Knowledge Channel launched its 'Stay at Home, Learn from Home' campaign in mid-March, in response to the coronavirus lockdown. KCFI
MANILA — As the country shifts to distance learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Knowledge Channel said it is prepared to partner with the government, with its decades-worth of materials for home-based education.
Over the past 21 years, Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI) has produced more than 1,000 educational videos in consultation with Department of Education (DepEd), and later, based on the K-12 curriculum.
KCFI said its existing content matches 50% the DepEd's revised most essential learning competencies (MELC), in the form of video lessons for K-10.
This set of MELC, a narrowed list in light of the transition to non-traditional learning, will be implemented when the school year starts on August 24.
"What we want to do now is to produce the other 50% to complete our offering," Edric Calma, KCFI head for operations, told ABS-CBN News in a statement.
Television-based instruction is one of the methods DepEd has specified for distance learning, along with printed or digital modules, and online learning resources such as the DepEd Commons.
With its extensive video library, produced specifically for home viewing and with session guides, KCFI is uniquely positioned to immediately address the need for modules for learning through TV or other visual media.
KCFI, through its TV programming, has also long aired its educational programs according to grade level, with daily or thrice per week video lessons, Calma explained.
"We are keen on implementing this grid and partnering with schools divisions and see if this would work. We also devised an assessment plan to help teachers and parents to find out if their young learners are learning well," he said.
Currently, aside from its online platforms, Knowledge Channel is seen in 4 million homes through Sky, Sky Direct and other cable and direct-to-home satellite services. Formerly, it was accessible to 2 million more homes through ABS-CBN TVPlus, until the forced shutdown of the network’s broadcast.
Partnering with the government can help bring Knowledge Channel to more homes, especially those with no access to pay-TV or the internet. Knowledge Channel's content has also been converted into a "portable media library," or a preloaded external hard drive, which can be distributed.
"We are eager to collaborate with like-minded organizations and individuals so we could produce or acquire more video lessons, provide access to these resources, and help teachers and parents support our young learners as they learn," Calma said.
KCFI president Rina Lopez-Bautista said the organization is "prepared to help DepEd and parents be ready for the incoming school year."
"But we are also preparing for the future," she added. "While our curriculum-based video lessons are available on cable TV, online, and offline, we continue to explore more education solutions for every possible context to ensure more relevant learning for every Filipino."