John Carlo Quiane, a media and information literacy (MIL) teacher at Batangas State University Integrated School, began using the modules and videos from the University of the Philippines (UP) Journalism Department MIL project in his class last year.
After adopting the materials, he noticed his students becoming more cautious about consuming information on social media.
“Mas naging critical sila [students] in terms of absorbing information,” said Quiane. “Tapos kita ko rin sa aking mga students in the publication how they interact with the information that they see. Kumbaga mas naimprove yung kanilang skills in terms of fact-checking.”
Since its launch in October 2023, some MIL educators said the project has improved students’ ability to critically evaluate online information, filling gaps in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) “outdated” curriculum.
Quiane noted that the topics covered by the UP MIL project are “timely and relevant” for the learners today compared to the 16-page curriculum guide from DepEd.
“Kung bibisitahin niyo ang curriculum guide ng MIL ng DepEd, sobrang traditional ng mga approach na binigay nila. Like kailangan pang pag-aralan ng bata kung ano ang evolution ng traditional to new media, kailangan pang i-discuss ang pre-historic age, industrial age and such,” he said.
The MIL project featured video materials and distributed modules to high school MIL teachers discussing media literacy topics including disinformation, fact-checking, and digital-related issues such as data privacy, online etiquette, and internet scams.
Department Chair Kara David previously said that focus group discussions with students and senior high school (SHS) teachers revealed the DepEd’s MIL curriculum being “heavy and complicated,” as it tries to fit too much content into a single semester.
READ: Amid issues on disinformation, UP Journ department launches project on media literacy
Under DepEd’s MIL curriculum, students must study 17 topics in one semester, covering lessons from history to the media’s current trends and issues.
Despite having an extensive scope, the existing curriculum lacked lessons on identifying false information, fact-checking, cybersecurity, and social media algorithms. Only modules six and 14 covered “manipulative” information and related issues.
While the UP MIL module discusses “fake news” and its various types, including misinformation and disinformation, the DepEd module focuses on the “[strategies] used by advertising or marketing firms to manipulate information,” such as consumer confusion and celebrity endorsements.
Quiane said the missing components in DepEd’s MIL curriculum are essential for students to learn because they are timely, especially the tools for fact-checking discussed in one of the project’s videos and modules.
In 2021, at least 51% of Filipinos struggle to distinguish factual information from “fake news,” according to a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The survey also revealed that the problem of “fake news” is considered more serious among 75% of junior high school graduates. Currently, MIL is offered as a core subject exclusively to SHS students across all strands.
Quiane suggested that DepEd must fully integrate the project’s modules into the present MIL curriculum in SHS.
“Dapat lang talaga [i-integrate] kasi ang daming mga lessons, ang daming mga concepts dito sa module [Journalism Department’s MIL] na walang-wala, hindi mo makikita sa [existing] curriculum,” he said.
A 2023 study published in the Philippine Journal of Media & Information Literacy showed that MIL teachers have various concerns about the content and resources in the current curriculum.
Participant-educators in the study urged DepEd to refine the current MIL curriculum.
“There is a need to realize that many essential topics, like lessons related to misinformation and disinformation (information disorders), are not emphasized, whereas technical topics like media production are overly discussed, contributing to the congested curriculum,” according to the study.
Incorporating “activities related to current issues and real-world experience in the media profession can be a good addition or change” to the current performance standards specified in the DepEd curriculum, said Ricalyn Perlas, the study’s author and a faculty member at De La Salle University – Integrated School.
Performance standards, as noted in the study, outline what students must show to indicate that they have met the needed competencies.
In the DepEd curriculum, the activities are limited to “traditional pen and paper” tests, while the performance tasks are more on writing exercises, according to Quiane.
“Aside from outdated siya [curriculum], ‘yung mga approach kasi, ‘yung mga activity, hindi na siya pang classroom. I will use the term ‘boring’. Boring ‘yung mga other activities na mayroon sa curriculum ng DepEd,” he said.
The UP MIL modules incorporate real-life media issues into their activities, addressing topics like online scams and high-profile misinformation incidents. Quiane acknowledges that these are more helpful in terms of classroom participation as they are simple to facilitate and foster collaboration among students.
