Worldclass Sorsoganon Educator

A.A.J.A. AWARD FOR DECHAVEZ. Educator and community leader Willie D.
Dechavez (center) shows the recognition award he received from the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) during a reception held on March 4, 2011 in the GM Renaissance Conference Center in Detroit. With him in photo are State Senator Hoon Yung Hopgood (left) and journalist Ron Jacinto. Dechavez will also receive the Everyday Hero award on March 9, 2011 from Verizon and Urban League of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan.

Filed under: Campus Talk, Community Service Group, Department of Education, Encouragement, Inspiration, Natatanging Sorsoganon, People who inspired Us, Pinoy Migration, Show your pride, Sorsoganon Everywhere, Sorsoganon in the LIMELIGHT!, Sorsogon News Updates, Sorsogon Outstanding Achievers, Touching Heart, Touching Lives, We will make you SHINE!, American Journalists Association, Educator and community leader Willie D. Dechavez, Everyday Hero award, Ron Jacinto, Willie D. Dechavez, Worldclass Sorsoganon Educator

Sorsogon State College-studes find diode effective power saving device

by M Moraleda and D Deri/SSC/PIA Sorsogon

Sorsogon City (11 June) — In the light of crafting ways to minimize electric power consumption, the fifth year electrical engineering students of the Sorsogon State College here, have finished a research study on Light Emitting Diode (LED) as an alternative electronic component in designing a lighting device.

The design proposed by Zendy Dematera, Dyronne P. Ajas, Gissell C. Dogillo and Rusan James Freo was adjudged best among the six competing groups and was given credit by the SSC in its recognition ceremony last March.

Engr. Joselito S. Orticio, who handles the students, said that the study was one of the requisites in their subject as well seminars and field trips where the students were exposed to.

“The research is only limited to the utilization of white LED which can possibly be an efficient source to replace the usual lighting system for domestic use,” said Orticio.

The four researchers, after conducting the study, found out that it is possible to create a LED light bulb which can be directly connected to a 230V/.AC.

It was also proven to be energy-saving due to its low power consumption, producing a light output of 120.6 lumens and a power of 1.2 watts.

“It is also advantageous because its materials are more durable compared to the typical compact fluorescent lamps and bulbs which have fragile components. Furthermore, though costly, it has a longer lifespan and contains no mercury unlike other usual bulb designs,” said the researchers.

Since it has poor illumination, they recommended the use of an efficient reflector that will suit the design of the bulb. “It is also imperative to utilized high-powered LED to make it a more effective lighting device,” they also said. (SSC/PIA Sorsogon) [top]

Filed under: Campus Talk, Natatanging Sorsoganon, New Ideas, New Invention, People who inspired Us, Research, We will make you SHINE!, What's Happening Here?, Youth, Sorsogon State College-studes find diode effective power saving device

Sorsogon-Retiree sponsors PDI learning center

By Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Philippine Daily Inquirer

SORSOGON CITY—In a village named after its natural springs, her generosity gushes forth for poor children thirsty for learning.

Browsing through the pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rosalia Laganzo-Enerio, a recently retired government worker, found a way to help some 300 pupils of cash-strapped Bucalbucalan Elementary School.

She set aside part of her retirement money to sponsor a daily supply of newspapers and to put up an Inquirer Learning Corner (ILC) on the campus west of this city.

Having grown up in the same coastal village, the 66-year-old donor said it had long pained her to see the school still lacking books and updated resource materials, particularly those which could improve the students’ communication skills in English.

“By putting up a learning corner here in Bucalbucalan, the students will be provided with updated news and information. It will develop in them the good habit of reading,” Enerio said during Wednesday’s signing of a memorandum of agreement among her, the school and the Inquirer on Wednesday.

She said the majority of students here grew up without enjoying reading materials at home, items considered a luxury for their parents who eked out a living mostly as fishermen.

Education is close to Enerio’s heart. Before working for the National Manpower and Youth Council in 1975 and the National Housing Authority main office in 1981, she taught at Bucalbucalan Elementary School from 1968 to 1975.

