Recent researches show that more and more Filipino youth are losing interest in studying with every passing year. Because of this, teachers and professors are coming up with unique methods in dealing and teaching their students to make school a unique and interesting experience. Sir Martin Perez is one of them.

Martin Benedict Perez is a social studies teacher at the Philippine Science High School. He is also the blogger behind AkoMismo, where he talks about education, technology, and the state of over-all human society. He started out with his blog as an avenue for his thoughts and writings but later found out that he could use blogging as an aid in teaching and bonding with his students.

And so, he took his love for blogging and shared it with the rest of the class.

1. Tell us a little more about yourself

I am currently a social studies teacher at the Philippine Science High School, and I have my eyes set at a career in development and public policy – that is influencing how decisions are made to help the less fortunate, manage social change, and improve the country.

When I’m not busy trying to change the world, I love playing racket sports such as tennis and badminton. I like long drives, listening to music during those long drives, and finding a nice place to rest and relax after those long drives. I’m a voracious reader. I love reading non-fiction books and gawking at comic books. It is my dream to one day write about my life as a teacher, decision maker, and Filipino, after the end of one long drive.

2. How and where did you learn of blogging?

My first blog was a Livejournal blog which began in 2004, but I’ve been writing on the Internet even before that. I was a writer before I was a blogger, and it is that which sustains me until this day.

3. How exactly do you use blogs in your teaching?

I use my blog to connect with my students in three levels. First level is to use the blog to publish announcements, requirements and presentation. The blog is an online repository of the material we use in class. Second level is to use the blog to explore and discuss issues about the lessons we take up. Since we don’t have the time to explore everything completely, the blog is there for me to hold informal discussions with links to online resources. And third level is to use the blog to connect with my students. Students are generally interested in knowing more about their teacher and seeing their human side. I get to do that through the blog and together, we form new levels of trust and understanding.

4. How has blogging helped you in your profession?

The blog has helped me connect better with my students because of the three reasons I stated in number three.

5. How about the students, what do they get from blogging?

I encourage my students to blog. Blogging teaches them to express themselves, moderate ideas, and generate material that other people would pay attention to. I’ve seen students use blogs similar to my three levels: they post announcements, discuss lessons and even argue about issues and personal matters. The blog is a great exercise in understanding the responsibility that comes with free speech in a democracy.

6. What are the initial reactions of your students and your colleagues regarding the use of your blogs in your teaching?

The initial reaction is that it is high tech and innovative. Later on, they realize that the blog is just another way for us to do what we do even better. I encourage my fellow teachers to blog as well and connect with their students.

7. If blogging really is a good tool for alternative learning, then why aren’t all teachers using it?

There are many issues. First is that blogging is a technology that has to be learned. It requires an investment of time and willingness to learn, and not every teacher (especially the more seasoned ones) may be able or willing to make. Second is that it is a technology that requires constant access to technology on both the part of the teacher and the student. Access to technology and the Internet remains an issue among many of our schools, teachers and students. Blogging can only completely thrive and mature as a teaching tool when access to it is guaranteed. And third is that not all teachers may find a blog necessary or comfortable. I always advise teachers that before they begin a blog, they have to be sure that they need it. Moreover, teachers must be willing to commit to it for it to be effective. A post every month does not make an effective blog. They must also be able to generate content for it to be valuable; students will benefit with regular online updates, but they can benefit more when the blog is peppered with content that enriches the material and their relationship with their teacher.Â

8. How can blogging affect the future of education here in the Philippines?

Blogging is a tool; its effectiveness is relative only to the effectiveness of the person who uses it. My three major issues in #7 can also be read as the three major reasons for why blogging won’t change the landscape of Philippine education in the near to medium-term. For the technology to truly make a difference, we must focus on nurturing our teachers and our educational facilities first, and that requires us to focus on the present instead of the future.Â

9. Has there been a time when a student of yours blogged something about or against you?

I get mentioned in blogs, yes, but rarely as a major topic or headline. Only once was I written about when the student didn’t receive me as her teacher, and that was a high point for me. For sure, I have not seen a post written against me, because I get all complaints personally, through notes passed in class or in my blog comment boxes. Instead I discover that students like it better when I am the one who writes about them.

