DepEd gears up for National Schools Press Conference

2015, introduces Online Journ to educators

February 5, 2015
Davao CityThe Department of Education (DepEd) conducted a nationwide training for school paper
advisers and campus journalism coordinators as part of its preparation for the 2015 National Schools
Press Conference (NSPC). Aside from basic journalism concepts, the participants were also introduced to
Online Journalism and Science Writing, which are recent additions to the NSPC competition categories.
Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC highlighted the importance of adding digital communication
components in the Campus Journalism Program. He said that doing so will increase the 21st century skills
of teachers, thereby furthering the media literacy of Filipino students.
The National Training of Trainers on Campus Journalism aimed to orient the school paper advisers on the
current trends and developments in campus journalism and digital communications media, to enhance
their journalistic skills and to update effective school paper management and editorial techniques. Aside
from Online Journalism, the school paper advisers were also trained in Editorial Cartooning, Copy Writing,
Feature Writing, News Writing, Sports Writing, and Photojournalism by resource speakers from the
industry and academe.
The training was divided into two batches: Luzon and Visayas-Mindanao. Around 180 school paper
advisers from the nine regions in Visayas and Mindanao participated in the Davao City training while 160
school advisers from Luzon joined the second leg in Lucena City. The nationwide training also served as a
venue to address issues and concerns relating to the conduct of the NSPC 2015.
This year's NSPC will be held in Taguig City, from April 6 to 10 with the theme Empowering Resilient
Communities Through Campus Journalism.
As the culmination of the in-school journalism and English language programs, NSPC provides a venue for
enriching learning experiences for students interested in pursuing journalism as a career. It aims to
demonstrate an understanding of the importance of journalism by expressing it through different
journalistic endeavors and approaches, to sustain advocacy on social consciousness, to promote
responsible journalism through fair and ethical use of mass and social media.
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