Computers, Education and Music: speakers

There was still time for malling after the JPCS Workshop... So me and the guys spent the entire Monday visiting 168 at Divisoria, and the prestigious SM Mall of Asia!!! (Note to self: Never visit Manila without bringing extra cash. This is something I learned, since I spent most of the time window-shopping and drooling...) And we all went back to our hotel after a day of shopping (window-shopping) and eating...

The next day came. It was the 1st day of the annual Y4IT Convention, which was always held at UP Diliman campus. It was a short 5-minute ride from the Hotel to UP. We were welcomed by a "swarm" of participants coming from different parts of the Philippines. The parking lot was loaded with buses and vans all coming from their respective schools.

It came as a surprise to me when I was informed by the secretariat that our names were not included in the list. Accordingly, our registration forms and deposit slips were not faxed to their office. Frustrating as it may seem, I had to verify from our very own dean about the situation. Fortunately, after countless attempts of contacting the school, the secretariat accepted our registration. It was so late!!! We were not able to go inside the UP Theater 'cause it was already full. The Film Institute was also already full. The Bahay ng Alumni, although full, gave us the access to look at booths and sales. We spent the whole day roaming around around the UP campus and taking pictures of anything, and everything that moved.

We were able to enter the Theater on the 2nd day. Dr. Randy Gamboa gave the welcome remarks, which was followed by the talk of Mr. Efren Penyaflorida, who was CNN's Hero of the Year recipient for 2009. He talked about how ONE person can do so much to reach out and help his fellow men. The second speaker was none other than the honorable Richard "Dick" Gordon. He talked about how technology became a very big help especially when it came to responding to emergency situations. He also talked about how fast technology is changing. He showed us his i-Pad and boasted about its features and talked about how it was not present last year. Last year there was the i-Pod and the i-Pod Nano. Sir Dick also asked for volunteers who could be part of the National Red Cross. More speakers came and talked about Curves and Cryptography (Computer Security using Math, by Fidel Nemenzo), How to Open Source Your Career (Johan Janssens), and Microsoft Technology Updates (Tim Vergel de Dios).

On the 3rd day, we were seated at the balcony area (the bleachers were full). We had a good view of the entire participants below. We can see the 3-wide screens, but we could barely see the speakers. The Opening remarks was given by Dr. Melinda Bandarias. I was excited about the next speaker, Mayor Herbert Bautista, but unfortunately, he was caught up with his work at the Quezon City Hall. A representative, in the person of Mr. Gabby Lopez, took his place (not the Gabby Lopez of ABS-CBN). He talked about how IT has renovated the image of Quezon city, Metro Manila, and the entire Philippines as well. He talked about how technology could bring people together, even people who are abroad, in a single click. And we dozed off after that. (hehehe...) We were startled with the sound of banging drums and guitars. It was break time already. And an intermission number was being presented by a two-man band (forgot the band's name...) Then other speakers also came out and talked about Harnessing ideas in the community through social networks, and Research objectives in the Gaming industry.

4th day... we were seated outside the balcony area, presented with two wide screens, the sound was poor, the crowd was bad, and the heat was... HOT! Anyway... welcome remarks was given by Ms. Lyshiel Valencia, GDAP President. The next speaker was CICT Chairman, Atty. Ivan Uy. Atty. Uy talked about the advantages of online gaming, and how it will benefit students. I actually asked Mr. Uy's opinion about students who would much rather waste their time playing online games, instead of focusing on their studies. His response was simply "Too much gaming is an addiction. Stay away from being addicted. Learn to manage your time between playing and studying."

Later, Mr. Allan Simonsen, came out and talked about The Life of a game Developer. It was kinda weird and funny at the same time, 'cause he would talk about how to get fired from work in your 1st week. How NOT to get promoted, and basically, all of the don'ts of being an employee in a positive perspective. He also talked about how to earn "big-dough" by simply sitting and testing all of their newly developed games. Playing 8 to 12 hours straight, trying to look for bugs and glitches. That's actually exciting!

Perhaps the most memorable thing during the Y4IT were the snacks and lunch breaks! I was actually relieved because the lunch being sold was cheap! For only P50 you get a meal complete with rice, choice of viands, and drinks... snacks was free ofcourse (but it was part of the registration fee...).

Anyway, we learned a lot during the entire 9-days in Manila. The JPCS LTW was fun and exciting, and the Y4IT (although boring) was still filled with very significant and relevant information about what's up and coming in the Information Technology field.

Enjoy some of the pictures below...

The Session Hall at the "Bahay ng Alumni"

Ang Bahay ng Alumni

The guys (and gal) at the entrance of the UP Theater

The Mascots of this year's Y4IT Congress...

The emcees in their mini's...

Efren Penyaflorida or Kuya F giving his speech... He was the recipient of CNN's Hero of the Year award, 2009...

The Honorable Richard "Dick" Gordon giving his speech about Technology and the Red Cross

A closer shot of Dick Gordon...