10. What is the best thing that blogging has given you?

Blogging has given me a sense of scale and proportion. It taught me that my words and works can reach many people who I can affect in ways I never imagined. But at the same time, I was taught how to present myself in ways for others to understand me and discover exactly what I’m made of.

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Visit his blog over at AkoMismo!

Thank you to Sir Martin for the interview. Happy blogging!

Who doesn’t know Jun Lozada, the star witness on the NBN-ZTE Deal? In recent months we’ve seen him on TV as he revealed one of the biggest controversies in Philippine History. We also witnessed how Lozada’s revelations have divided the country into believers and non-believers.

As a mere observer of the whole charade, I could never make out what was true or not. My stance on whether Lozada was telling the truth was not clear partly because I didn’t know him very well for me to have the right to judge him. Then again, no one really knows who Jun Lozada really is. The Filipino people had placed him under scrutiny, judging him under the facts given to us by the media. But let’s face it, truthfulness on such matters is not the media’s main priority. There would always be bias on such controversial matters.

Is there any way for us, the concerned masses, to know the truth without relying on a biased-driven medium? How can we know Jun Lozada more so that we could decide on what to truly believe in?

The answer to the questions came rather unexpectedly, and it came in a form that is familiar to most of us: A blog.

Last Saturday, May 31, 2008, a small gathering of people convened at Kape Tasyo (Quezon City, Philippines) to witness the launch of the blog of NBN-ZTE Star Witness Jun Lozada. It isn’t just a blog about Jun Lozada per se, but a blog where he himself could write about his sentiments and thoughts.

A couple of days after launch, Lozada’s blog became an instant hit with comments continuously pouring in response to his articles. His first two articles, “Message to the Youth” and “First Postings” has attracted the attention of both pro and anti-Lozadans.

Blogs are a great way for a person to extend a message to a target audience. And the people who encouraged Jun Lozada to blog knew this. They knew how to put a very powerful medium into good use.

Now that Jun Lozada has his own blog, I can now finally listen to Jun Lozada without all the hype and partiality that comes along with media coverage. C’mon Mr. Lozada, let’s hear what you really have to say… We’re all ears.

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If you want to know more about Jun Lozada and his writeups, you could visit his blog which can be found at http://jlozada.com/.

Goodluck to Jun Lozada.

Happy blogging!

Some say that a measure of a blog’s worth is through the number of traffic, subscribers, and how big the earnings of that blog are. Although this is somewhat true, a lot of people forget that the quality of posts are also crucial in determining a blog’s value. Covered with all the hype of money making and marketing, little importance is given on the quality of the thing that really matters: Content.

This is what The Blog Awards Challenge hopes to change. It’s a blog spearheaded by Pinoys that aims to promote high-quality write-ups from bloggers, both newbie and professional, by holding bi-weekly blog-writing competitions.

The Blog Awards Challenge is a blog competition combining literary skills, interactivity and peer polling. The Blog Awards Challenge is bi-weekly theme-based writing event for everyone in the blogosphere. A challenge is posted in the site every two weeks. Bloggers who wish to compete will write about the theme and post the entry on their respective blogs.

The winners will be selected through the combination of both reader’s votes and judges scoring and will receive recognition and badges as prizes.

I bet that there would be some who would get disappointed with the badges as a prizes, but IMO, I think it’s a really good idea. If you really want to promote “good content” then you must remove anything that could taint the image of the contest. Replace prize money with recognition badges. Show them that good writing is not always spurred by the prospect of winning money (Then again, a contest with no big of a prize would be harder to promote. I sure hope they could pull it off).

So if you are looking for a chance to showcase your writing talents and be recognized for it, this is one place you may want to hang out. Learn more about the Blog Awards Challenge by visiting their main blog. Contest rules can be found here.

Happy blogging!

PS. Kudos to Talksmart and Loudcloud for thinking up this great idea. You guys have my support, if you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact me.