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

300 students, ages 12 - 19 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 14, 2017. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2005,2006,2007,2011,2012,2013

Classes and Teachers: Michael Avergonzado, Year 8 to 12 Classes

E-Mail contact:

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

1. Description of Our Community

Families in the local community with low socioeconomic status. They are families who are given the opportunity to start a business but lack the capital and skill to run it.

2. Summary of Our Project

GoG(Gift of Gold) is a CIE program created in coordination with students, parents, and teachers to engage students in an effort to help families in the local community with low socioeconomic status. They are families who are given the opportunity to start a business but don't have the fainancial capacity and lack the skill to run it.

The goal is to educate them on how to run a business and provide them the suffcient capital to start it. The program strongly adheres to school's mission, whch is:

'We transform ordinary individuals to become extraordinary catalysts of social progress through a philosophy of education for leaders anchored on social engagement and the Pearl Principle.'

“The Pearl Principle” which espouses the – initiation of change from within and within one’s sphere of influence, by transforming a state of hopelessness into a state of optimism, where opportunities are created as in the creation of a Pearl.'

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

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

The students can work at the school computer laboratory with the Internet. They also have their own personal computers and some uses smartphones and tablets to access and edit the project in the classroom or at home.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The availability of the technology in the classroom and mobile devices to access information for research have definitely helped the students in organizing the content of our website. Human factor might have affected in coordinating with the students in gathering the data and materials for the website's content but with the teachers guiding them properly on what and how to do things would minimize the problems in miscommunication.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Since the theme is 'Understand and Unite', we would like to show to the International Community how we can uplift the lives of others by educating the beneficiary(poor families) to become capable in running the business, improve their products and providing them sufficient finanacial support and become self-sustaining.

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

GoG was an integration of subjects particularly, Business Studies, Religious Studies(a subject on the Pearl Principle). Their skills in creating their design for their business materials are learned from Design and Technology and ICT. The Internet have helped so much in the collaboration with the students and allowed the student to create an output better done in a traditional classroom activity.

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

The information tools would include computers, tablets, mobile devices, camera, library and web resources, personal interviews with the different class leaders, the CEO of their businesses and with their respective beneficiaires.

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

Our students will act as an 'ambassadors' and spokespersons for the CyberFair by being able to interact with their beneficiaries and sharing their knowledge with them on what they have learned in their class about running a business and actually applying it themselves when they engage doing it with their beneficiaries. With their experience they will be able to give an actual example to others and show that it is possible to initiate such program to uplift the lives of the poor.

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

The website presented as a blog, would show an informative example of how improving the lives of others will be. By engaging the students with their respective business with their benficiaries, students will have the opportunity to emmerse themselves into the living conditions of the poor families and will allow them to create an understanding of surviving the real world with less resources. They will also learn to appreciate the value of money and how it would become so essential in improving the lives of others if properly managed. With it, they will be motivated to apply their skills in the subjects like Business Studies, ICT Arts, and Design & Technology.

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

The beneficiaries, which are the poor families, are carefully selected by the school for a class. And the students in that clas will work together with their benficiaries to start the business. They will be chosen so that they are the right people willing to apply their little skills and learn more as they run the business. They are really the poor families who deserves to be given this opportunity for their livelihood(business).Each of the business here will be featured with their respective beneficiaries and the business they have been running.