Certiport Inducts Philippines Secretary of Education into Champions of Digital Literacy Hall of Fame

Hon. Jesli Lapus represents Asia in Hall of Fame induction for mandating ICT competency program for Filipino teachers

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — August 02, 2008
The Philippines Secretary of Education Jesli Lapus was inducted into the Champions of Digital Literacy Hall of Fame for his efforts to roll out one of the world’s largest digital literacy programs for the Department’s more than 480,000 teachers in the Philippines.

Lapus, the first Filipino to be so honored, represents Asia in the Hall of Fame induction for mandating information and communication technology (ICT) competency program for virtually all of the country’s teachers in primary and secondary education. The Secretary was recognized for his pro-active efforts to develop and validate teachers’ ICT skills using globally recognized standards.
 
“The leadership demonstrated by Secretary Lapus in orchestrating the digital literacy development of Filipino teachers provides the foundation that will enrich student learning and global competitiveness of the Philippines,” said David Saedi, president and CEO of Certiport.

With support from the private sector, the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) has already sent more than 100,000 teachers through digital literacy training. These include 86,000 teachers trained under a project with Intel, 18,000 in collaboration with Microsoft Partners in Learning and 4,000 together with USAID. The in-service training for teachers under DepEd’s own information communication technology for education (ICT4E) initiative also provided an estimated 100,000 public school teachers with computer literacy skills.

“Our students are the direct beneficiaries of our efforts to harness the power of technology to improve classroom instruction, and ICTs are valuable tools to accomplish our goals,” Lapus said.

Secretary Lapus is one of six individuals selected from around the world to be inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame. In 2007, the DepEd trained and tested 300 technical and vocational public school teachers using Certiport IC³.

Lapus added that the certification of the teachers’ ICT skills is aligned with globally established standards such as the UNESCO’s Competency Standards for Teachers and the National ICT Standards for Teachers.

The Champions of Digital Literacy Hall of Fame was established in 2005 to honor the exemplary efforts of individuals across the globe who transform the landscape of education and employment through championing the adoption of digital literacy standards. Each year, nominations are received from around the world and award recipients are selected based on the measurable scope and social impact of their efforts.

To learn more about Champions of Digital Literacy, go to www.certiport.com/champions. Listen to podcast interviews with Secretary Lapus and others to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at www.certiport.com/podcasts. Print-quality photos of Secretary Lapus from the Gala award ceremony can be previewed and downloaded at:www.flickr.com/photos/certiport/collections/72157606033524672.

About Certiport

Certiport prepares individuals with current and relevant digital skills and credentials for the competitive global workforce. These solutions are delivered by more than 12,000 Certiport Centers worldwide and include Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³®), the official Microsoft® Office certification programs and the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program.

"Certiport" and "IC³" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. "Microsoft" is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:

John Pilmer
801-369-7535
mediarelations@certiport.com