Educational equity
Imagine a future where every Filipino child, regardless of background or location, has access to the transformative power of education—a future where the barriers of class and privilege are shattered, paving the way for a more equitable society. Welcome to the era of educational equity in the Philippines, where high-quality learning opportunities abound for all!
In this visionary landscape, accessible education is not just a dream but a reality, made possible by widespread access to hardware and reliable infrastructure. From bustling cities to remote villages, students are equipped with the tools they need to thrive in the digital age, with government-backed initiatives ensuring internet connectivity and providing laptops for all, bridging the digital divide and leveling the playing field for learners everywhere.
But the magic doesn't stop there—local large language models (LLMs) emerge as beacons of knowledge, bringing the world to remote areas with limited internet access. Fact-checked and vetted for accuracy, these educational resources connect students with a universe of learning opportunities, fostering curiosity and expanding horizons.
And amidst the rise of online learning, face-to-face interactions with teachers remain at the heart of education, ensuring that the human touch remains an integral part of the learning journey.
Overall, the internet and AI democratize information in the country, redistributing knowledge from the few to the many and empowering Filipinos to engage in critical thinking, debate, and diverse perspectives. In this brave new world, democracy flourishes, fueled by the free flow of ideas and the boundless potential of every Filipino learner.
Get ready to unlock the doors of educational equity in the Philippines—where knowledge is not just a privilege but a fundamental right for all.
In a rural barangay nestled amidst the verdant countryside of the Philippines, a group of eager public school students eagerly unbox their brand new Chromebooks, a gift from the government aimed at bridging the digital divide. With wide-eyed wonder, they marvel at the sleek devices, their faces illuminated by the soft glow of the screens. For these students, access to technology is no longer a distant dream but a tangible reality, opening doors to a world of knowledge and opportunity. As they embark on their educational journey armed with these powerful tools, the future of rural education in the Philippines shines brighter than ever before.
In a bustling classroom in the Philippines, Filipino students eagerly gather around holographic projectors, their faces lit with anticipation as they prepare to attend a virtual lecture at Harvard University. With a flicker of light, the lecture hall materializes before their eyes, transporting them thousands of miles away to the hallowed halls of academia. As the esteemed professor begins to speak, the students hang on every word, soaking in knowledge and inspiration from across the globe. In this digital age, borders blur and opportunities abound, empowering Filipino students to access world-class education without ever leaving their homeland.
Selected Quotes
...[T]here's such a thing as a diffusion of innovation...Anytime you have something new, the early adopters and the innovators, they're all in the same mindset. That...accounts for maybe up to 10% penetration of any market. But to get to majority, usually the motivations of the majority are very different from the early adopters. So you need to change your messaging, you need to change like the way you deliver it...and then they'll flip. And not everyone succeeds. Because by definition, the early majority will be worried about other things that the innovators may think is very mundane...[especially when it comes to] AI. That's why I think...I don't know, some of the early ideas that they plan on doing is do AI in Filipino. Why does it have to be so elite talking about it in English? Why don't we do Artificial Intelligence in Tagalog? Or later in Ilongo? Or Cebuano?...But that's what's missing, everyone else is happily chatting AI in BGC but not in Mimaropa, not in Iloilo, not in Cotabato...things like that
In a perfect world, I think the government would lend out laptops to their students. Kahit yung super simple na Chromebooks. But like in other countries, for example, like the States...they do something right...they actually give students Chromebook access, if I'm not mistaken...I can never forget during the pandemic when everyone had to switch to digital. I will never forget yung stories of children who would climb up to the roof in the province just to use their phone, and use that to do their homework and connect.
...[I]deally, of course...hardware for everyone, because it shouldn't be like, "Kung sino lang yung may tablet, sila lang yung makaka-online"...So again, also infrastructure. So you shouldn't have to like find...a cell tower to be able to connect [to the Internet]...and talk to your teacher and all that. Should it always be online classes? Maybe not. Maybe you have to meet them face-to-face pa rin. But yeah, again, facilitating all that so...the infrastructure there...[becomes normalized and] reliable, yeah.
[M]ore than any other technology, data is...both the outcome and the prime mover. So the flow of information drives politics, [which] drives society...I remember reading somewhere [that] political structures could only exist in an era where information flows. [That's because] that's how you get debate, critical thinking, and people challenging each other [and] expressing their views. Back when...information didn't flow, we were governed by [the] [C]hurch, and royalty, and feudalism who had the monopoly on information. [The] Philippines is kind of a mix [of this], where generally...information flows; but the control of the information still falls on the hands of a few elites, right? Both feudal and political. But that doesn't mean the average Pinoy can't get information on their own. That's why [the] internet and AI, for me, is a game changer because the access to it so far has not been gatekept.
...So you know how ChatGPT works, right? The model itself doesn't run on your computer. The model itself requires internet for you to run. But there are LLMs that you can download locally. What that means is [that] you can download it in your machine. So what does that tell you? LLMs are smart. They have knowledge. What does that mean for people living in rural areas...without access to internet, without access to Wi-Fi, without access to public knowledge?...Do they have their own libraries?...Well, what if we can have a system capable of running a local LLM, and they can use that to actually connect with the rest of the world. Now, there is one issue. This can only be done with the assumption that we can validate what the LLM says, because they can give false information. So assuming we can validate what they say, assuming we have a way to figure out whenever it's wrong [or] right, we can actually have local LLMs for people in rural areas to reference for education. Now, that doesn't exactly solve the problem of education, but it's definitely one step towards it. So that's one way tech can help, but the tech doesn't completely solve it. You still need other things to come into play.
