FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
8 
A!Jr;%l 
?3.l:> 
Second Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 11, Section 20 provides that: 
SEC. 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private 
sector, encourages private enterprise and provides incentives to needed 
investments. 
Information technology is one of the fastest rising industries in our country. In many 
countries around the world they have started using and encouraging the use of this technology to 
improve the quality and efficiency of their education system. It is clear that the Internet is one of 
the most fashionable areas of computing. It is affecting all subjects in Higher Education, not only 
altering teaching opportunities because of its new perspectives on communication and 
dissemination, but also opening up exciting new resources for students and lecturers alike. The 
Internet provides academics with an opportunity to make their teaching better, to allow them to 
teach in different ways to the standard one-to-many lecture, and to reach more students. Simply 
put, it allows for the 'maximization' of learning. 
This bill mandates the Department of Education to work with private institutions to 
accelerate the development of information technology to assist and improve the methods of 
teaching and our education system in general. By providing grants to eligible consortia, the 
government can not only promote the development of this technology but also encourage private 
sector participation. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S. No. 
i 1,- . , I’ 
i .. -I 
8 
AUG 21 
I I 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO AUTHORIZE A PROGRAM TO PREPARE TEACHERS FOR DIGITAL AGE 
I ,EA KN EKS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Preparing Teachers Cor 
Digital Age Learners Act of 2008.’’ 
SECTION 2. Definition ofTerms. -For purposes of this Act, the term: 
A. ARTS AND SCIENCES- means-- 
1. when referring to an organizational unit or an institution of higher 
education, any academic unit that offers 1 or more academic majors in 
disciplines or content areas corresponding to the academic subject 
matter areas in which teachers provide instruction; and 
2. when referring to a specific academic subject area, the disciplines or 
content areas in which academic majors arc offered by thc arts and 
sciences organizational unit. 
13. I-IIGII-Nl<ED SClIOO1,- means N public elementary school or public 
secondary scl~ool tlid-- 
1. is among the highest 25 percent of schools served by the local 
educational agency that serves the school, in terms of the percentage ol‘ 
students from families with incomes below the povcrty line; or 
2. is designated with a school locale code of Rural: I’ringc, Rural: 
Distant, or Rural: Remote, as determined by the Secretary. 
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C. POVERTY LINE- means the poverty line as determined by the Departinent of' 
Social Welfare and T)cvelopment and applicable to a fanily of tlie sile 
involved. 
D. SECKlil'ARY - means Sccrctary of Education 
E. ELIGIBLE CONSORTIIJM- a consortium of members that includes the 
following: 
1. At least one institution of higher education that awards baccalaureate or 
inastcrs degrees and prepares tcachers for initial entry into teaching. 
2. At least one national educational agency or 1ocd educational agency. 
3. A department, school. or college of education at an institution of higher 
education. 
4. A department, school, or college of arls and sciences at an institution of 
higher education. 
5. At least one entity with the capacity to contribute to the technology-related 
reform of teacher preparation programs, which may be a professional 
association, foundation, museum, library, for-profit business, public or 
private nonprolit organization, community -based organization, or other 
entity. 
SECTION 3. Program Aulhorily. - The Secretary is authorized to award grants to, or 
enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible consortia to pay thc Federal share of 
the costs of projects to: 
A. graduate teacher candidates who arc prepared to usc modern information, 
communication, and learning tools to- 
1, improve student learning, assessnient, and learning management; and 
2. help students develop skills to succeed in higher education and enter the 
workforce; 'and 
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B. strengthen and develop partnerships among the stakeholders in teacher preparation to 
transform teacher edncation and ensure technology rich learning environnients 
throughout a teacher caididate's pre-service education, including clinical experiences. 
SECTION 4. Duration. - A grant, contract, or cooperative agrcelnent undcr this part: 
A. shall be for a 3-year period; and 
B. may be renewed for one additional year. 
SECTION 5 .  Non-Government Share Requiremeni. - The governnient share of the cost 
of any project funded under this part shall not exceed 75 percent. ' h e  non-government share of 
the cost ol'such project may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including services. 
SECTION 6. IJse @Fundy. - An eligible consortium that rcceives a grant or enters into a 
contract or cooperative agreement under this part shall use fiinds made available under this part 
to carry out a pro,ject that: 
A. develops long-term partnerships among members of the consortium that are focused 
on effective tcachiiig with modern digital tools and content that substantially conncct 
pre-service preparation of teacher candidates with high-needs schools; or 
€3. transform the way departments, schools, and colleges of education teach classroom 
technology integration, including the principles of universal design, to teacher 
candidates. 
