The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines has set the opening of School Year (SY or AY — Academic Year) 2020-2021 this coming 05 October 2020 (for public schools, at least, from 24 August 2020 as originally planned). As early as May this year, parents had been busy looking for means for them to acquire the necessary gadget for their children’s homeschooling. The big question I normally receive from friends and readers of this blog: are smartphones and tablets enough for homeschooling in the Philippines?

Personally, my answer to that question: Yes and No! Let me explain why smartphones and tablets are enough and why they aren’t.

Blended Learning Versus Distance Learning

I am not sure if the Department of Education (DepEd) knows what they are saying in mainstream and social media. If we will believe what DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones is saying, this school year will see a “Blended Learning” approach to educating our learners.

Also this statement from another DepEd official:

What is Blended Learning? The Glossary of Education Reform defines Blended Learning as:

The term blended learning is generally applied to the practice of using both online and in-person learning experiences when teaching students. In a blended-learning course, for example, students might attend a class taught by a teacher in a traditional classroom setting, while also independently completing online components of the course outside of the classroom. In this case, in-class time may be either replaced or supplemented by online learning experiences, and students would learn about the same topics online as they do in class — i.e., the online and in-person learning experiences would parallel and complement one another.

https://www.edglossary.org/blended-learning/

Now, let us take a look at the definition of Distance Learning according to Encyclopedia Britannica:

Distance learning, also called distance education, e-learning, and online learning, a form of education in which the main elements include physical separation of teachers and students during instruction and the use of various technologies to facilitate student-teacher and student-student communication. Distance learning traditionally has focused on non-traditional students, such as full-time workers, military personnel, and nonresidents or individuals in remote regions who are unable to attend classroom lectures.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/distance-learning/Modern-distance-learning

Why is it important for parents to know the difference between Blended Learning and Distance Learning? It is because the type of gadget that their children will need is primarily based on the learning modality that the school will implement. They also need to check, double-check, and triple-check with the schools of their choice on the type of instructions they will have to their learners.

Now, let’s dive deeper on the device requirements according to grade levels.

Homeschooling for Pre-School

Kudos to all teachers during this time of a pandemic, especially those who will be handling Pre-School (or Play School) classes. For classes in Pre-Schools, I bet they will be more of the show-and-tell type of (virtual) classroom instructions. Any device that is capable of connecting to the Internet and has a built-in camera and speakers (for audio) like tablets (Android or iPad) will do. Smartphone screens will be too small for toddlers. Of course, if you can afford, a desktop computer or even a laptop with a bigger monitor will be great.

Homeschooling for Grades 1 to 6

If you have kids who are incoming Grades 1 to 6 this school year, the kind of device that they need to have will really depend on the modality of choice by the school. Most private schools will opt to have video conferencing for around one (01) to two (02) hours or more daily, and this will be coupled by online or offline activities. Smartphones and tablets are simply not enough to handle the multi-tasking requirements of the school using this type of modality for instruction. There’s even a high chance that students in both public and private schools will still be required to submit printed documents such as reports and projects in fulfillment of the requirements in their respective courses/subjects. If this will be the case, you will need quite a technical know-how in operating a wireless printer (if you have one) with a smartphone or a tablet. This is where a desktop or a laptop computer will come in handy.

Homeschooling for Junior High School (Grades 7 to 10)

If you have an incoming Junior High School (Grades 7 to 10) student, a desktop or laptop computer is definitely a must for distance learning during this time of a pandemic. Expect that most schools (especially the private ones) will rely on videoconferencing tools such as Zoom and Google Meet on a daily basis while requiring the students to accomplish tasks while listening to the instructions being given to them remotely. Also, there are schools that will be using Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as the browser-based Moodle.

Homeschooling for Senior High School (Grades 11 to 12)

Now, if you have a child who got promoted to Senior High School (Grades 11 to 12), having a desktop or laptop computer still comes in handy for homeschooling. Depending on the career track chosen by the student, chances are their school will still require a lot of assignments, seatworks, and projects to be submitted online. The limited power of a smartphone or a tablet device will simply not suffice the multi-tasking requirements.

My Recommendations

If you will ask me what is the best device to have for homeschooling in the Philippines during this pandemic, my answer would still be:

  1. Depends on the learning modality that your child’s school will use;
  2. Depends on your (parents) budget.

If you can afford, go get a decent desktop or laptop computer. And when I say decent, please DO NOT get Celerons or Pentiums. Purchase a computer (even if it is a second hand) with AT LEAST the following specifications:

  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5
  • RAM (Memory): 8GB — the higher RAM, the better
  • Storage: 500GB SSD (Solid State Drive)
  • Monitor: 19-inch to 23/24-inch

If your child will ask you to include a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to the package, if you can afford it then go for it; if not, it is totally optional. A GPU is NOT REQUIRED for homeschooling and online classes (of course, unless your child is under a Game Development course).

If the budget is not enough for a decent desktop or laptop computer, an Android tablet that has an 8-inch screen (at least) running on Android 9 or 10 with a front camera, or an Apple iPad Mini will do. Just make sure to purchase a full-size keyboard that you can easily connect to the tablet device.

I don’t recommend the use of a smartphone for homeschooling due to the following reasons:

  1. The screen of a smartphone is simply too small to read documents, articles, or even see what the teacher is projecting on the videoconferencing screen.
  2. If you are using social media on your smartphone, it would be hard not to be distracted if you’re using the same device for homeschooling.

As an added accessory, go grab a decent earphone or headphone — better if it is a noise-canceling type — with a microphone for your child.

Of course, Internet connectivity is another thing (which I will discuss in a separate article). What do you think of these recommendations? I want to hear them. Leave a comment below.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert “Bob” Reyes is a technologist, an ICT Consultant and Tech Speaker, a certified Google IT Support Specialist, and an Open Source advocate representing the global non-profit Mozilla (makers of Firefox) in the Philippines. Bob is a Technology Columnist for the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation and an aviation subject matter expert contributor for Spot.PH.

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