning Modules (SLMs). But is it fair, knowing that there are learners who have 24/7 online access and all the gadgets and technology tools at their disposal to participate in online classes and constantly communicate with their teachers? I just feel sad for these learners who were deprived of these technology tools because of poverty. In our city (at Valenzuela), we are fortunate to have Rex Gatchalian, as our visionary and vibrant city mayor, who found a way to lend distance learning tablets for all the Valenzuelano learners, who do not have gadgets to watch livestreaming, video lessons, and participate in follow-up sessions. The tablet they borrowed even has a free SIM card with free internet load. 

This distance and virtual learning modalities we are all in right now would somehow continue until everyone is vaccinated against the virus. We can just all hope and pray that we will surpass this trying time early this year, knowing the vaccines are soon to be rolled out next month. Meanwhile, what we can do is just to still give our very best as their virtual and distance learning teacher, extend more and more patience for those who cannot comply with our prescribed tasks and outputs, and practice the art and science of time management, because in this work-from-home setup, we all need to know when to start and when to stop working. Make time for your self-care, because your mental health also matters.

This was during our prerecording session for DepEd NCR's Video Lesson Project

 

Happy New Year! 🥂🎆

I never thought I could ever visit this blog again! At first, I thought that working from home, because of this COVID-19 pandemic, could give me time to publish more often in this blog of mine but I was tremendously wrong. Working from home as an online teacher is way more demanding compare to the face-to-face classes. I can no longer draw the line between my personal and work time and space. I bet it will still take some time for me to really adjust in this new teaching and learning setup. Don’t get me wrong, I do not have problem at all when it comes to adapting with the technologies necessary for distance learning since I am an ICT for education enthusiast, but most of my stresses would come from the fact that most of my students cannot participate in our online classes and submit class requirements for so technology access and economic issues. (Insert a long and deep sigh here) I think we will just have to endure this until that time that everyone has been vaccinated and we have achieved herd immunity. 

Despite the lockdowns, I was able to still participate in many writeshops and workshops organized by the Department of Education: 

• SHS PRIMALS Writeshop on Entrepreneurship 
• Homeroom Guidance Program Module Writeshop 
• Career Guidance Program Policy Making Workshop 
• National Policy Guidelines for Educational Guidance and Counseling Services 
• SHS Writeshop on Empowerment Technologies 

I feel so blessed for the trust and confidence being given to me to participate in all these worthwhile endeavors. This new year, my only wish and fervent prayer is for all of us to have a better 2021. Stay safe and healthy always. God bless us all!  

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Just want to share here my happiness... 

😊 

Got my first gifts for myself, 2021 Starbucks Planner (Green Siren) and Organizer (Black Reserve):

On Being Productive During Community Quarantine

Hey! It's been a while! Finally, I found the time to post here again.

Last Thursday night, President Rodrigo Duterte put Metro Manila under community quarantine to protect the citizens from the contagion. This COVID-19 pandemic is really a serious matter that the world is currently facing.. Hoping that you are safe, while reading this, with your family. All of us should better stay at our home, as instructed by the government. I am just quite sad that many are panicking, instead of having a calm and resolute disposition in these times of crisis. I have seen in the market how people would hoard disinfectant stuffs as if they need to stack up for a year.. This is not really a healthy attitude for us, knowing that there are also others who equally need these very important commodities to fight the pandemic. Thank God that the national and local government are doing their very best to pass and execute policies with regard to hoarding of alcohol, facial masks, rice, and other grocery items.

Citizens are also encouraged to avoid crowded places and practice among themselves social distancing. As a personal precaution, our family has decided to cancel all our outside activities. We were sad by this scenario, 'cause my sister together with her husband just arrived from New Zealand last week and that many of our planned itineraries were cancelled. However, I realized that we can still manage to enjoy the rest of this community quarantine days by staying at home.

I am just really summoning more of my introvert self now to enjoy and still become productive for the rest of the days that we don't have classes. So these are the things that I am planing to do:

• Exhaust the use of our virtual classroom - the platform I am currently using to still interact with my learners despite classes suspension. Tomorrow, I will be giving them their Online Long Test, which I prepared last Friday. 
• This is a time for me to catch up with some books I started reading last month and to start reading the books I bought last year that have never been opened from it plastic wrappers. :D
• I could work on with some of my baby projects I was not able to finish, 'cause of the regular school days and routines that have glued my attention. 
• Finally watch my Netflix series and movies I planned to finish last month but failed, 'cause again I became very inundated with things I don't even consider productive at all.. my God I felt like I am wasting my life. 
• Write some posts here in my online hideout - JOABT.  
• Practice my Yoga meditations. 
• Reconnect with my most favorite people in the world - my family!

