SIMATAR at NSTF-Thailand: Showcasing the Future of Augmented Reality in Education

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

In an era where technology is rapidly transforming education, the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) is leading the charge with innovative tools designed to enhance learning experiences for Filipino students.

Among its educational innovations is the Strategic Intervention Material for Teaching with Augmented Reality (SIMATAR), standing out as a tool in science education, leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) to bring complex scientific concepts to life.

DOST - SEI’s SIMATAR is another project under the leadership of Josephine Feliciano that revolutionizes the overall accessibility to science education knowledge.

Other DOST science education projects are the Virtual Laboratory Application in Science (VLAS), and the DOST coursewares which are softwares designed to create learning-conducive virtual environments for students and teachers alike.

SIMATAR is one of the excellent ‘filipinovations’ participating at the National Science and Technology Fair - Thailand. With one of the fair’s categories perfectly aligning with SIMATAR’s purpose of integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) in educational technologies.

Creating access to science education

As the education arm of DOST, DOST-SEI carries out their mandate to support the development of science and math education, as well as their continued innovation of educational technologies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

SIMATAR is an innovative ICT resource utilizing augmented reality technologies in education that leverages handheld tablet platforms, seamlessly integrating computer-generated graphics with the real-world. Instead of creating an entirely new reality, SIMATAR blends graphics with the existing world around us.

The software provides visual references and practical examples for hard-to-understand STEM topics. It is designed for deployment in every local school, enhancing mastery and making classroom learning significantly more effective and efficient.

SIMATAR’s international influence

Having attended the BettAsia edutech conference in 2016 and 2018, Feliciano

and her team was able to benchmark and conceptualize local equivalents of educational

technologies presented there. This participation led to the conception of SIMATAR as

an idea and technology.

Feliciano said that with similar intent, she and her team aims to launch their

innovations locally and internationally in hopes of inspiring and helping others to assist

the teachings and learnings in STEM.

“[The] Primary target of our innovations is the education sector to

assist the teaching and learning of STEM for the Philippines but with the

international audience. We hope to deploy our education technologies not

just to every local school to give our learners self-learning materials for

mastery of hard to learn topics.”

- Josephine Feliciano

On the internationalization of SIMATAR

With DOST-TAPI’s continuous support, SIMATAR is set to participate at the NSTF - Thailand 2024.

Feliciano expressed her excitement for the opportunity to realize the potential of their educational softwares. She added that with the positive feedback from User Acceptance and Experience Testing (UAT) with end-users, teachers and learners during their beta-testing, they are excited to show the innovative prowess of Filipinos globally.

The Role of DOST-TAPI’s Internationalization Campaign

The participation of SIMATAR at NSTF-Thailand represents a key achievement for Filipino innovation. Feliciano and her team aims to impress at the event by showcasing the SIMATAR’s ability to blur the line between virtual and reality, providing reality augmenting tools that can curb difficulties in bringing science to the classroom.

Internationalization campaigns similar to this one provides opportunities for

existing technologies to benchmark their capabilities with the global scene, as well as

help innovators adapt international technologies that are not yet implemented locally.

This provides insights and ideas that are appropriate for the Philippines, especially in

the context of the Philippine education curriculum.

“I’ll seek for emerging technologies that could be applied in the

existing innovative products that we have or gather insights and ideas for a

new education technology appropriate to the context of the Philippine

Curriculum.”

- Josephine Feliciano

On their goals for NSTF-Thailand participation

Participating in NSTF-Thailand allows VLAS to gain recognition while also contributing to the global conversation on the role of digital tools in enhancing science education. This visibility could lead to partnerships with educational institutions and technology companies worldwide, broadening the impact of this innovative application.

Looking Ahead: The Future of VLAS and International Collaboration

As DOST-SEI advances the development of SIMATAR, the future appears bright for this cutting-edge educational tool. Plans are underway to expand its content by incorporating additional scientific topics and enhancing its interactive features.

Moreover, SIMATAR will soon offer multi-lingual support for the Philippines and be adapted for various dialects in other countries, broadening its educational impact and making it more accessible globally.

The institute’s commitment to improving science education through technology is evident in the continuous development of SIMATAR and other similar projects. By embracing innovation and leveraging the power of AR, DOST-SEI is not only transforming the way science is taught in the Philippines but also setting the stage for abnew era of education where technology plays a central role in shaping the minds of future generations.

