by: Io Carpiso
The Philippines’ first digital science library, the Science and Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated KioskS or STARBOOKS of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-STARBOOKS), has released a mobile application that can be used in the new mode of learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The mobile app was released in June 2020 to mark the program’s 9th Anniversary and allow students to access Science and Technology information and review quizzes online.
The digital library program contains a vast collection of international research material and resources and originally made available to the public through physical kiosks.
Instead of making students from far-off communities come to the extensive library of the DOST-Science and Technology Information Institute (DOST-STII), DOST-STII brought the library to them by setting up 4,800 STARBOOKS sites in the Philippines.
As schools turn to remote learning due to COVID-based restrictions, bringing information to students has become an even more pressing challenge. With the new mobile app, the educational resource can now be accessed from home as students shift to remote learning mode under the new normal.
The mobile app is one of the many remote and online learning resources offered by DOST-STII:
- STARBOOKS’ extensive library is now integrated into the online learning platform DepEd Commons and is a recommended supplemental learning resource for public schools.
- A webinar series to be held from July to August is aimed at teachers to assist them in the transition to teaching under the “new normal,” with an emphasis on STEM education.
- A partner of the program is FRONTLEARNERS, a company that assists institutions in applying their curriculum onto an online setting, providing them training, reviewers, tutorials, and more.