DOST turns-over ‘digitized’

Sci-tech e-lib to IKA Cortes

CORTES, Bohol Sept 25 (PIA)—The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the Provincial Science and Technology Office (PSTO) in Bohol turned over two computer-based resource center equivalent to a whole science digital library to Infant King Academy, a secondary parochial school in Cortes (IKA-CORTES).

Through its Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly Operated KioskS (STARBOOKS), the DOST and its Science and Technology Information Institute (STII) makes available to IKA-Cortes students, digital access the scientific information physically available at the STII, DOST Science and Technology Information Network of the Philippines (SciNeT), the Philippine e-Lib project sources, freely‐available online resources, and other government subscribed databases.

In fact, when STARBOOKS would be useful for research and supplying the learning needs of students without access to the internet, DOST Bohol PSTO Meljun Signe, speaking for Provincial Director Vina Antopina, says the STARBOOKS can also be useful for teachers preparing lessons or the anybody in the community needing to access entrepreneurship skills and livelihood resources.

For IKA Cortes, the DOST STARBOOKS is a game changing technology, considering that the school is still on the process of rebuilding its in-house resource center, after calamities like the earthquake of 2013 toppled its school library exposing the books and reference materials to the elements.

What the school was able to salvage after the earthquake, super-typhoon Odette finished off.

We are a non-stock, non-profit school, committed to serving the education needs of the locals, offering low tuition fees to make education accessible to the poor, so we thrive on any help that we can get, shared school principal Zoe Chiu, during the turn-over ceremonies.

The turn-over ceremonies, along with a short orientation on the information kiosks, the DOST also trained two network administrators who will oversee the operation of the information kiosks, as well as presented the STARBOOKS capability to IKA faculty and administrators.

School Director and assistant parish priest Rev Fr. Ruel Pagan thanked the DOST and the team which came to the school to deliver the good news, even as he instructed the school faculty to make good use of the hundreds of thousands of digitized science and technology resources available to them in preparing for their lessons and in making these very interesting.

STARBOOKS contains research papers, journal articles, livelihood and educational videos, learning and teaching materials for Grades 1 to 12 students, which can be very useful for faculty members in junior high school, financial literacy materials, as well as reference volumes in the science and technology field collated from DOST-STII Library and content partners.

A school which has just opened up its mobile phone policy in school, the entry of the STARBOOKS and the possible use of the school computer laboratory as access to the digital resource through a local area network, significantly multiplies the opportunities of the students to get to the resources, according to the principal.

Aside from schools, STARBOOKS can also be available for Local Government Units (LGUs), Non‐Government Organizations (NGOs), and private corporations.

For those interested in getting STARBOOKS, requesting parties are required to have at least 2 computer units (1 server, 1 terminal), an optional pod, space measuring 3m x 4m for the physical Kiosk set-up, a mandatory training and a focal person.

For those interested to get the DOST STARBOOKS, they have to make a formal request to the STII Director, after which an initial survey of site would be done by DOST.

After the proponent purchases the needed equipment, MOA signing would be done and an installation of the kiosks happen.

Then, the DOST trains focal persons, who would administer the program installation as well as submit monthly reports to DOST for the government monitoring of the program usage. (PIABohol)

POPULATING ITS LIBRARY. Before fully turning over the digitized science and technology resource center in a kiosk to IKA Cortes, DOST PSTO official Meljun I. Signe orients the IKA Faculty and Administration on the use and operation of the STARBOOKS, which the DOST made available for the parochial school. (PIABOhol)

GAME CHANGING. IKA Cortes school director Rev. Fr. Ruel Pangan thanked the DOST for allowing the parochial school to get access to the vast resource available through STARBOOKS. The school director also instructed the school faculty to fit their lessons on the resources available, so the students can easily keep up. (PIABohol)