Sensing the deterioration of the country’s educationsystem, Enerio left teaching and found employment elsewhere in the bureaucracy.

The search for better pay also drove her to switch jobs. Public school teachers at the time were paid a measly P212 a month, she recalled.

But even after quitting teaching, Enerio continued to support various projects on education. She volunteered, for example, for the Alitaptap Storytellers Philippines, a group that promotes literacy through the art of storytelling.

Every graduation season, Enerio would also donate medals to different schools in Sorsogon City.

But soon she realized that she had to give something that would leave a lasting impact on the students.

Enerio came across the Inquirer’s Learning section and read about the ILC program, wherein public schools can get free subscriptions to the Inquirer courtesy of reader-sponsors. The newspapers are to be kept in a school corner called “Inqspot” for easy access.

First non-politician donor

The ILC program is aimed at creating a place in public schools where teachers and students can read the paper and discuss the day’s news or issues.

Enerio said she had been an avid reader of the Inquirer since its founding during the martial law years, when the Marcos regime dismissed the fledgling but stinging newspaper as part of the so-called “mosquito press.”

Inquirer senior product manager Roselle Fortes-Leung said Enerio had the distinction of being the first ILC donor who is not a politician.

The ILC in Bucalbucalan is also the first to open in southern Luzon, Leung added.

Three ILCs have been set up earlier in Quezon City and Zambales province, all sponsored by politicians.

In honor of parents

“This is my way of giving back to the community and to this school in honor of my parents,” said Enerio, daughter of Feliza Aquende and Restituto Laganzo.

She said her parents, who were not able to finish their studies because of poverty, always reminded her and her siblings about the value of education, saying it’s the only priceless legacy they could give them.

School principal Antonio Jintalan gratefully acknowledged Enerio’s contribution: “We’re amazed that someone from this village is able to help this school.”

Jintalan said the ILC would go a long way in helping develop the children’s love for reading and their awareness of current events.

Mere P5,500 budget

Jintalan noted that the school, which operates on a measly budget of P5,500 for maintenance and other operational expenses, could only afford to set up a small library with books that were rarely updated.

A pity, Jintalan said, since “80 percent of our learning still comes from reading.”

With about 350 enrollees, the school has been relying heavily on private sponsors for its improvements, he said.

Enerio may no longer be able to go back to her first love—teaching—but she nevertheless vowed to continue her advocacy and community work for education.

The retiree called on other private citizens to do their share for the benefit of today’s youth and future generations.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100607-274287/Retiree-sponsors-PDI-learning-center

Filed under: Community Service Group, Concerned Sorsoganon, Education, Encouragement, Inspiration, Natatanging Sorsoganon, Sorsogon News Updates, Touching Heart, Touching Lives, We will make you SHINE!, What's Happening Here?, Sorsogon-Retiree sponsors PDI learning center

Jesus L. Huenda-Damath learning math the Pinoy way

 

 

  

Jesus L. Huenda

 

Damath comes from the Pinoy checker boardgame called “dama” and mathematics. It blends local culture, education and digital technology that aim to make math teaching and learning child-friendly, challenging and interactive. In its unique way, damath boardgame ushers the Filipino school kids into the new millennium by equipping them with competitive life-long learning for understanding and ICT-fluency skills. 

 When school children play damath boardgame they also learn to explore, firm-up, deepen, and transfer to daily tasks the concepts of real numbers and its properties and operations. 

Moreover, it stimulates the children’s capability to think deeper through creative math storytelling, flowchart, concept map, tree diagram, picture riddle, haiku, cryptogram, secret code decoding, simulation, role playing, jingle or rap composing, reflection journal writing, and problem solving. 

This joyful and practical approach to contextualized teaching and learning math is the brainchild of 1981 presidential merit medal awardee teacher Jesus L. Huenda. 