Apart from being outdated, DepEd’s current curriculum is largely focused on “theory” according to Joseph Soriano, MIL teacher for five years at Eugenio M. Lopez Jr. Center for Media Arts Senior High School in Quezon City.
“[P]uro theory lang ‘yung tinuturo namin at ‘yung mga naunang taon ko ng pagtuturo ng MIL na by theory lang, wala akong ginamit na mga videos para mas strengthen ‘yung discussion namin,” Soriano said.
Since early last year, Soriano has been incorporating the MIL videos into their lessons.
“‘Yung mga kailangan namin na competency na maituro sa mga bata, nabibigay nung mga video na ‘yun, ‘yung mas comprehensive ang paliwanag at ‘yun nga, visual pa siya. At ‘yung mga impormasyon nanggagaling talaga sa mga masasabi nating expert at talagang nasa linya ng media,” he said.
Soriano pointed out that the graphics in MIL videos likewise helped students better understand media concepts discussed in class.
“Ang video kasi isa ‘yun sa mga effective tool in teaching. Kasi pagka puro teachers lang nagsasalita, mabo-bore ang mga students. Kaya ‘yung mga videos, napakalaking tulong noon kasi kahit papaano, mada-divert ‘yung attention ng students,” he said.
Beyond the classroom
Notably, Quiane also utilized the UP MIL project’s materials in The LATHE High School, the official student publication of Batangas State University – Integrated School, finding them helpful in discussing topics such as “fake news.”
“[Nakita] ko rin sa aking mga students in the publication how they interact with the information that they see. Talagang kita ko kung paano sila nagre-react kapag nakakita sila ng mga maling information. Kumbaga mas na-improve ‘yung kanilang skills in terms of fact-checking,” he said.
Meanwhile, Soriano shared he used the same videos to teach student journalists from their school’s publication, Haraya, about news writing and its values.
Quiane and Soriano are among 557 educators nationwide who received the project’s modules as of October 2024, based on the data from the UP Journalism Department.
According to David, other instructors also expressed their feedback through messages and comments on the project’s official Facebook and YouTube accounts.
“May mga comments na nagpapasalamat sila, nagsasabing ginagamit na nila. May mga nag-post sa Facebook na ginagamit na nila ‘yung mga videos. Mostly, comments and posts on Facebook ‘yung mga nakukuha naming mga positive na feedback,” said David.
Need for new funding
While feedback on the project has been mostly positive, David said new funding is needed to produce the next batch of MIL videos.
“Wala na kasi ‘yung grant namin, tapos na ‘yung grant. [As] much as we would like to produce more videos, kailangan namin ng funding or ng mga tao na willing i-produce ‘yung videos,” said David.
She added that they are willing to collaborate with DepEd in the future should they be given enough support.
The department’s MIL project was produced as part of Internews’ five-year “Initiative for Media Freedom” program, with funding support from the US Agency for International Development.
David shared that her students in the Journalism 104 (Pag-uulat sa Filipino) class in the first semester wrote additional scripts, which will be used for the next set of MIL video series, in case any media organization or funding agency provides them with a grant.
“At the moment, we don’t have any budget to do that [the MIL project] and we don’t have the manpower to do that. So, we’re hoping na in the future, sana merong makuhang interested na organization para maipagpatuloy ‘yung pag-produce ng mga videos,” she said.
Given the project’s success, Soriano and Quiane hope that more modules and videos covering other lessons will be produced under the program.
Quiane also suggested including more types of objective assessments in the module, which can be converted into summative tests, emphasizing that these should focus on comprehension beyond the lesson itself.
“Dagdagan pa natin ‘yung mga activities, exercises, practices, drills in terms of comprehension. Kasi doon talaga nag-struggle minsan ang mga students eh. Kaya minsan, ano sila, nabubulag sila ng mga ‘fake news’,” he said.
Soriano is also hoping for the project to continue as it has been “super successful” in enhancing students’ MIL skills.
“Sana magpatuloy at mas lumawak pa siya, at rumami pa ‘yung videos na talaga makatulong sa mga educator at sa mga estudyante rin natin para mas maging media literate sila,” he expressed.