SECTION 7. Uses of Fundsjiir Pariizer,yhip Grunls. - In carrying out a project under 
Section 7 (A), an eligiblc consortium shall: 
A. provide teacher candidates, early in their preparation, with field experiences in 
educational settings with technology; 
B. build the sltills of teacher candidates to support technology-rich instruction, 
assessment and learning management in content areas, technology literacy, ai1 
underslanding of the principles of universal design, and the development of other 
skills for success in higher education and for entering the workforcc; 
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C. provide professional development in the use of technology for teachers, 
administrators, and content specialists who participate in field placement; 
D. provide professional development of technology pedagogical skills for faculty of 
departments, schools, and colleges of education and arts and sciences; 
E. implement strategies for the mentoring of teacher candidates with respect to 
technology implementation by members of the consortium; 
F. evaluate teacher candidates during the first years of teaching to fully assess outcomes 
of the project; 
G. build collaborative learning comniunities for technology integration within the 
consortium to sustain meaningful applications of technology in the classroom during 
teacher preparation and early career practice; and 
1-1. evaluatc the cffcctivencss of thc project. 
SECTION 8. 1J.w oJ'I;Zlnds,for Trunsformation Cirants. - In carrying out a project under 
Section 7 (B), an eligible consortium shall: 
A. redesign curriculum to require collaboration between the department; school, or 
college of education faculty and the department, school, or college of arts and 
sciences faculty who teach content or methods courses for training teacher 
candidates; 
B. collaborate between the department, school, or college of education faculty and the 
department, school, or college of arts and science faculty and academic content 
specialists at the local educational agency to educate pre-service teachers who can 
integrate technology and pedagogical sltills in content areas; 
C. collaborate between the depatnient, school, or college ol'education faculty and lhe 
department, school, or college of arts and sciences faculty who teach courses to prc- 
service teachers Lo-- 
1. develop and iniplement a plan for pre-scrvice tcachcrs and continuing 
educators that demonstrates effective instructional strategies and application 
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of such strategies in the use of'digital tools to transform the teaching and 
learning process; and 
2. better reach underrepresented pre-service teacher populations with programs 
that connect such prc-service teacher populations with applications of 
technology; 
I). collaborate among faculty and students to create and disseminate case studies of 
technology applications in classroom settings with a goal of' improving student 
achicvement in high-need schools; 
E. provide additional technology resources [or pre-service teachers to plan and 
implement technology applications in classroom settings that provide evidcnce of 
student learning; and 
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bring together expertise from departments, schools, or colleges of education, arts and 
science fttcutty, and academic content specialists at the local educational agency to 
share and disseminate tcchiiology applications in the classroom through tcachcr 
preparation and into early career practice. 
SECTION 9. Application Requirements. - To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a 
conlract or cooperative agreement under this part, an eligible consortiuni shall snbmit an 
application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require. Such application shall include the following: 
A. A dcscription of the project to be carried out with the grant, including how the project 
will- 
1. develop a long-term partnership focused on effective teaching with modern 
digital tools and content that substantially connects pre-service prcpmation o€ 
teacher candidates with high-need schools; or 
2. tmnst'orm the way departments, schools, and colleges of education teach 
classroom technology integration, including the principlcs of universal dcsi gn, 
to teacher candidates. 
13. A dcrnonstration of- 
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1. the commitment, including the financial commitnient, of each of the members 
of the consortium for the proposed project; and 
2. the support of the leadership of each organization that is a member ofthe 
consortium for the proposcd projcct. 
C. A description of how each niember ofthe consortium will participate in the prqject. 
12, A description of how the national or local educational agency will incorporate the 
project into the agency’s technology plan, if such a plan already exists. 
1:;. A description of how the project will hc continued after govcrnmcnt funds arc no 
longer available under this part Tor the project. 
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A dcscription of how the prqject will incorporate-- 
1. Government teacher technology standards; and 
2. Govcrnmeiit student technology standards. 
G. A plan for the evaluation of the project, which shall include benchmarks to monitor 
progress toward spccific project objectives. 
SECTION 10. Evaluation. -Not less than 10 percent of the funds awarded to an eligible 
consortium to carry out a project under this part shall be used to evaluate the effectiveness of 
such project. 
SECTION 11. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
hereby necessary is hereby authorized to he appropriated from the National Treasury. 
SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or is inconsistent 
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with the nrovision of this Act is herebv reoealed. modified. or amended accordinnlv. 
r - - . -  
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SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved, 
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