Perhaps you can relate to some of my plans in maximizing the rest of the month, or perhaps you have your own unique strategy and plan on how you will spend the days. I would like to hear some of your plans. Feel free to comment below.

Stay safe everyone! #COVID-19

My 2020 Starbucks Planner

How’s your new year so far?

It’s been a great and productive first week of class for the year 2020. I accomplished so much in my class and we are just waiting for the Third Quarter Exam Results.

By the way, let me just share with you my new planner from Starbucks that I acquired through the eighteen stickers I collected from November to December last year. This one is color frost grey with leather cover made from Valencia, Spain. This is my third year, collecting SB planners and I am pretty sure this will become a personal tradition, because I am such a fan of both their coffee and the aesthetics of their yearly planner.

Hoping that this would be a great year for me and my family. I am also wising the best for you,  whoever and wherever you are. Let's take a closer look at this SB Planner (Frost Grey):

Happy Holidays!

A blessed Merry Christmas to all! I hope you are enjoying your holiday vacation. We still have ten days more to go and I am quite excited about the things that I can accomplish for those days. Don’t get me wrong, I am still enjoying my holiday vacation, but this is usually the time for me to also become productive and catch up with many tasks I need to finish at least before the year ends. I am so happy to share that I was able to write and read more for my graduate studies and even accomplished my instructional materials for my demonstration teaching this coming January.

I am also happy to have completed our novena, which is our yearly tradition of attending nine Christmas masses. So far, the best part of this vacation is that I was able to bond a lot with my fam these past few days while shopping and drinking our favorite frappes. I was able to catch up with my favorite Netflix series like 13RY by Jay Asher and ASUE by Lemony Snicket. For the next few days, I am aiming to finish reading The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw.    

Another year will almost pass and I could say that I was able to enjoy 2019 a lot! I was invited to be part of many write shops and training organized by the DepEd Central Office. I was able to participate also to some important projects and events in our school like the International Benchmarking conducted by the South East Asian Ministry of Education Organization in our school. So many things to be thankful for this glorious 2019. Above all, my family and I are thankful to our dear Lord for the great health all year round.

Here are some of my captured moments during the different activities I attended this year:

Together with my former Head Teacher, Mrs. Tanfelix and fellow teachers
during the School-Based INSET of Bitik Elementary School, where I was
invited to talk about 21st Century Skills and ICT integration. 

During my recognition as Resource Speaker in
GTDLNHS School-Based Mid-Year INSET,
wherein I  talked about RPMS-PPST

Validation and Finalization of Media and Information Literacy Modules at
Pontefino Hotel, Batangas City

Together with my fellow Grade 12 Homeroom Guidance Module Writers
at Tanza Oasis Hotel and Resort, Cavite

This is me during my presentation in the National Orientation on the Utilization
of SHS LAC Resource Packages for Media and Information and Literacy LRs
at The Golden Prince Hotel, Cebu City.

Nutrition Month 2019

July is National Nutrition Month Celebration.
Here is our school's official banner I designed, based form the template prescribed by National Nutrition Council.

First Week of SY 2019-2020

What a frenzied week!

First week of the school year is done! Congratulations! You made it! 198 school days to go! :D

Prior to class opening, I already set my alarm to 5:00 AM, so that I will have one and a half hour to prepare myself for the school (Oops, those who knew me would react, not totally by myself... with the help of my mother, like I don't know how to cook hehe). My first period is 7:20 in the morning, and I should come to school earlier to prepare the computer laboratory. This school year, I will be handling five classes, two Grade 9 and three Grade 10 classes, I will be teaching them Illustration and Visual Graphic Designing as their specialized course, and I am quite excited for the new teaching and learning experiences that are in-store for us.

This is during the first flag ceremony of Gen. Tiburcio de Leon National High School for this school year.

Photos by Mr. Danilo Yumang Jr.

I could say that the first week was a blast! All my learners participated actively during my class and computer laboratory orientation. They even shared their personal expectations about the subject and their teacher as well.

One of the changes to my routine this school year, which I would like to really commit myself, is the habit of bringing "baon." This will help me to avoid fast food (for a healthier life) and for me to save time from going to canteen or eatery outside the school. My class schedule is quite really crunched on time, that is why having my morning snack and packed lunch is a great time and money saver.





How about you fellow teachers? How's your first week of the school year?

My packed lunch yesterday (rice, pork adobo, sauteed green peas
and carrots, and banana)

My Ray-Ban Wayfarer Folding (RB4105)

Finally, I got my Ray-Ban Folding Wayfarer!

