VOLUME 1 ISSUE 3

ICT CA M P B UL L E T IN
23 NOVEMBER 2008
CLSU

AND SO IT BEGINS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

participants were able to Learning center manager QC

AND SO IT BE- 1 gather materials for their Angelyn Malabanan confessed
GINS
projects. to some confusion about their
assigned track, Community
SOCIALS! 1
At this early stage in their
Mapping. “We’ve asked around
working relationships,
already because we’re still not
many participants relished
sure how to proceed,” she
IN OUR OWN 2 the chance to explore the
WORDS noted. “Right now, we’re look-
campus alongside their
ing at just gathering material,
groupmates. “For us in the
Web design group with friends and we’re concentrating on
web publishing group, it’s
Three jeeps. Forty excited par- being flexible and receptive
not just about work, work, work,
ticipants. One remarkable tour. about ideas, and truly making a
it’s a chance to make connec-
On the afternoon of November group effort out of this. “
tions,” says Ivy Gamatero of
21, the participants of the ICT
DepED BALS, who toured the The Audio Production track was
Camp finally got the chance to also trying to make the most of the
fishponds alongside partici-
begin their journey into the trip. “We’ve just recorded sounds of
pants in the Web Publishing
creation of User-
User-Generated water, motors, vehicles, and similar
track. “Right now, we’re con-
Only 2 more days until you Content with their tour of host industrial and natural sounds,” says
ceptualizing how we can trans-
present your projects! Are campus CLSU. Rebecca Ouano, learning center
late the concept of ecosystems manager of eSkwela Cebu. “We
you ready? With stops at the vast campus’ and thinking globally and acting don’t really have a concept yet, but
institute for aquaculture and locally, and we’re surveying the I’m confident we'll find inspiration.
fisheries, mushroom farm, and information available to us.” We have a very good group of peo-
the Philippine Carabao Center, ple in this track.”

SOCIALS!

We laughed. We danced. We
sang. We dressed boys in pink
sheets. Friday night was the
night for socials, and while the
food and drink were copious, it SJDM’s boys feel pretty. And witty. And...

was the entertainment brought

down the house on November
Your host, eSkwela’s Ave
Mejia. 21. Remarkable, really, consid- A special song number from the
CDO center.
ering the groups hardly had any
Cebu’s learners wear their
time to practice. Here are our sunglasses at night for a
dance number.
favorite pictures.
 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 3
IN OUR OWN WORDS
Now that the participants’ journey towards becoming content creators in their own right has
officially started, some have allowed us to share their stories in this ongoing series, “In Our Own
Words.”
FIRST CAMP, FIRST ICT CAMP
BY JAN REI RODRIGUEZ
This is my first time to join a
camp and to leave my crowd
for a week. Being away from
my comfort zone is very chal-
lenging to me, because I
have to work with different
people and make new
friends.
I have chosen to be part of
Web Design, and it’s turned
out to be very challenging,
A MOST UNUSUAL ART CLASS
BY FORT NICOLAS
There was a time when one
learnt how to draw or paint
using pencils, brushes, and
paints. That was how Galileo,
Botticelli, Luna, Amorsolo
and other great masters did
it. Nowadays, one uses com-
puter applications called
GIMP and Scribus (if one is
an Open Source user) to
make art.
In the same vein, it’s a com-
mon sight to see a forty-plus
teacher teaching teens. To-
day, I was taught by teenag-
ers how to use GIMP and
Scribus. During my student
days, never was I referred to
as “slow” (not that I was a
genius), but today I am willing
to eat humble pie and admit
that my rather lethargic gray
matter could not grasp the
momentum, especially since
Greek seemed to be the pre-
ferred medium of instruction
because we need to exercise
different muscles by working
and planning together. We
had a tour on our first day,
and that experience gave me
an opportunity to have fun
with people who, despite my
having met many of them for
the first time a mere two days
before, turned out to be very
approachable and profes-
of our young teachers.
Yes, indeed, today is the day
when the world went upside
down and inside out. Or was
it just my brain?
Don’t get me wrong. I have
nothing but praises for our
maestro, Rafael, and
maestras, Sheila and Rose
Ann, for their extraordinary
patience in explaining and
demonstrating how GIMP and
Scribus work. This allowed
me to slowly climb out of the
abyss of ignorance I fell into
right at the first minute of the
class.
I must admit the technology
applications that we were
introduced to were fascinat-
ing. Surely, there’s no chance
in the world we could execute
the “brochure masterpieces”
that everyone is eagerly wait-
ing for without these applica-
sional. We took pictures and
gathered material, thought
together and brainstormed
with an ease that was sur-
prising and welcome.
I will treasure this ICT Camp
experience because it gave
me a lot of ideas and inspira-
tion that I will take back
home, to my fellow learners
and my family. I hope I can
tions, without these techno-
logical wonders.
Picture this: Three brochures.
Different designs. Alive and
in full colors. Imaginative
graphics. Excellent presenta-
tion. With awesome editorial
content.
I am so excited that I’m al-
most tempted to say that
today’s art sessions have
revived my interest in art
creation, which was my pas-
sion when I was a small child.
Modesty aside, my drawing skills
when I was about six or seven
years old went further than that
of my playmates and classmates.
While they only succeeded in
making people look like match-
sticks, I drew them almost life-
like. Well, maybe not, but at least
they had curved noses, with full
heads of hair, lower and upper
lips, and limbs that had muscles.
Page 2
Jan Rei Rodriguez
use the things I learned here
as I progress towards educat-
ing myself towards wherever
life will take me. I expect that
by the end of this week, we’ll
have achieved something
that will make us all proud. I
hope that I can get a lot of
projects like this in the fu-
ture.
Fort Nicolas
But my momentum went to a sudden
halt when I overheard my father
telling my mother that he was afraid
that their only son would someday
be a “pintor kulapol.” I didn’t know
what that really meant, but it didn’t
sound good. So I stopped drawing
and turned to other interests.
No, I’m not blaming my father for my
redirected life. He had a point. I
know, because I am happy with my
life as it is.
But a revived interest in art and the
creation of something aesthetically
pleasing wouldn’t hurt, would it?
I know that the artist in me is still
buried deep in my soul. The only
thing to do now is to dig and resur-
rect him. But that is a rather tricky
endeavor. I can easily find a shovel,
but I have no idea where to start
looking for my soul.
It must be here somewhere.