14 public schools enter finals of Smart’s Doon Po Sa Amin contests

Press Release
January 26, 2012

MAKATI CITY  –  A total of 14 public schools will vie for the top prize in three online contests conducted simultaneously by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

Finalists of the 4th Doon Po Sa Amin (DPSA) Learning Challenge, “Ano ang Kwento Mo?, and DPSA Quest will have a chance to showcase their entries during the awards ceremony that will be held during the 8th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards on February 22, 2012 at the SMX Convention Hall.

Eight have made it to the finals of the DPSA Learning Challenge: Bataan National High School, Barobo National High School, Camiguin National High School, Cavite National Science High School, Gen. E. Aguinaldo National High School – Bailen, Misamis Occidental National High School, Naga City Science High School and Olongapo City National High School.

Four schools have also been shortlisted from 170 entries submitted by 66 schools to “Ano ang Kwento Mo”.  These are Barobo National High School, Jose J. Leido Jr. Memorial National High School, Manggahan High School and Naga City Science High School.

Meanwhile, the DPSA Quest has drawn 28 entries from 12 schools, two of which have entered the finals.  These are Naga Central School 1 and San Roque Central Elementary School.

All three online contests are part of Smart’s efforts to encourage schools to use computer and Internet technologies to contribute web-based information and educational materials about their respective communities under its DPSA project as part of its ‘Internet for All’ advocacy.

Smart introduced the DPSA Learning Challenge in 2008.  The competition, which is exclusive to SSP partner high schools and Online Associates nationwide, requires teams to perform basic community mapping exercises to generate local content which will help their respective communities be educated about and/or address pertinent local problems or issues.  This year’s search has drawn a total of 137 entries from 31 schools.

In 2011, Smart introduced two more online contests. "Ano ang Kwento Mo?" (What's your story?), attempts to get students from all schools nationwide to create video blogs that feature a distinct characteristic, place, or culture in their communities.  Topic categories include Arts and Culture, History and Society, Travel and Cuisine, and Environment and Disaster Preparedness.

The DPSA Quest engages teacher-student teams from SSP partner elementary schools and online associates to research unique stories about their respective communities and narrate these stories online through their blog sites.

The screening of entries was done by a panel of judges composed of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Albert Erni of the Bureau of Secondary Education, Thea Joy Manalo of the Bureau of Elementary Department and Romeo Parayno of Adopt-a-School; Netlearn Ventures, Inc.’s Christopher Lorenzo and Lloyd Anthony Layug; Jaime Manuel Flores of the Ateneo Communication Department and Roger Chua of Web Philippines, Inc.