** This article is part of the "SPICE: Science and Technology Promotion for International Contest and Exhibits" campaign for the National Science and Technology (NST) Fair Thailand 2024. For more information and event updates, visit the DOST-TAPI website at www.tapi.dost.gov.ph.

Make-roscope™: a tiny microscope with big potential

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

In the realm of scientific innovation, the quest for accessible and affordable technology often leads to groundbreaking solutions that transform traditional practices.

The Make-roscope™ is a revolutionary device developed by Engr. Jeremy C. De Leon that is set to change the way we approach microscopy. Combining ingenuity with practicality, the Make-roscope™ represents a significant leap in making scientific observation more accessible to students, researchers, and the general public.

With its compact and efficient nature, the Make-roscope™ acts as an attachment for mobile phone cameras to create a digital microscope that can fit in your pocket. The Make-roscope™ can also be carried around as a keychain for quick and easy use.

Driven by a vision to democratize scientific observation, De Leon came up with the Make-roscope™ as a solution for inaccessible microscopy equipment. This innovation serves as a nifty alternative for traditional compound light microscopes that are prohibitively much more expensive and bulky.

A vision for accessible microscopy

Recognizing a gap in accessible microscopy tools for research and educational purposes, De Leon formulated a product that utilizes the processing power of the modern handheld devices as a tool for aiding science education. The resulting output ist he Make-roscope™, a compact, affordable alternative to traditional microscopes

This innovative device is designed to be easily attached to the camera of a smartphone or tablet, converting it into a powerful magnifying tool capable of examining organisms and materials with magnifications ranging from 125x to 400x.

Without any need for additional softwares or hardwares, the Make-roscope™ effectively transforms phones and tablets into working microscopes.

In an effort to maximize its potential, the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-TAPI) provided funding for its pilot production. This support covered the acquisition of raw materials, assembly and packaging, distribution, and testing by relevant regulatory bodies.

Through the Eyepiece of Make-roscope™

Designed as a compact attachment, the Make-roscope™ is made with a high-quality lens system encased in a durable, user-friendly frame that can be secured

near the actual camera lens of the devices. This modular approach allows users to quickly transform their mobile devices into a functional microscope without the need for complex setup or calibration.

By leveraging existing smartphone technology, and using cost effective materials, De Leon created a bridge to accessibility by creating an affordable microscope for students, institutions, and people seeking more knowledge in microscopy.

The Make-roscope™ 's technology allows the magnification of camera lenses into the world of microscopy where users are enabled to view fine details of specimens up to the cells, bacteria, and small organisms. Its price and size makes it an ideal tool for allowing individuals to engage in hands-on experimentation and observation without the constraints of traditional microscopy equipment.

Magnifying Make-roscope™’s ingenuity

The Make-roscope™ garnered much attention not only for its innovation, but for its potential to contribute to the global pool of scientific knowledge. The device represents a significant step towards making scientific tools more accessible for educational and general use.

Recognizing its ingenuity, DOST-TAPI includes the Make-roscope™ in its final roster of participants for the NSTF-Thailand as part of its internationalization campaign.

“The Institute’s comprehensive programs are vital to starting inventors and innovators because we don’t have much reputation in the industry yet DOST-TAPI puts a lot of trust in our innovations that slowly through that trust we gain credit in the field.”

- Engr. Jeremy C. De Leon

On the impact of DOST services to Make-roscope

Currently, the Make-roscope™’s catalog includes a laboratory kit, a keychain version, and a 2024 version which is priced for only Php 549.00 ($ 9.73). These versions offer the updated 125x-400x magnification, with available sample slides for Php 199.00 ($ 3.53).

Looking Ahead: The Future of VLAS and International Collaboration

With its current trajectory, Make-roscope™ is set to locally become more widespread as it gains more popularity. Being a market-driven innovation, the product gains full-support from the government in its journey towards globalization.

De Leon, together with his team at JereMake aims to produce and distribute units, as well as establish more partnerships, and secure potential investment networks for Make-roscope™ internationally.

** This article is part of the "SPICE: Science and Technology Promotion for International Contest and Exhibits" campaign for the National Science and Technology (NST) Fair Thailand 2024. For more information and event updates, visit the DOST-TAPI

website at www.tapi.dost.gov.ph.

