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ieHIP® Press - Archive
Tech firm shares benefits of digital convergence to DepEd
Bares platform for rich-media cyber-education portal, content management and digital signage.
Gracing the 6th National Convention and Seminar-Workshop of Administrative Officers Association
of the Department of Education (AOADE) held on September 13-15, 2007 at the Teachers Camp in Baguio
City, a high tech software company proposed to the Department of Education (DepEd) a cost effective
solution to implementing and administering cyber-education in public schools plus a host of
other benefits.
Francis Dy, president of A5COM Inc., discussed the reality of digital convergence in which TV
Internet and consumer electronic devices have merged to offer more interactive and rich-media
contents from both TV and the Internet. He also noted many key factors of the convergence phenomenon
such as access to low-cost high-speed Internet; growing availability of digital contents; increasing
capacity of hard-disk drives; declining costs of hardware and network peripherals and the growing
policy-adoption of many governments that mandates the broadcast industry (TV, radio and Cable TV)
to switch to digital format.
With this positive development and technological advancements, Dy explains that Department
can leverage or embrace this digital convergence phenomenon to enhance learning in
public schools and improve DepEd services.
A5COM Inc., a research and development arm of A5TEK in Silicon Valley USA,
is a provider of web-based rich-media convergence solutions for which it’s proprietary
suite of ieHIP® software products have gained recognition for their range of applications
to personal and home entertainment, enterprise, advertising, education and
other industrial applications.
“We have always believed in the spirit and ingenuity of our Filipino IT professionals
which can contribute a lot to realizing good government programs happen. For our part,
what we envision for DepED is not just providing a platform for cyber education but a
single platform for such other important applications that Department needs like
administration of its services and enhancing communication among DepEd
offices across the country.” Dy explained.
Also covered in his discussion is the company’s ieHIP® Media Connect software
designed to help educators create a portal for learning as well as managing
and administering an institution’s content and services.
According to Dy “The software’s content management feature does not only store
educational content, it manages all types of digitized contents. DepEd administrators,
principals and mentors can upload and retrieve digitized records to the same portal
such as student grades, teaching and staff profiles, memoranda, and notices while
enjoying the benefits of a full portal learning solution.”
A major milestone of the said platform is its user-friendly Television
User Interface (TUI) which emulates TV navigation. The company has recently
acquired a patent for its code-based navigation technology, a component of
the TUI, which allows users to navigate their stored contents, TV and Internet
using number-based commands. By having such capabilities “Education is richer,
easier and more fun to pupils and teachers.” adds Dy.
Digital convergence also has its benefits on communication. By leveraging
the Internet, a networked display communication system can be built by DepEd using
the same engine used by ieHIP® Media Connect with the firm’s very own ieHIP® Digital
Signage solution. The company reckons ieHIP® Digital Signage to be another
solid benefit to DepEd from the point of view of cost reduction.
"Our strategy has always been to reuse our ieHIP engine in many of our applications
to provide end-users not only with the same familiar interface but to prove that
technology need not be a cost issue." Dy clarified.
For the networked digital signage, the concept is to deploy several
digital signage systems to DepEd’s headquarters, regional offices,
and schools with Internet connection. Thus, each digital signage
system can be centrally-managed from one control point.
The digital signage works by broadcasting any vital formation or messages from
the central office to all displays regardless of location. A message can also be
customized according to region or area using the narrowcasting feature of the
software. For example, narrowcasting can be used for disaster-preparedness programs
allowing the central DepEd office to alert real-time regional offices of an
upcoming storm in their locality keeping students and DepEd
personnel aware of calamities in their area.
Dy concluded that “with our innovation, we provide the
best value and benefit to their many important programs
of DepEd in just one stone.”
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About A5TEK
A5TEK Corp is a rich-media solutions provider for OEM, consumer and visual
communications markets headquartered in Sta. Clara California with a strong
and highly-experienced R&D team staff in both the United States and in Asia.
A5TEK’s ieHIP® proprietary technology is the base engine of its ieHIP® product
suite – ieHIP® Media Connect, ieHIP® Digital Signage and Intelligent Media
Systems. For more information, visit www.a5tek.com. |
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