...I assume mas mageevolve pa [ng online education] in a way na...perhaps reaching yung mga rural areas. Like for example, access to [the] Internet; continuous naman iyon. So we can give our tablets; [they're] easier to produce and utilize. And may advancement din with not only online access, but also offline [access]. I'm basing this from [my company's] products, kasi our products can be used offline...[Requiring] online [connection] is a barrier especially in rural areas, or in areas where internet is a problem...common iyon, kasi either nawalan sila ng Internet, so wala silang pambayad, or wala pang...telco na malapit, so wala silang access. So paano sila [magagawa ng mga iba't ibang transaksyon]? So...[it's] optimistic in a sense na education can be learned offline rin, not only online.
I'm optimistic...kasi...I'm anchoring lang doon sa narrative [of]...access again to a lot of materials there, meaning [that] people can create content [on their own]...So this means na yung education mo is not [restricted to] school, [since] you can see a lot of content out there...I'm optimistic kasi it gives other people an opportunity to learn and see, whether still in Youtube or other platforms. So mas madali na siya. [People would learn online,] rather than [staying in] educational institutions na pwede maging left behind again -- that's currently happening in reality.
...[A]t the end of the day, it's just quality education has to be accessible to everyone. Otherwise...we're gonna go in an infinite loop. We're not gonna change. It's just gonna be like this forever, where people have different views, [and] class separation. It's not gonna change until we change the education system, because people just think too differently. Values just don't align in any way...[What kind of tech actually would help facilitate or support this?]...[C]omputing power isn't as expensive as it used to be years ago. So easy to do things like Zoom [now]; it's just a matter of whether or not people can get themselves these devices. So if the government is willing to invest in that and give people actual devices to work with, I think that can help facilitate [access to education].
[T]he barrier to entry [for AI] is quite low, and those are the technologies we need to take advantage of...the ones where the friction is very, very, very low. Unlike prior technologies, like...Blockchain, it's very hard to get onboard. If...your purchasing power isn't abundant to begin with, you won't be able to take advantage of cryptocurrency.And as a side note, I feel that...technology [is] probably so prematurely hyped, it's barely mature. So other than speculation, like there's nothing much to blockchain. On the other hand, AI having been around for much longer than people think...artificial intelligence has been around since the 50s, right? But it's only with the recent hardware developments like GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) and Cloud, that now the access has been democratized. And large language models in particular, I feel are a pivotal tech because you don't have to be a computer programmer to use it. In the same manner...image generation tools, Midjourney, etcetera, you can use plain English to prompt them.
Let's say, a lot of people wanted to go back to face to face learning. Why? Because the learning space online was not as good. But why could that be? It could be because they did not have a good experience with this technology [that] powered the service, let's say they had bad Internet, or the proctor was having had a bad mic. All these like stuff you could have if I believe that there could be a very fun online class experience if the technology was good enough for you...There is a concern that I have with education being locked behind, locked as an emphasis on locked behind technology, and you're gonna have to pay to access those benefits. I believe that having financial privilege is one of the main reasons people can excel in academics, and technology like this, that we have right now empowers that even further. If you have 2 students with the same levels of intelligence and effort, and basically like kasipagan nila, and you give one all the resources they, tutor services, nice devices to work on...a good iPad, a good laptop, and then contrast that with someone who barely has any resources at all for tech. We can anticipate who's gonna have better performance. By then, I hope education won't be locked behind a technology big pay wall. And say, even like stuff like Course Hero, and even Chegg, even though it's bad check is that's something that has to be paid. Maybe, let's say Photo Math, you can pay to have premium explanations and the stuff you're doing. So all of these, there are technological walls to education, and I hope by then, these would be less frequent. I do understand right now. These are businesses. They have to make money. It's a software as a service, but education should not be made easier if you have the money for it. The idea is not worsening it for those who can afford, but making it better for those who cannot. For instance, I have a friend in a medical field right now. I believe there's a certain app that has to be opened an iPad, and...they use it in school, so that sort of thing should not happen where everyone is required to have an iPad or some sort of mobile device. Same with online classes. It should not be anticipated that all these people will have laptops. and like. Everyone can be able to perform as well as the others, especially where there's that big of a privilege gap between them.
Overall, I think ang future ng education would be hybrid. Homeschool at tsaka traditional schooling. Bakit? Mga tao marami nang work from home. Yung mga tao na yan by that time ideally may mga nasa probinsya na yung iba. So...yung mga parents, they're able to concentrate their time and resources to child-rearing. So may makikita mo yung mga bahay na yan may mga microscope, mga telescope, may mga bukid na maliliit. Sa bahay pa lang mastistimulate na yung bata. Yung mga magulang since may trabaho din sila, they will still send their children to school kasi after all di naman, we cannot teach everything. Pero tayong mga magulang...we would still be actively involved sa buhay ng mga bata. Tingin ko future ng education is that yung mga top na students would have come from families na may work from home single or couple na parents...Yung mga nasa laylayan na sa education, yan yung mga magulang na kailangan pinag-oonsite lagi kasi napapabayaan, yung asa sa tradition schooling. Kasi ang bata twenty four seven kailangan mo tutunan yan eh...Tingin ko yung future ng education would be hybrid. And yung future ng mga, yung lahat ng mga school, papalarin na magkaroon ng hybrid style ng education yun yung mga aasenso academically and professionally.