From Classroom to NSTF - Thailand: The Global Journey of DOST-SEI’s Virtual Laboratory Application in Science (VLAS)

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

As the country continues to recover from the pandemic, the Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) sustains its efforts to improve their remote learning facilities. One of their projects was the Virtual Laboratory Application in Science (VLAS), which is an immersive 360° 3D biology lab simulator providing users with virtual experiments and theoretical knowledge.

DOST-SEI developed VLAS as a way for students to familiarize themselves with a laboratory environment through virtual means. This project aims to build competencies in students who lack access to physical laboratories due to geographical or logistical challenges.

VLAS is currently on its final stretch in development. They plan on releasing for Microsoft Operating Systems and other Virtual Reality platforms by 2025. The project aims to address further the resource integration of ICT in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the team, under the leadership of Josephine Feliciano, believes that their online educational materials can be effectively used as supplementary to classroom teaching as well as in self-learning situations.

A Revolutionary Tool in Science Education

Similar to the motivation for the development of the DOST coursewares, VLAS was developed as a means of mitigating the consistent below average educational score of the country in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It was in this assessment that the Philippines placed 77th out of 81 participating countries.

VLAS has been designed to revolutionize the way students and educators engage with biology experiments. The application offers an immersive virtual environment where users can conduct experiments and gain theoretical knowledge, all within the confines of a digital space.

By offering modules that simulate real-life lab experiences, VLAS bridges the gap between theoretical science education and hands-on laboratory work. Its accessibility, especially for schools with limited resources, positions VLAS as a vital tool in enhancingscience education across the Philippines and beyond.

The Role of DOST-TAPI’s Internationalization Campaign

DOST-TAPI’s internationalization campaign has been instrumental in taking VLAS from a local educational tool to an innovation recognized on the global stage.

Understanding the potential impact of VLAS, DOST-TAPI worked closely with DOST-SEI to refine the application’s positioning, ensuring that it meets international standards and appealed to a broader audience. This collaboration involved rigorous testing, enhancement of the user experience, and strategic marketing that aligned with global educational trends.

The campaign’s strategic focus on showcasing Filipino innovations in prominent international forums like NSTF-Thailand has provided VLAS with an unparalleled platform to demonstrate its capabilities. Through DOST-TAPI’s efforts, VLAS has gained visibility among educators, policymakers, and industry leaders from various countries, paving the way for potential collaborations and adoptions.

VLAS at NSTF-Thailand: A Milestone for Filipino Innovation

The participation of VLAS at NSTF-Thailand marks a significant milestone for Filipino innovation. The event, known for its high-profile participants and cutting-edge technological displays, is an ideal venue for VLAS to gain international attention.

Feliciano and her team aims to impress at the event by showcasing the application’s ability to simulate real-life lab environments, providing an engaging and effective learning tool that is both practical and scalable.

She added that they are hoping to achieve greater international recognition, and a strong international network. Aside from these, she said that her team hopes to win international awards as well.

“ I hope to win an award… [establish] Collaboration and networking with international partners from the producers of technologies and the education sector.”

- Josephine Feliciano

On their expectations for VLAS at NSTF

By participating in NSTF-Thailand, VLAS is not only gaining recognition but alsocontributing to the dialogue on how digital tools can enhance science education globally. This exposure has the potential to open doors for partnerships with educational institutions and technology companies from around the world, further expanding the reach of this innovative application.

Looking Ahead: The Future of VLAS and International Collaboration

As VLAS continues to garner attention on the international stage, DOST-SEI and DOST-TAPI are looking toward the future with optimism. The success of VLAS at NSTF-Thailand will be a clear indication that Filipino-developed educational technologies can compete and excel globally.

With further support and collaboration, VLAS has the potential to become a standard tool in science education worldwide, transforming how students interact with biology and other scientific disciplines. The success of this initiative underscores the importance of internationalization in showcasing the Philippines' innovative spirit and technical expertise, ensuring that the country remains a key player in the global science and technology landscape.

** This article is part of the "SPICE: Science and Technology Promotion for International Contest and Exhibits" campaign for the National Science and Technology (NST) Fair Thailand 2024. For more information and event updates, visit the DOST-TAPI website at www.tapi.dost.gov.ph.