I am starting to build  a capsule wardrobe with items that are of high quality and could serve me for a decade.. and these sunglasses are on the top of my wish list.. This is a gift for myself for working so hard this year, like I deserved it! (Now, I am justifying it too much, am I guilty buying it? Haha! NO! Marlon, you deserved it! PERIOD!)

I chose Ray-Ban Folding Wayfarer, because I read and watched a lot of great reviews about it and everyone knows, the design is an ULTIMATE classic, making it as one of the most essential items in men's accessories.

It comes with a leather case to protect your sunnies,

and a microfiber cloth for cleaning. 

I preferred black, so I can match it with most of
the clothes in my wardrobe. :) 

S.Y. 2019-2020 Calendar of Activities

Are you excited for the this coming school year? Haha! Yeah, I know that we are still in the middle of our summer vacation, but perhaps this one might help you for your early preparations. The Department of Education released the DepEd Order No. 7, s. 2019 The School Calendar for School Year 2019-2020 including its implementing guidelines. Follow this link and check it out or view the image below for the monthly activities:

My RPMS-PPST Portfolio

Preparing this Results-based Performance Management System-Philippine Professional Standards for Teacher (RPMS-PPST) Portfolio is indeed really daunting! 

Many teachers are complaining that it is already consuming their summer vacation. While I agree to them that it is demanding too much time and effort, and money as well, I have to say that I am still an advocate of this new performance assessment system. The domains and strands of PPST are focusing on competencies that can help our teachers become more effective in teaching. Perhaps, we are just being overwhelmed by the portfolio development, because we were not able to start working on it and collecting means of verification early on (as soon as this new RPMS-PPST was rolled-out in our school). Lesson learned, so this coming school year, prepare the list of MOVs that you will need to meet the indicators, so that by the end of the school year, you will just have to organize them. Remember, there is also a mid-year review of performance, so we must also be ready by that time when our rater requests our portfolio for monitoring. 

Right after I developed my paper-based portfolio, I also created an online portfolio version of it through Blogger. I believe this is more time and cost-effective, no need to print, just took me one day to finish it! I am looking forward to implement this in our school as our practice for RPMS-PPST portfolio development. 

If you want to view my online portfolio,please click this link: The 21st Century Teacher

Thank You 2018!

WHAT A GREAT YEAR, INDEED!

I know that this post is already super late, but still let me express my gratitude here. There are so many things to be thankful last 2018. I consider the year as my GRANDEST year so far… my family and loved ones are all doing great, I met a lot of new friends, achieved some of milestones I envisioned many years ago…  and a whole lot of triumphs I did not expect to experience. Truly, God is good all the time! Allow me to share with you in this post all the GREAT things that happened to me in 2018.

PLDT InfoTeach National Quiz Bee Winner

When my students, Carl David and Karl Nikolai won in the Regionals and qualified for the National Quiz Bee, I was like walking in air! This is a dream I always wanted to achieve in my whole teaching career, to finally made it to the national level competitions. With the review and training that we did and with the dedication of my two students, I was really quite confident that they will have this in the bag. Then, I knew it! My students won as the GRAND CHAMPION of the National Quiz Bee! They received the cash price of 45,000 pesos and even a computer package for our school! A great blessing for our school and for my students who truly deserved it because they worked hard to top the competition.

National Training of Trainers for the Trends and Strategies in Career Guidance Program

During our training session in Mindanao Cluster, Siargao Island. 

With my partner from Davao Del Norte, Melanie Mandin.  

For the whole month of August, finally, I was able to complete the four batches of national trainings in career guidance program. As writers of the Grade 11 and 12 Career Guidance Program modules, we were also invited to facilitate the national training for the capacity building programme of our guidance advocates and counselors all around the country.

Natatanging Guro 2018

With my ever supportive school principal,
Madam Lagrimas Bayle. 

During the culmination of the World Teachers Day Celebration, I was recognized as the Natatanging Guro 2018 of our school. This is my second time to be given with such an honor and I just can’t express how thankful I am to be given with such accolade. I just can’t believe that until now, my fellow teachers believe in me

Work Immersion of our SHS Program was a Success

With SHS TVL teachers during our work immersion partners scouting.

During our SHS Work Immersion Orientation.

The work immersion program of our school was also my great concern this year. But I am so thankful to God that everything went well in this program and that through the help of dedicated and passionate work immersion teachers in the persons of Ma’am Jackie, Ma’am Shirbenly and Sir Steve, all of our one hundred sixty (160) Grade 12 students were able to be deployed in their respective work immersion venues.
All these successes are for the glory of God for giving me the wisdom and strength to accomplish great things in life. I am hoping and praying for another exciting and fruitful 2019!