Belen Oca poses with her trophy for winning the Award for Contribution in the International Stage from the International School Awards in Dubai last December. (Photo courtesy of Belen Oca's Facebook account)
MANGALDAN, Pangasinan -- A Grade 7 English teacher, who was presented an award in Dubai, has urged students and professionals to take advantage and avail of free online courses.
Belen Oca of the Mangaldan National High School, said in an interview on Wednesday that her being a facilitator in the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) Camp by the US Embassy in the Philippines since 2017 has paved the way for her to win the Award for Contribution in the International Stage by the International School Awards.
Oca received the award in Dubai last December.
“Passion for teaching, at ‘yong pagmamahal ko sa mga anak ko ang nag-motivate sa akin na mag-join. Gusto ko po kasi maging proud sila sa akin at para pahalagahan po nila ang pag-aaral. (My passion for teaching and my love for my children motivated me to join. I want them to be proud of me and to value education),” she said.
The award-winning teacher has two children, and has been teaching for 14 years now.
Oca was a virtual speaker (The Right to Education Means The Right to a Qualified Teacher, American Spaces Philippines); finished the Indonesian MOOC: Technology for Autonomous Learning Modules sponsored by the US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia last year; and finished different other online courses offered by universities in the US.
She was also designated as member of the Action Research Committee in the Junior and Senior High School Department of the Mangaldan National High School, and has been a resource speaker in various seminars, such as a school-based training workshop on module writing.
The US Embassy offered her to become a facilitator after she finished the online American English E-Teacher program, and a course Integrating Critical Thinking Skills into the Exploration of Culture in English as a foreign language setting through MOOC.
“Different universities in the US offer free courses online through MOOC. Hence, I urge students and professionals to enroll,” Oca said.
“Iba’t Ibang lahi po ang nag-e-enroll at ang mga professors ay mga nagtuturo din sa school na nag-offer ng course. Challenging yun kasi po ang mga kaklase namin ay from different countries (Students who enroll have different nationalities and the professors are also professors in US universities offering the courses. It is challenging because our classmates are from different countries),” she added.
Oca also advised her fellow teachers to prepare for changes in the educational system.
“Dapat huwag lang manatiling guro na nakikita lamang sa loob ng classroom. Dapat sabayan natin ang mga pagbabagong nagaganap sa educational system in order to make a difference in the lives of our students and leave a legacy (We should not remain to be just a teacher inside the classroom. We should adapt to the changes happening in the educational system in order to make a difference in the lives of our students and leave a legacy),” she said. (PNA)
