ICT-Enhanced Learning Communities in
Selected Elementary Schools in the Province of Bulacan

1.0 Introduction

ICT-Enhanced Learning Communities in Selected Elementary Schools in the Province of Bulacan project aims to improve computer literacy in selected towns in Bulacan by harnessing and integrating ICT and the Internet in the learning and interaction process. The project consists of a Central Node located in the capital town of Malolos and initially seven Access/Pilot Nodes located in Balagtas, Bulacan, Calumpit, Guiguinto, Malolos, Pulilan and Sta. Maria. The Central Node serves as a primary gateway to the Internet while the Nodes serve as access points where learning and interaction occurs.

2.0 Bulacan Profile

The province of Bulacan consists of 24 towns, has a land area of 2,637.68 sq. miles and a population of 2,015,414 (2000) with growth rate of 4.3%). The people of Bulacan take pride in their province’s rich history and tradition. They are proud of their famous sons and their beautiful daughters. They also speak what many consider as the pure Tagalog.

The province of Bulacan is veering away from being an agricultural area to an industrialized one. Its proximity to Manila gives it the advantage as a favored site of industrial establishments including leather tanning, cement bag making, ceramics, textiles, food processing, shoemaking and many others. The majority in the rural areas, however, are still dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Rice is the principal crop, followed by corn, vegetables and fruits.

Bulacan is one of the provinces comprising the Central Plain of Luzon. It lies northeast of Manila Bay between 14 and 15 North latitude and 120° 36 and 121° 8 east longitude. Its boundaries touch those of Nueva Ecija on the north and northeast. Quezon province on the east, Rizal province on the south, Manila Bay on the south and southwest and Pampanga on the west. The province has a limited coastline with five of each twenty four (24) municipalities touching the Manila Bay. This coastal portion of the province is low and swampy. It is integrated by the numerous "esteros" or tributaries of the Pampanga River. These tributaries serve as a means of communication between the Bay area and the interior part of the province and serve as outlets for the rainwater from the higher elevation to the Bay.

The western half of the province is generally flat and is drained by the Angat and Pampanga Rivers. Part of the western boundary touches the extensive Candaba Swamp, which marks a pronounced depression in range. The eastern half generally rises towards the east with Mount Oriol, 1,170 meter high, as the highest peak. These uplands are the foothills of the western flank of the great Sierra Madre Mountain. In general, the province lies tilted toward the east and the rains caught in the flat lands. The eastern portion, though less developed is where iron, gold, silica, limestone and other mineral deposits are found.

3.0 General System Description

The project primary will provide the access facilities, software and training to enable selected schools in the province to integrate ICT and the Internet in the teaching and learning curriculum.

Initially, the project will interconnect seven schools/communities, one each for the towns of Balagtas, Bulacan, Calumpit, Guiguinto, Malolos, Pulilan and Sta. Maria, to an Internet gateway or Central Node located in the provincial capital of Malolos. Figure 1 shows the interconnections as well as the distance of each town from the provincial capital. Note that all towns to be connected are within an 18-20 km radius of Malolos.

In each town, ten Internet ready and connected computers will be installed in the selected elementary school. It is assumed that the selected school has the room and furnishings to accommodate a 10-computer laboratory. Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the networked computer laboratory to be installed in the selected school.

Several options are available for interconnecting the schools to the Internet gateway in Malolos. Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of three possible options. The first option (Figure 3-A) uses a demand-dial or dedicated dial-up connection. The second option (Figure 3-B) uses a radio modem or wireless connection. And, the third option (3-C) uses a leased line connection.

Similarly, two options are available for setting up the Central Node or Internet gateway. Figure 3 shows an option (Figure 4-A) for the project to setup and operate a Central Node or Network Operations Center and an option (Figure 4-B) for co-locating servers in a common commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).

4.0 Human Resource and Training Requirements

The project will require at least two staff to man each node and at least two to manage the network operation center.