Taking a break...

el subay! onde onde tan su-ut!!!

The statue of the Women who knitted the 1st Philippine Flag...

A walk in the park...

The UP Oblation

Taking another break...

The Terminator? Mr. Burns? NO!!!

It's Supre SUBAY!!!

The triple wide screen, flashed from behind by 3 powerful projectors...

Mr. Fidel Nemenzo talks about Cryptography and Mathematical Curves... It's interesting, because it can actually be used for computer security...

This speaker talks about Cryptography and Mathematical Curves... It's interesting, because it can actually be used for computer security...

Mr. Johan Janssens, co-founder of Joomla, talks about how to Open Source Your Career...

Mr. De Dios talks about Microsoft Updates and Cloud Computing using SkyDrive, and other Microsoft Free Online Service...

getting ready for another break...

at the balcony...

the view from the balcony...

This speaker talks about Kine-Spell 2, an educational game for kids which will help them in their vocabulary, spelling, and hand-and-eye coordination... they also modified the original Kine-Spell to allow the use of a Wii Controller...

Darwin and Genesis

This is me...

Atty. Uy talks about the advantages and benefits of online gaming...

Mr. Allan Simonsen talks about the life of a Game Developer... it was funny, because he also talked about how to get fired from your work...

BITIN!!!

'til Next Year!!!

Jonathan Paul C. Solis

JPCS Adviser

STI College Zamboanga

On September 09, 2010, specific officers and members of the Junior Philippine Computer Society (JPCS) STI Zamboanga Chapter, left for Manila to attend the 3-day JPCS Leadership Training Workshop at the PLDT Innolab, Boni Ave., Mandaluyong city, from September 10 to 12, 2010.

It was a tiring flight from Zamboanga which arrived at around 8:00 p.m. in Manila. The team gathered their baggages and prepared for a long taxi ride to the Fersal Inn, Kalayaan, Quezon city. The traffic was terrible! It took us more than 2-hours to reach the hotel. Upon arrival, a quick briefing took place, and a few expectations were set. The so called "short-meeting" finished at around 12:00 midnight. There was still a lot of talking and planning to do, especially for our commuting the following day. We actually called "lights-off" at around 1:30 a.m.

FIRST DAY (September 10):

The team woke up at around 4:30 a.m. Showered, tidied up, and had our breakfast. A short jeepney ride to Cubao, and a long walk (which actually led to us getting lost!) to the MRT station (and after a few directions here and there) we were inside the MRT and on our way to Mandaluyong. Upon reaching our destination (which was actually an alien place for all of us...) we walked around, asked for directions to the PLDT Innolab, and eventually found a jeepney terminal bound for Boni Avenue. It was a very short ride to the Innolab, but we were actually an hour late.

Fortunately, the actual training did not start yet. We were actually the only chapter with the most number of participants. And it actually came as a shock to the rest of the chapters due to the fact that we came from Zamboanga city, a very distant place. The actual session commenced with our facilitator giving us an ice-breaker in the form of a very catchy and funny dance. It was followed by an activity, which required the participants to be grouped into four and forming specific scenes based on the specific instructions of the facilitator. Then later, the participants were given a 4-celled table which he said would be a very great help in molding specific organizations, like JPCS. The table contained the words REDUCE (which required participants to write all of the things they want to reduce in their organization), RAISE (which required participants to write down all the things they would like to raise as concerns for the organization), ERASE (which required the participants to write down everything the wanted to eliminate from the current organization), and CREATE (which required the participants to write down everything that they want to create in their organization). Our facilitator, Sir Nonong, specifically stated that a copy of our output will be faxed to the chapter's school, and the original will be given to us. Unfortunately, it never returned. We just hope that it was indeed faxed to our school. Hours later, the activity was done, and another ice-breaker was initiated by Sir Nonong. Snacks was actually served late, obviously because we started late. But it was so delicious! Another activity, a game, was next. It required respective teams to accomplish a specific task. The task was this: Be able to form a straight line alphabetically sorted by our mother's first name, without talking, and... BLINDFOLDED!!! It was a very tough activity, as group members gave certain "signals" signifying their sequence, as they felt their way blindly through the rows of chairs and uneven floors. Group two actually won the challenge, and two of our students, Genie and Rocky, were actually part of that team. Lunch was served at around 2:30 p.m. and we just can't wait for our first free buffet in Mandaluyong! We talked about our experiences over lunch, and actually had a great laugh over silly jokes. The afternoon session was a bit serious. But nothing would be complete without an ice-breaker. Participants were once again grouped into their respective groups and were asked to discuss and prepare for a specific "big IT event", and set out their plans, and objectives. At around 6:00 p.m. a representative for each group presented their outputs, and it was eventually called a day, at around 7:00 p.m. with a prayer blessing. Then it was another 1.5-hour ride back to Kalayaan. A quick dinner at McDo, and it was lights off for the team.

