PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. are boosting e-learning in the new school year with two new courses on the Innovations Academy for Disaster Awareness, Preparedness, and Training (iADAPT) platform. 

Powered by the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, iADAPT houses interactive courses developed by industry leaders on risk reduction and management, business continuity, and climate change adaptation.  This school year, two new e-learning courses, the CyberSmart and the Central Visayan Institute Foundation-Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF-DLP) will be made available to Smart partner schools and the Department of Education (DepEd) divisions on the iADAPT platform.  The first 300 registrants on the site will be able to access the courses for free. 

“The new school year presents new challenges for students and teachers as they continue education through blended learning. Smart offers innovative programs that ensure no learner is left behind and protect Filipinos against online threats as they rely on the internet for school and work,” said Stephanie V. Orlino, Smart Assistant Vice President and Head of Community Relations.  

Learn Smart and Work Smart at home  
Centered around the CyberSmart Investigation Agency, the cybersecurity course includes topics on online child safety, data privacy and security, gadget protection, spotting and combating fake news, and responsible use of social media, as well as digital wellbeing and mental health.  

CyberSmart is a collaboration between various business units across PLDT and Smart. It is supported by the DepEd, the National Privacy Commission, UNICEF, International Justice Mission, and Internet Watch Foundation..  

Pandemic-resilient education program  
Accredited by the DepEd as a supplementary resource, the CVIF-DLP works well with blended learning whether students are at home or in a limited face-to-face setting. The program develops them into independent learners through the self-directed CVIF-DLP Learning Activity Sheets (CVIF-DLP LAS). 

PLDT, Smart, and the PLDT-Smart Foundation have backed the crisis-resilient teaching method developed by renowned Filipino Theoretical Physicists and Ramon Magsaysay Awardees for Education Dr. Christopher Bernido and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido since 2010.    

So far, Smart has trained over 13,800 teachers in 753 public and private schools and five alternative learning system divisions and helped produce 2,235 CVIF-DLP LAS free to download at the DepEd Commons.  

PLDT and Smart foster learning through technology to help the nation achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #4: Quality Education.  

Check out PLDT and Smart learning materials at https://iadapt.pdrf.org/SMART.