As a public high school teacher in Sorsogon, Huenda always thinks of ways to optimize his talents to help others. This describes best this ordinary teacher who was cited by no less than the President of the Republic for his out-of-the-box “contribution in terms of innovative approaches in teaching and learning mathematics”. 

According to Huenda, this is how damath works: “I integrate some math concepts and numeracy skills in the indigenous boardgame of dama. In the 32 white squares (the other 32 alternately arranged squares are colored green) of the 8×8-square damath playing board, I put the symbols of mathematical operations like addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (×) and division (÷). The 12 damath chips for each player are divided into two sets (blue and red chips): those with zero, and even numbers with positive sign (+); while odd numbers have negative (-) sign. The two players try to capture chips by adapting the existing dama rules to numeracy skills which result to higher positive points, while evading those with lower negative points.” When the learners play damath, they aim to get higher point over the opponent. Capturing the opponent’s dama chips is strategically planned such that a player would target a chip representing high number. The game becomes a combination of strategic higher order thinking skills and basic mathematical operations. 

This strategy in teaching and learning math with Understanding by Design (UbD) framework has helped students look at Mathematics as a subject not so difficult to learn. 

“Unknowingly, the players are using the mathematical fundamentals when they play damath”, Mr. Huenda explained. “Those who used to dislike math is actually learning how to use math when he/she plays the boardgame and in the process learn the subject,” he added. 

Aside from “damath”, Mr. Huenda has also developed the “pierdi-gana” boardgame. He calls this boardgame “scidama”. This is the opposite of damath in the sense that the players’ main target is to have their dama chips consumed by their opponent in order to win. Scidama is focused on bringing about environmental consciousness among the school children. 

Literally, pierdi-gana means to let go by disposing water, fuel and energy consumption that contribute to global warming and climate change. The main objective of the players in scidama is to divest themselves of extravagant consumptions that can lead to environmental degradation. Here, the scidama chips represent kilowatt hours of electricity used, cubic meters of water consumed, liters of oil consumed, cooking gas used among others. 

The players strategize in such a way that they will have to reduce their consumption of these resources and in the process help in arresting global warming and climate change. “The less you consume resources, the less you contribute to the destruction of the environment. This is what we want to instill in the minds of our learners,” Huenda pointed out. 

In the scidama, the player’s main objective is to have his/her dama chips be captured by the opponent in order to win. The player who first has his/her chips decimated by the opponent wins the game. This means that the winner is able to divest himself/herself of these resources and does not use them unnecessarily. 

|“Kabaliktaran ng damath ang scidama kasi ito ay pierdi-gana o ubusan ng chips. Dapat maubos ang chips mo para manalo. In other words, I have to dispose off my expenses in water, electricity, oil and others so that I will not contribute to global warming and climate change. Kung malaki konsumo ko, I will contribute to the destruction of the environment. Gagawa ka ng plano na pagkatapos ng laro konti lang konsumo mo at ibibigay mo ang dapat mong konsumo sa kalaban mo upang hindi ka makasali sa paglubha ng kapaligiran”, Huenda added. 

Another collaborative innovation which Huenda did in cooperation with some Computer Science students is the “eDamath” which uses digital technology in playing damath against the computer itself. The damath computer game helps develop the strategic and analytical thinking skills of the students. Similarly, when two players are interconnected in their computers through the Local Area Network, they can play damath in a remote platform and the computer becomes the arbiter or scorer. 

Mr. Huenda’s electronic damath playing board can be accessed through the DepEd website (http://www.deped.gov.ph/BSE/iDEP). The eDamath appears in the computer monitor together with the damath chips that are properly labeled with positive and negative signs in even and odd numbers, respectively. 

Playing the electronic damath is also a contest on who gets the higher positive score which entails the use of the fundamental operations in math. “When students play the game, they tend to have deeper consciousness on the intricacies of the game. They get to consider every step that they make and how this can contribute to winning the game. In the process they develop analytical thinking skills,” Huenda explained. 

And there is no stopping Huenda from inventing edutainment games that teach students the basics in living such as entrepreneurship. Thus he came up with “entrepinoy damath,” a business venture game. 