SECOND DAY (September 11, 2010):

We were actually still feeling the jetlag, the short sleeps, and the long walks. We actually felt all-beaten-up! We woke up late, and obviously, got to the venue an hour late. We missed two activities, but we arrived just in time for the morning snacks. (LOL!!!) The third activity was a very, very challenging one. It required us to be silent, to be very cooperative, and to prepare our very own strength. Sir Nonong asked us to be in two lines, picked out 6 strong men, and randomly picked a person. The task of this chosen person was simple, just lie down on his back and let the participants carry (pass) him above them (like a concert dive) with the assistance of the string men. A total of 8 people were randomly chosen, and eventually, I was chosen as the 6th. The feeling of being lifted and passed around was very breath-taking! And who do you think was chosen as the 8th person??? Our one and only, tiny, EUGENE!!! When Sir Nonong picked Eugene (a.k.a. Tiny) the entire crowd's face was like "OMG!!! HIM??? ARE YOU SERIOUS???" But then they weren't allowed to talk, cause it would automatically end the game, then we'd only be the 2nd group to fail this certain test. But then, amazingly, the crowd was able to lift Eugene above their heads, passed him around up-to the last person in line and eventually to the 6 strong men, whose main responsibility was to make sure the person gets a very safe landing. (I think I heard a bone cracked somewhere, especially where Genesis was located... hehehe...) Then everyone was happy! Lunch was served, and I was eventually introduced to "Chokoleyt" by none other than Glenn. It's actually a joke they've been playing with Kenneth (who I think does look like Chokoleyt, one way or another, hehehe), which actually made me burst into a tearful laugh! It went on and on for about 10 minutes, and I didn't know that the entire thing was secretly being captured on camera. Then began the afternoon session. It was kind of serious, 'cause Sir Nonong shared a story about his poor childhood classmate who studied in La Salle and eventually became successful. There was a story about him being invited to his classmates house when he offered his classmate a bar of chocolate. And to his surprise, when he got to his friend's house, he felt a chilling feeling that this poorly-house, even though made of light materials, had a "aura" of a HAPPY FAMILY. And he actually felt more more chilled when he saw his classmate's family happily celebrating on the piece of chocolate which he has shared with him. And the next story was very sad. It was about a guy who loved a woman so much, but the woman wanted something in return to prove his love. She wanted him to bring his mother's heart before 12 midnight, only then, would he truly prove his love for her. The guy then slit his mother's chest and took her heart, and ran fast towards the girl who was waiting for him miles away. And when he got to where she was standing, it was already 12:01 A.M. and the girl signaled, "TIME'S UP." As if saying "Sorry, you failed the test." And then his mother's heart came to life and asked "Nasaktan ka ba anak?" Then Sir Nonong started relating the story to the participants. That as they graduate, never forget about their mother who was always worried about them whenever they came home late, whether they have already eaten, or whether they are hurting or not. And then the lights turned off, and a very sad song was playing in the background. He asked us to close our eyes and think of our parents. And we all just started to cry. It was very touching. That actually was the sign of our last session with him.We learned so much from him, and hope that we could share what we have learned to everyone else back at home. We then had our PM snacks, waited for the introduction of National JPCS participants, and went back to the Hotel.

THIRD DAY (September 12, 2010):

Soft-Launching of WINDOWS live@edu... a software which enables students and teachers to collaborate online, similar to an e-class, but more effective, and free! Not to mention, this is Windows we're talking about... free windows software? Anyway, much to the excitement of this new software launch, the entire day was pretty "BORING"... lots of talk, less activities... Election of the National Board Members was held during the day... honestly, it was just another ordinary day... and I don't think I need to elaborate more about this...

To sum it all up, the 3-day JPCS LTW was very fulfilling, and rewarding because we had the chance to meet new friends and connections. Our boys, were actually the center-of-attention during the entirety of the event, being dubbed as "Zamboanga-boys" by the other participants. I really hope to be able to bring more participants to the JPCS NATIONAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2010, which will be held on the 3rd week of November (no specific dates yet...)

Anyway, hoping for more fruitful year for STI's JPCS CHAPTER under my advisory. I believe that after attending a Training Workshop like this builds the confidence of the individual who attended it. We learned 5 P's (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance) and the 3 C's (Chances, Choices, and Changes). Having inherited all these, I think JPCS STI Zamboanga Chapter will be able to reach it's dreams through STI College-Zamboanga's support!!!

Thank you to the following students for being so active and very supportive throughout the entire workshop:

Mr. Darwin Dela Cruz (el Prinyada)

Mr. Eugene "Tiny" Yo

Mr. Glenn "Chickboy" Chiong

Mr. Kenneth "Chokoleyt" Tapayan

Mr. Rocky Tabora (el flu...) and,

Ms. Genesis "Subay" Macrohon (el mayordoma reganyon!)

GO JPCS!!!

GO STI!!!

Enjoy the pictures...