Government Policies on
Science and Technology
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Quotations are commonly printed as a means of
inspiration and to invoke philosophical thoughts
from the reader.
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COVID-19 and Government Policies
✓ The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to wreak more havoc in developing countries than in developed
countries, because of the crumbling healthcare systems and infrastructures in the former, their
inadequate budgetary resources, shallow financial systems, and weak government authority and
capability.
✓ This impact has not yet shown up in cross-country data, possibly reflecting extensive under-reporting
and/or less testing for COVID-19 done in developing countries.
✓ Policymakers in these countries must concentrate first on implementing health-related measures, then
focus on economic measures to mitigate the negative economic impacts and support workers.
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Government Policies for COVID-19
✓ Health-Related Measures ✓ New demand for COVID-19-
related medical products
✓ Helping Vulnerable workers Cope
With the COVID-19 Pandemic
✓ Economic Measures ✓ Government interventions
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1.
Health-Related Measures
Because the coronavirus spreads very fast through human contact, and currently there is no vaccine or cure,
countries have relied on lockdowns, social distancing, quarantine, and isolation to deal with COVID-19.
✓ These measures aim to ‘flatten the curve’ so that the limited healthcare facilities and resources can
accommodate patients without being overrun, which would result in unnecessary deaths because of
inadequate care.
✓ In the absence of widespread testing and tracking, these are the best known methods to slow the spread, but
the economic costs of these actions, especially on tourism, trade, and foreign investment, are massive.
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2.
Economic Measures
The unprecedented deceleration of economic activities has led to significant economic costs, including
rampant unemployment.
The longer the crisis lasts, the more costly will be the damages.
✓ Normally, countries in crisis could seek help from external resources, such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund, but the global nature and magnitude of this crisis are such that these external
resources will be insufficient and need to be supplemented by domestic funding .
✓ Monetary policy serves to provide an adequate flow of liquidity to businesses and households, and to ensure
the government has adequate financing instruments to mobilize resources.
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3.
Helping Vulnerable workers Cope With the COVID-19
Pandemic
The pandemic adversely affects both the formal and informal sectors, but the most vulnerable group seems
to consist of workers in the informal sector and/or part-time workers, unskilled youth, and school dropouts.
✓ Those in the hospitality and retail trade who have limited or no access to healthcare or social safety nets will
be hit hard, and the sudden and large-scale loss of low paid work could drive a mass exodus of migrant
workers from cities to rural areas. A protracted COVID-19 crisis may also threaten food security, especially
for the most vulnerable group.
✓ The priority now is to provide safety nets and securing access to food, medical supplies, and necessities for
the most vulnerable group, especially workers who were recently laid-off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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4.
New demand for COVID-19-related medical products
Because of global connectivity, the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 is high, and no country can assume
immunity.
✓ As governments adopt pandemic-preparedness strategies for the future, the global demand for medical
products will be sustained at least in the medium-term, creating new opportunities for manufacturing firms
in both low-income (LICs) and lower middle-income countries (LMICs).
✓ Simple medical gear including facemasks, gloves, gowns, and simple medical equipment can be made by all
developing countries. In order to survive the economic downturn, many SMEs are taking advantage of the
severe shortage of these products by adjusting their factory production lines and retraining their workforce
to produce simple medical products for local hospitals.
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5.
Government interventions
Part of the government funding for this initiative could come from a thorough review of the existing public
investment programs, leading to a reallocation of capital to current expenditure—this policy action could
also be enhanced with foreign aid.
✓ Financial assistance: either in the form of grants or low-interest loans (low interest rates will help some
firms, but access to bank loans might be constrained at this time) to manufacturing firms that retain at least a
part of their workforce during the idle time.
✓ Technical assistance (especially for SMEs): composed of a toolkit that governments (including health
authorities) could prepare, containing information about: (a) appropriate technologies used to make the
medical products and equipment; and (b) where to purchase raw materials and other intermediate inputs.
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This is a slide title
▣ Here you have a list of items
▣ And some text
▣ But remember not to overload your slides with content
Your audience will listen to you or read the content, but won’t do both.
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The Philippine Government's COVID-19
Response Has Devastated Its Economy
▣ Read the article at [Link]
philippine-governments-covid-19-response-has-devastated-its-economy
▣ Cite the important highlights in the article.
▣ What are your thoughts on the facts presented in the article?
▣ Critique and inject your opinion related to the article.
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What are the government’s effort in the
fight against covid-19?
262
Philippine Government’s effort in fight against covid-19
Look for Cite the Critique the
government important policy made by
policies highlights in the the imposed by
imposed to article. the
contain the
government.
coronavirus.
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It is now clearly accepted that science, technology and
innovation (STI) are a key elements in the advancement of a country.
Indeed, there is no country that has progressed without including STI
as a central part of their development plan. All progressive countries
in the world have put STI as a centerpiece of their strategy.
Technological inventions and innovations are logical results of
enhanced science education that develops one's creative mind and
cultivate ingenuity, both requisites for the national development.