Here, the fundamental operations of math and basic accounting are also used in the board game including debit and credit, simple bookkeeping, balance sheet and the like. The first set of damath chips represent rent, taxes, salaries, bonuses, discounts, cost price, and other operating expenses. The other half represents income like selling price, profit, savings, real property, building, equipment, etc. 

The game is played with the damath chips properly labeled: business expenses on one hand and business income on the other hand. The game is won by the one who has captured more chips representing incomes rather than expenses. “With this learning for understanding approach, the learners are honed on strategic business models like the efficiency of incurring less cost in order to have more income. The learners also become conscious of effectively running a business venture,” Huenda explained. 

But in business as in life, the learners still have to be trained on values and ethics. So he came up with “damath de honor”. Here the damath pieces represent positive and negative Filipino ways including interpersonal relation, consumer protection, anti-corruption and red-tape practices. 

“Ipapakain mo ang negative values at makakaipon ka ng positive values. Dapat walang greed na siyang dahilan ng corruption at illegal business transaction,” he emphasized. 

“Have you heard of damath on health and nutrition, People Power EDSA revolution, English-Filipino-Korean vocabulary-building? Or damath with three players? This is just the tip of the iceberg”, Huenda shared. 

Huenda remains a very active staff at the DepEd Central Office. Although he is a superintendent-eligible, Huenda opted to focus on educational technology innovations that will make a difference in basic education. The beneficiaries, no doubt, are the young school children who never imagined that the lowly boardgame of dama would ever play a significant role in their learning of life’s lessons. 

  

Originally posted: http://teachers-students-corner.info/2010/03/damath-learning-math-pinoy-way.html 

  

  

Filed under: Education, Encouragement, Inspiration, Natatanging Sorsoganon, People who inspired Us, Show your pride, Sorsogon News Updates, Sorsogon Outstanding Achievers, We will make you SHINE!, Damath learning math the Pinoy way, Jesus L. Huenda

Pablo D. Ayo- At 85, inventor keeps creative mind active

SORSOGON CITY, Philippines—Pablo D. Ayo Sr., who at 85 has survived two major strokes, is still inventing and designing devices that perform functions ordinary people would think impossible. One of these is a gadget that makes burnt out fluorescent bulbs light.

Ayo, who earned his doctorate in astrophysics at Princeton University in New Jersey and is a former student of world-renowned genius-scientist Albert Einstein in 1949, still possesses the scientific creativity to invent a gadget called the EAD or electro activator device, which virtually makes an electric bulb last even with its filament broken.

Half the size of the ballast of a fluorescent bulb, the EAD increases the voltage, allowing it to jump from end to end of the broken filament and make an unbroken bulb light again.

A patent holder, Ayo has invented several gadgets, including prototypes of a rocket, voice-activated phonograph, household mini hydro generators, solar panel, tidal electric generators and photon-run car.

He was born to a poor family from the former town of Bacon, Sorsogon (now a district of Sorsogon City).

Self-supported

His parents died when he was young so he supported himself to school until he earned a scholarship to study at Princeton.

He said he had read articles on electronics and automotive when he was a teenager and learned by himself the principles and laws that govern mechanical and electronic devices.

Ayo went to Manila when he was a teenager and landed a job in an engineering company at Port Area. This allowed him to continue his college education at Arellano University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, major in Physics.

While studying, he remembered that he had befriended a man who shared his interest in electronics and automotive. “In tandem, we won in a competition of flying miniature airplanes that we assembled. This became our ticket to study in the United States, which brought me to Princeton University in 1945,” Ayo said.

After he finished his doctorate, Ayo came home but went back to the United States to serve as a consultant of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the central civilian agency for direction of the US space exploration program established in 1958.

By late 1960s, he was back again in Sorsogon, married Raquel Diokino, a school teacher, and established his own business called Prama Electronic Center that provided electronic services and sold electronic and scientific gadgets and equipment.

