Graduation of K to 12 pioneer students on May 30, a landmark event in Phl educational system

A landmark event in the history of Philippine education system will take place on May 30 with the  pioneering batch of the Department of Education's (DepEd) K to 12 Program in two pilot schools in Leyte will be graduating on May 30 of this  year.

Palo Mayor Remedios L. Petilla said the first batch of K to 12 students from the Palo ! National High School and the Merida Vocational School will graduate on May 30 at the upper floor of the Palo Municipal Hall.

This is a very important historical event, Mayor Petilla said as she disclosed that no less than the secretary of Education has been invited to grace the graduation.

It was learned that in a recent assessment made by the DepEd and the Provincial Government of Leyte, about 200 students of Grades 11 and 12 took the K to 12 Program Modeling Implementation for two years.

The students come from Palo National High School and Merida Vocational School and are under the Income Creating Opportunities Thru Technology Projects (ICOT-P) of then Leyte governor now Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla which  being continued under the term of Governor Dominic Petilla.

Several private firms committed to hire the students under tourism, information and communications technology (ICT), automotive and metals, and engineering sector.

The DepEd in Eastern Visayas has initiated the modeling, in consortium with the Provincial Government of Leyte, Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (Tesda), Commission on Higher Education (Ched), and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges Eastern Visayas Chapter.

Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said DepEd can now assess what are needed to be improved in the implementation of the program in the Philippines.

“The K to 12 Program reinforces our vision to provide alternative learning and skills to our students who would not be able to continue to a college education. As they finish senior high school, they become equipped with skills and competencies that will make them ready to work,” he said.

The shift in the country’s education system started in 2012 with the universal kindergarten program. Filipino children aged five years old are now required to spend two years in kindergarten before entering Grade 1. opt

2014 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INDUSTRY REPORT

The 2014 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INDUSTRY REPORT reveals how marketers are using social media to grow their businesses.

In order to understand how marketers are using social media, Social Media Examiner commissioned its sixth annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report.

It set out to uncover the the “who, what, where, when and why” of social media marketing” with more than 2,800 marketers revealing where they focus their social media activities, which social tactics are most effective and how content plays a role into their social media marketing.

Here's a quick summary of the primary findings:

• Marketers place very high value on social media: A significant 92% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business, up from 86% in 2013.

• Tactics and engagement are top areas marketers want to master.  At least 89% of marketers want to know the most effective social tactics and the best ways to engage their audience with social media.

• Blogging holds the top spot for future plans. A significant 68% of marketers plan on increasing their use of blogging, making it the top area marketers will invest in for 2014.

• Marketers want to learn most about Google+.  While 54% of marketers are using Google+, 65% want to learn more about it and 61% plan on increasing Google+ activities in 2014.

• Podcasting on growth trajectory.  Only 6% of marketers are involved with podcasting, yet 21% plan on increasing their podcasting activities in 2014, more than threefold increase; and 28% of marketers want to learn more about it.

• Facebook and LinkedIn are the two most important social networks for marketers.  When forced to only select one platform, 54% of marketers selected Facebook, followed by LinkedIn at 17%.

• Most marketers aren't sure their Facebook marketing is effective: Only 34% of marketers (slightly more than one in three) think that their Facebook efforts are effective.

• Original written content is most important for social media marketing:  A significant 58% of marketers stated that original written content is the single most important form of content, followed by original visual assets (19%).

Mr. Michael Stelzner, the founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner, also revealed some fascinating findings like which social networks are used by those who invest the most time in social media marketing and the benefits achieved by those who have been at this for years.  opt