▪ build up students interest in science, thus, motivate them to pursue careers in
science, technology and engineering;
▪ connect their science knowledge with industries and modern technology,
being two of the priority areas for national development;
▪ make sense of the world as they are able to understand how things word and
how things are;
▪ develop students scientific inquiry skills, values and attitudes, such as
objectivity, curiosity, an honesty and habits of mind including critical thinking;
▪ use their science knowledge to assist in solving logical and national challenges
and problems such as energy crisis, population, garbage disposal, quality of
water, and;
▪ appreciate and preserve cultural uniqueness, identity, and its accompanying
peculiarities.
The Basic Education (DepEd) has ordered special science classes to be
organized per grade level to enhance science knowledge and skills of young
children and to develop their interest in science.
In 2013, Enhanced Basic Education (RA 10533) was signed into a law
bringing about changes in the basic education not to extend the years from 10 to
12 years but to fortified the various curricular offerings in tertiary education. In
the new law, after finishing Junior High School, student who have good to
excellent performance in science and math program or who are interested in
science and technology-related college curricular can opt for STEM (SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATH) strand under the Academic Track in Senior
High School.
In the tertiary level (colleges and universities), it is emphasized that that the
academe should be the incubators of technology where new knowledge will be
produced through conducting research. The research function is fused with
community extension, so that scientific result s could be immediately be shared to
the general public. On the other hand, some new knowledge and ideas may have
potential economic value and could be developed further into some form of
technology.
This academic freedom in research allows for testing new ideas, novel
concepts, alternative ways of doing things which lead to innovation and later to
the development of technology.
Due to COVID-19 's threat, colleges and universities are
making decisions about how to continue teaching and learning
while keeping their teachers, staff , and students protected from
an emergency in public health that moves quickly and is not well
understood.
Many universities and colleges have chosen to cancel all
face-to - face classes, including labs and other learning activities,
and have forced the faculty to transfer their courses online to help
prevent the virus that prevents COVID-19 from spreading. The list
of higher education institutions making this decision has widened
every day.
Moving instruction online can enable the flexibility of teaching
and learning anywhere, anytime, but the speed with which this move
to online instruction is expected to happen is unprecedented and
staggering.
The idea of blended learning was drawn specifically in the
sub-discipline of online and distance learning where it involves
careful instructional design and planning, using a systematic model
for design and development. The design process and the careful
consideration of different design decisions have an impact on the
quality of the instruction. And it is this careful design process that will
be absent in most cases in these emergency shifts.
▪ is combining multiple learning components and learning events to create a
meaningful learning such as classroom, On-line self-paced Learning
Content, E-mail, Discussion Forums , LMS (Learning Management System)
etc. and learning events such as individual or group based learning events
to create a meaningful learning.
▪ it breaks down the traditional walls of teaching, ones that don’t work for
all students and now with access to present-day technologies and
resources we can tailor the learning experience for each student.
Components of Blended Learning
As digital and social media become more and more prevalent in the life
of learners, it was only a matter of time before learning became ‘blended’ by
necessity wherein it increases “flexibility” in learning.
With the increasing use of a variety of approaches for learning in the
information age, learners' preferences are changing from wanting to be taught
mostly in lectures or direct training sessions. New developments in learning
science and technology provide opportunities to develop learning
environments that suit students' needs and interests.
Increase student interest: when technology is integrated into school lessons,
learners are more likely to be interested in, focused on, and excited about the
subjects they are studying.
Provides student autonomy: The use of eLearning materials increases a student’s
ability to set appropriate learning goals and take charge of his or her own learning,
which develops an ability that will be translatable across all subjects.
Instill a disposition of self-advocacy: Students become self-driven and responsible,
tracking their individual achievements, which helps develop the ability to find the
resources or get the help they need, self-advocating so they can reach their goals.
Allow instant diagnostic information and student feedback: The ability to rapidly
analyze, review and give feedback to student work, gives the teacher the ability
to tailor his teaching methods and feedback for each student while improving
time efficiency.
Enables students to learn at their own pace: Due to the flexibility of blended
learning and the ability to access internet resources allows students to learn at
their own pace, meaning a teacher can help speed up the learning process or give
more advanced resources if necessary.
Prepares students for the future: Blended learning offers a multitude of real-
world skills, that directly translate into life skills, from:
WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF
BLENDED LEARNING
Strong technological dependence. The tech resources and tools need to be
reliable, easy to use, and up to date in order for the use of the Internet to have a
meaningful impact on the learning experience.
Lack of IT knowledge. IT literacy can serve as a significant barrier for students
attempting to get access to the course materials. The availability of technical
support is a must.
Students can fall behind. The use of lecture recording technologies can result in
students falling behind on the material. Nearly half of all students will wait and
watch several weeks’ worth of videos in one sitting, rather than on a regular
basis.
All students no matter their age learn differently and teaching methods
should reflect this, by designing teaching programs in a way that reaches visual,
auditory, and kinetic learners alike.
With the heavy integration of technologies, we’ll be able to improve
teaching, information retention, engagement, responsibility, and
enjoyment. Students never outgrow their learning styles, meaning blended
learning is more important than ever, no matter what the industry is, from
schools to corporations, from all walks of life.