BridgeIT (Local in the Philippines: text-2-teach)

The indicators and data below were extracted from the Evaluation Study conducted by the University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED) in April 2004. The research included pre-project (baseline), mid-project and end-of-project measures. Societal and Human Benefits A) Impact of Bridgeit Project on Teachers 1. Teacher Competence and Attitude in Using Technology:  Improved teacher competence and attitudes towards using technology. B) Impact of Bridgeit Project on Student 1. Student Performance:  Science Achievement Test scores improved in both grades; and  gains in grades 5 and 6 in Math and Science when compared to non-Bridgeit schools in Math and Science 2. Student Attitude: Positive attitudes of students were further enhanced. 3. Student Motivation: students became more engaged in class. C) Impact of Bridgeit Intervention on the School Environment and Community 1. School officials, parents and community leaders become advocates for Bridgeit schools. 2. Upgrade of school facilities. Organizational Benefits (Process Effectiveness) • Strong emphasis on multisectoral cooperation involving government (Department of Education), the private sector (national implementer, mobile and DVB operator etc.), academia (material production, teacher training) and civil society (parents, communities) to digitally bridge people and knowledge. • UNDP has documented key processes, experiences, lessons learned, and best practices encountered. • Documentation covers project start-up negotiations and preparations, implementation, and other steps up to pilot project termination, and involved field visits and monitoring, interviews, surveys, etc. • Process documentation, and related Program Blueprint, guide expansion within the Philippines and replication in other countries. • Key project proponents will also be provided with consistent, objective, and accurate documentation of processes and dynamics observed and experienced in by partners during implementation Reputational Benefits • Research implemented together with the Reputation Institute and Harris Interactive based on the ‘Reputation Quotient’ methodology (developed for Wall Street Journal) • Data collection over two month’s period • Site specific information among general public (n=1,100) • In-depth questionnaire to employees of local participating organizations Business Development Benefits • Main goals for technological development:  Easy-to-use solution utilizing existing mobile technologies  The technical system architecture enables seamless interoperability of different technologies ‘behind the scenes’  User interface tailor made for the text2teach program • For program replication, the technical solution needed to be non-proprietary and offered as an “open system” that conforms to global standards Outcomes • “At the start of the project, both formally trained and not-formally trained teachers expressed strong positive attitudes toward the importance of using technology in science teaching, except on the item “technology is easy to learn”. At the end of the Project, all teachers’ positive attitudes in all statements about technology were enhanced” (NISMED Report) • System architecture is a best practice combining mobile phone, internet, set-top-box and TV technologies in a flexible and cost-effective manner