Posted by Teacher Ria in Outside the Classroom, Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

MTV Emerge

MTV Emerge offers talented young Filipinos a new and exciting opportunity to hone their craft. By simply registering and uploading their profiles, photos and original music to the official site during the submission period, these future music legends have to chance to be voted as one of the 7 emerging bands which will win a one-year recording contract with Jeepney Music, mentorship under Black Eyed Peas’ star and fellow Pinoy Apl.d.Ap. More than just the contract is a package that will help them break into both local and foreign music scenes. This  includes artist management and promotion, digital distribution of 3-6 songs and a strategic marketing plan to help them become the next music stars from the Philippines.

This  Jeepney Music, and Department of Tourism collaboration is definitely a wonderful opportunity for young dreamers of the Philippines. Through this venture, the winners will have so many opportunities for learning that they will not find in any classroom or university, even if they take music as their major. In many ways, this is the epitome of what learning from outside the four walls of a classroom is, right?

I have a few favorites who are in the running for the chance to win the grand prize. It sure is difficult to pick just one to vote for but one that I personally voted for is that of Rapnophobia, entitled God Bless Philippines. This young group does have a lot of talent!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Arts and Crafts | 0 Comments

Green Eggs and Ham Story Stretchers

One of my favorite beginning reading books in class is the infamous Dr. Seuss story Green Eggs and Ham. Even though it doesn’t really tell a story per se, it’s a fun read. I use the story a lot when trying to teach position words or spatial concepts. It’s a great way for me to also build the kids’ vocabularies.

The story doesn’t end there, though. More often than not, I make sure I find a way to stretch my stories to other learning areas. For the story Green Eggs and Ham, here are a few of my favorite story stretchers:

1. Yummy Green Eggs and Spam

For a fun cooking activity, prepare scrambled eggs with the kids! To make it green, add a few drops of green food coloring. Add in some chopped Spam (or sweet ham if you’d prefer) and some grated cheese to make it yummier. The activity helps teach sequencing, rote counting and similar math skills. Save the egg shells for an art activity.

2. Our Green Eggs and Spam Story

Prepare a sheet of paper with a big box drawn on the upper part of the page and several lines underneath it. Have the children draw a picture about where they would like to eat their Green Eggs and Ham. For the independent writers, let them write the story in the lines provided. If not, have them recite it to you. If you do this after the cooking activity, ask them how they liked it and let that be the theme for drawing.

3. Green Egg Mosaic

Have the children decorate a shape/picture with eggshells that have been dyed green.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Multimedia Center, Teaching Resources | 1 Comment

Making the Most of Your Broadband Internet.

I would like to think of myself as a modern teacher. For the most part, I try not to teach in the typical, conventional ways. That’s why having a good laptop and a reliable internet connection is very important for me. When I lecture, I often try to stream in videos, download media or photos, and show websites and the like so as tobe able to hold my students attention. However, even though our school has a wireless network available, sometimes it is intermittent. Plus since it’s a school, there are sites that are blocked, such as You Tube. This is why it is important for someone like me to have a wireless broadband connection all the time.

However, using these wireless broadband dongles or usb sticks means spending my own hard-earned money. After all, I cannot ask the school to reimburse me for it because they actually provide internet access right? So I try to find ways to maximize every peso of my load.

Here are some tips for making your Globe Tattoo Broadband surf faster as well as to minimize expenditures on your part:

1. Switch your preferred network settings to 3G only. You can do this by clicking on your Globe Tattoo Connections Menu. Then, click on Tools. From there click on  Options , then Network. From there choose the settings I mentioned above.

2. Set your browsing settings to time-based over kb-based. By going time based, you are charged a set amount for the time you are browsing. This is recommended if you plan to do what I do in class, which is browse sites and download media. Here, you are charged only Php 5.00 for 15 minutes, whereas if you are using the kb-based settings, you pay Php 0.15 per kb. The latter is more recommended when you’re just checking emails but for my purposes, time-based is more practical.

3. Don’t laugh but: DO NOT LOSE YOUR USB STICK! Last week I lost one of my usb gadgets and now I have to replace it. Definitely losing your equipment will be a waste of money, right? One thing you can do to not lose or misplace your dongle is to personalize it. The Globe Tattoo Broadband New Skins, for example, will set your stick apart from the rest.

check out the Globe Tattoo Broadband Gallery and see what’s hip and new. You can even

submit your own design and get a chance to win Php 5,000!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies | 2 Comments

The Gift of Education

If there is one gift that keeps on giving, that is the Gift of Education.  An education does not expire nor can one outgrow it. It’s rewards are great and boundless. It is sad, however, that not everyone is able to receive this gift. This is especially true in the Philippines. Although we have a public education system, it is grossly underfunded. Millions of Filipino children have little to no access to education.

This is where the Virlanie Foundation comes in. A private, non-sectarian child caring institution in Manila, the Virlanie Foundation aims to provide care, shelter and education to street children who are abandoned, abused and made to work.  Founded in 1992 by Dominique Lemay, the foundation aims to empower children for a brighter future, and what better way to do so than by giving them the gift of education.

However, Virlanie cannot do it alone. This is why they, in partnership with 8 of Serendra and Bonifacio High Street’s classy restaurants have decided to link up with the 8 to Educate campaign.

From October 26 to December 31, 2009, eating at any one of the eight participating restaurants will help educate a street child. By ordering one of the specially marked dishes in ArAma, Cav, Chelsea Cupcakes by Sonja, Fu, Healthy Kitchen, Sentro 1771 and Xocolat‘s menus, the restaurant will make a corresponding donation to the Virlanie foundation.

Diners are also encouraged to make donations by offering donation envelopes when you dine in. For as little as 800 pesos a month, you can support the education of a street child. As a sponsor, you will be paying for the uniform, shoes, school supplies, transportation, meals and special projects of  ” your”  child. In return, you can opt to correspond with the child and will be given regular updates about his/her progress.

The “I Ate To Educate” is a great way to help the children who need it most. Not only do you enjoy a great meal, you also get to give a child the most wonderful Christmas present ever: the gift of education.

Over the next two weeks, I will be featuring items on the 8 to educate menu on my food blog. Hope you go check it out!