School: Centre for International Education
    Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines

110 students, ages 13-16 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 16, 2012. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2011,2007,2006,2005,2004

Classes and Teachers: Michael A. Avergonzado, Year 10 Class( Sophomores), Year 11 Class(Juniors), Year 12 Class(Seniors)

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://cie.edu

1. Description of Our Community

We consider our community of Cebu to be in the middle of the urban and rural society. Cebu has positively progressed in terms of technology and architecture. Meanwhile, the significance of planting was not ignored. Close-ties have also been established within families and relationships in this city. Members of a group or family watch out for each other and help each other out. This develops freedom between friends and relatives. However, it is a practice to respect each other, disregarding any social status, religion or family background.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our project for the International Schools CyberFair is based on the Educational Tour undertaken by the sophomore, junior and senior students. For three days and two nights, Year 11(Juniors) and 12(Seniors) toured all over Manila. For two days and one night, the Year 10(Sophomores) visited the province of Bohol, learning about the culturally diverse Filipino race and the rich background history of the Philippines. The project contains testimonies and articles about the different places we visited along with local attractions. The site also contains photos taken from the cameras of the students touring Manila. The website also contains the reactions of the students and their thoughts and opinions of the EdTour as they share their experiences with you.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

There were a few problems that we encountered, one of which was that we had a limited time to get from one spot to another, when on tour, we had to try and keep up with our schedule as much as possible, there was a bit of rushing in order to get from one place to another. Many of the places were long drives away, which gave us a chance to take a quick nap (we were so excited to be out of the city that we hardly slept at night). We couldn’t fully enjoy every single detail of each magnificent place we visited but we soaked up as much as we could.

For the technical problems that we have had to overcome, access to computers isn’t much of a problem. However there is a problem towards the organization of the team, since majority of us already have our own projects to submit, we had found it difficult to meet with each other to work on this Cyberfair project.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Manila is a vibrant metropolis, a hodgepodge of old and new buildings. It can be overwhelming to first timers but spend a little time to discover the secrets to our country’s history. Bohol’s historical significance gives visitors a clear idea on the heritage of the Flipinos, focusing on the Spanish regime. We were really given the opportunity to reflect upon the past of the Philippines and the foundation of what Philippines is today.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

This project was part of our grade for our ICT, History and Filipino subjects. It served as our periodical test for the third quarter, for all three of the subjects. The use of the internet for learning has been more effective because books and notes can easily get outdated as new events happen. Articles on the internet can be changed or renewed therefore making it easier and much quicker to update information about a certain thing.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

We used two AOC computers. We also used telephones, TV and radio stations, video and digital cameras, internet video or other teleconferencing, type computer software, libraries, books and newspapers, and oral interviews. These tools helped us get more information. None of these items were donated by businesses. We think that the most valuable tool is the computer. It was the most helpful as well. It helped us get more information.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

I could act as an ambassador of my school by talking to my family members about what they think about the Philippines; Why their heritage is important for them and how they can approach on making their children learn about the importance of the history of the Philippines. History in general is very important to everyone. As the old saying goes, “Those who fail to learn from history will be doomed to repeat it.” Thus I could also make them understand how we as Filipinos have been both liberated for three times from our colonizers yet we managed to learn a lot of things from them. Yet getting back to how I can be an ambassador, I could also communicate with several of my friends who have graduated and moved on to college to get their views on the Philippines. This will be done via Facebook or Yahoo! Messenger in order to gain easier access to what their say is about the Philippines and her importance. Probably phone calls might be a disadvantage because of the limited amount of time my respondents will have to talk and due to the fact that they might not be able to get the call until later as a missed call. When I am going to use phone to phone communication then the best way for me is to text those respondents. Perhaps I could get more contacts maybe because there are some people that my respondents know that could be of assistance with the Cyberfair as I speak. Another thing is there might be a chance that people might be slightly impressed with what we are doing because of their reactions of enthusiasm and encouragement that will help us so significantly with the Cyberfair.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Our project is not only a compilation of our experiences during our Educational tour. It also gives insight about how our school operates as a united community of students and teachers. Moreover, our local community can gain new knowledge about different historical places in the Philippines that we have featured in our web site. Foreigners from different places of the globe will be able to see the true beauty of the Philippines with its traditions and culture. I have asked my friends from other schools to view our web site and they indeed, have learned more about the country. And now, they would want to explore the Philippines and just admire the beauty. Through our web site, they have gained new information about the country and they would not be ignorant about the history of the Philippines.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

The main members of the community that helped us were the students from CIE and the teachers. The teachers guided us throughout the project and the students all helped us by both assisting in the creation of the site and giving us the information. The 3rd year High School students from CIE gave us the information they gathered from their previous Ed Tour (Educational Tour) in Manila while the rest of the information we were able to gather ourselves when we had an Ed Tour. The adults who were in charge of our tour also helped in this project by taking us to the places we needed to go and provided us with the information they already knew, the rest we had to gain ourselves. Technically, our parents also helped us voluntarily by giving us their consent and helping us out financially to be able to go on this trip.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

To be able to have the opportunity to get out of the classroom setting and visit places of the Philippines was something we were grateful for. In Manila, it was an honor to finally visit the places that had a connection with our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. It was amazing to see the Rizal Park. It was said to be the place where Rizal's body was buried. It was really wonderful to see how neat the place was and how the Philippine flags stood which represented love for our country. I really appreciate how the guards stood still without moving a muscle just to watch over the shrine. We also visited Fort Santiago wherein we saw the exact prison cell where Rizal was placed before his death. There were also bronze footsteps that were planted on the ground to represent the path he walked in going to Bagumbayan, the place of his death. On the second day of our Educational tour, we went to Calamba, Laguna to visit the home of our beloved national hero. In the house, we saw photos and some of his laminated works which sculpted his childhood. It was enough to be able to step on the floor that Rizal once stepped on since the floor was not ruined from WWII. In Bohol, we were able to visit many tourist attractions such as the Loboc River, the Hanging Bridge, the Chocolate Hills and the Tarsier Conservation area. Not only that, but we were able to visit places of great Spanish influence such as the Dauis church, the Baclayon church and The Blood Compact. This Educational tour was a great experience knowing that the exact places that were once talked about in the classroom, were places that we would actually be in.