Ann Michelle S. Medina bagged the Outstanding Innovator Award for the Secondary Teacher Category on 17 December 2020 in the School Division of Rizal’s Gawad Kampilan virtual awarding ceremony. A student of the Master of Distance Education (MDE) program, a public secondary school Teacher II, and the ICT Coordinator at the Tagumpay National High School (TNHS) at Rodriguez, Rizal, Medina was among the three recipients of the year’s award in the said category.
The 2020 Gawad Kampilan aimed to honor the invaluable learning continuity efforts made by all educational stakeholders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Medina, a consistently recognized educator in the area of innovation and ICTs, was readily nominated by the Public Schools District Supervisor as representative of the municipality for the category. Her advocacy and dedication eventually solidified her grip on this latest recognition.
As a UPOU student, Medina shares that her learnings in the MDE program were instrumental in the design and conduct of her teaching approaches and projects at the TNHS. Her MDE background helped her to facilitate technology-supported classroom teaching. She also designed the School’s Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) in light of the pandemic and her brainchild, Project CORE (Community of Responsible Educators).
Medina’s MDE studies coupled with her passion for lifelong learning, allowed her to conceptualize Project CORE. The project, born out of her EDDE 230 (Ethical, Legal and Social Issue in the Information Age) course learnings, is designed to equip teachers, students, parents, and other relevant stakeholders with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to facilitate the School’s transition amid demands of the future.
Such distinctions have opened better opportunities not only for Medina, but also for her projects, as it produced new partnerships for even better engagements. Noting the decisive role of her UPOU education, Medina says,
“The UP education is the best education one can have. It has helped me grow professionally and to meaningfully contribute to our institution.”
Project CORE has previously received the Department of Education’s National Innovations Award for ICT in Teaching and Learning in 2018, with Medina as finalist in its ICT Innovations Award for Governance category. In 2017, she was also recognized as DepEd Rizal’s Gawad Kampilan Outstanding ICT Coordinator and as the Regional Winner in DepEd CALABARZON’s 1st ICT Summit. On top of all these, Medina has also been awarded as an Outstanding Teacher at the TNHS for three consecutive school years beginning 2017-2018.
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