Mini hydro plant

Ayo developed the first mini hydro plant in Bacon that produced 20 kilowatts of electricity.

He developed a rocket with a remote control that traveled 20 miles per hour.

Lawrence, the second eldest among Ayo’s five children, said he was amazed at how his father created in 1972 a phonograph that played music on voice command using the jukebox mechanism.

“That was before the information technology. What fascinated me was not only how he developed that phonograph but also how it responded when you say ‘Please,’” said Lawrence, a civil and electronic engineer.

Photo-run car

Ayo also developed a prototype car that runs on photon, an elementary particle that is the quantum of the electromagnetic field and basic unit of light.

The detailed design of the photon-run car shows a battery-like gadget that traps photons triggered by solar energy and produces electric power.

Ayo said a Japanese investor got interested with his invention but the deal did not push through because the latter would only pay him if he would go to Japan.

In 1982, Ayo developed his tidal electric generator but this did not push through on the issue of sharing even as he said the project could have been profitable using clean energy source from tidal water on Kalintaan Island in Matnog.

The $5-billion project can produce one gigawatt (GW) of electricity with 10 turbines producing 100 megawatts. It surpasses the combined power production of the Bacman geothermal plant at 150 MW and the Tiwi geothermal plant at 300 MW, according to Lawrence, who works as electronic engineer at the Bacman plant.

He said 1,000 MW is equivalent to 1 GW or one billion watts of electricity.

Ayo said his project could have made the country an exporter of electric power if it was implemented and replicated in other areas.

By Juan Escandor Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20100224-255167/At-85-inventor-keeps-creative-mind-active

Filed under: Education, Encouragement, Inspiration, Natatanging Sorsoganon, People who inspired Us, Show your pride, Sorsogon News Updates, Sorsogon Success Stories, We will make you SHINE!, Mini hydro plant, Pablo D. Ayo, Photo-run car, Sorsoganon inventor, Sorsogon's best

William Dechavez – Sterling Heights TV show spotlights diversity

Sterling Heights — City officials are using a new public access television show to showcase the city’s diversity.

“What we’re looking for is educating people about who we are,” said William Dechavez, a Filipino resident who moved to the city 28 years ago and is a member of the Ethnic Community Committee, which sponsors the show. “We have several ethnic groups in Sterling Heights.”

Sterling Heights Mayor Richard Notte said the show fits in well with the city’s mission to embrace a diverse community.

“We are like the melting pot of the world,” he said. “The city welcomes all cultures and likes to work with everybody and try to learn from each other.”

According to the American Community Survey posted on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site, from 2006-08 the three-year estimated average population included 112,407 whites, 5,133 African-Americans, 539 American Indians, 8,804 Asians and 2,879 Hispanics.

“Getting to Know Your Neighbor” features interviews with immigrants who have settled in Sterling Heights.

The show also wants to feature war veterans, Holocaust survivors and others involved in historic events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina survivors.

Show host Dennis Burin, 50, interviews residents. A Sterling Heights resident, Burin is a program curriculum coordinator for the Hazel Park Schools and a Wayne State University adjunct professor of world regional geography.

“I think this is such an important topic,” he said. “We run across people of various backgrounds in our daily lives and don’t talk.”

The first episode of the show, which aired last month, featured Iqbal Singh, chairman of the Ethnic Community Committee, who was born in India. In the second episode, Dechavez talked about how he came from the Philippines to the United States for more opportunities. He works as a special education resource room teacher for Detroit Public Schools.

“It was really relaxed and an informal conversation,” he said. He encourages other immigrants to participate.

By: Candice Williams / The Detroit News
From The Detroit News:  http://detnews.com/article/20100218/METRO03/2180399/Sterling-Heights-TV-show-spotlights-diversity

Filed under: Inspiration, Natatanging Sorsoganon, People who inspired Us, Show your pride, Sorsogon Outstanding Achievers, We will make you SHINE!, William Dechavez - Sterling Heights TV show spotlights diversity