Teachers who will be using the laboratory will have to be trained in: (a) Basic Computer Concepts, (b) Windows, (c) Internet and World Wide Web, and (d) Integrating ICT and the Internet in the Elementary Curriculum. This training is expected to take one to two weeks.

5.0 Investment Requirements

Tables 1, 2-A, 2-B, 2-C and 3 show the investment requirement given the objective, scope, system requirements and human resource and training requirements discussed in the previous sections. (Note that expenses do not include management and administration which is estimated at 10-15% of the total cost and contingency expenses which is estimated at 10% of total cost for each alternative).

Table 1. Line-Item Budget Per Node for First Year of Operation

(Excluding Internet connection capital and operating expenses)

Expense Item	Amount (Year 1)	Remarks
A. Salaries and Honoraria 1. Salary for One (1) Node Administrator/Technical Support (@ P10,000/month) 2. Salary for One (1) Assistant Node Administrator/Attendant (@ P 8,000/month) 3. Honoraria for Two (2) Trainors/Resource Persons	P 120,000.00 96,000.00 20,000.00
Sub-total	P 236,000.00
B. Miscellaneous Operating and Other Expenses 1. Supplies and Materials 2. Misc. Training and Seminar Expenses 3. Travel and Communication 4. Repair and Maintenance of Equipment	P 10,000.00 10,000.00 10,000.00 0.00	Covered by warranty in the first year..
Sub-total	P 30,000.00
C. Capital Expenditures 1. Ten (10) Computer Workstations with MS Windows OS (@ P 30,000) 2. One (1) 16-port 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Hub (@ P 36,000) 3. One (1) Laser Printer (@ P 25,000) 4. Ten (10) MS Office Professional License 5. One (1) lot Structured Cabling with Minor Room Renovation[1]	P 300,000.00 36,000.00 25,000.00 80,000.00 50,000.00
Sub-total	P 491,000.00

Total per Node	P 757,000.00
Grand-total for Seven Nodes	P 5,299,000.00

Table 2-A. Internet Connectivity Expenses for First Year of Operation

Option Shown in Figure 3-A - Demand or Dedicated Dial-up Connections for Seven Nodes

Expense Item	Amount (Year 1)	Remarks
A. Salaries and Honoraria	N.A.
Sub-total	N.A.
B. Miscellaneous Operating and Other Expenses 1. Installation and Subscription Fees for 56 kbps Dial-up/Dedicated Dial-up Internet Connection at Each Node (approximately P5,000 per node one-time installation fee and average subscription fee of P8,000/month per node=P96,000/year per connection) P101,000/node x 7 nodes. 2. Installation and Subscription Fees for 128 kbps Leased Line Internet Connection at Central Node (approximately P45,000 per one-time installation fee and average subscription fee of US $ 1,500/month per node=$18,000[2]/year or ~P 936,000/year) or Co-location of Two (2) servers - approximately 1/3 of leased line subscription cost. 3. Installation and Subscription Fees for Telephone Line at Each Node (approximately P 2,500 one time installation fee and subscription fee of P 1,000/month per line=P12,000/year per line) P 14,500/node x 7 nodes 4. Installation and Subscription Fees for Seven (7) Telephone Lines at Central Node (approximately P 2,500 one time installation fee and subscription fee of P 1,000/month per line=P12,000/year per line) P 14,500/line x 7 lines	{P 707,000.00} (P 35,000.00) (P 981,000.00) {P 327,000.00[3]} P 101,500.00 (P 101,500.00)	Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-B. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-B. Cost of item for both options shown in Figure 4-A and 4-B. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A.
Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-A) Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-B)	P 1,219,000.00 P 1,135,000.00
C. Capital Expenditures 1. One (1) Computer for Routing/Forwarding/Proxy/Cache for each node (@ P 30,000 x 7 nodes) 2. One (1) Modem for each node (@P 6,500 x 7 nodes) 3. Seven (7) Modems at Central Node (@ 6,500 x 7 nodes) 4. One (1) Router at Central Node with eight (8) asynchronous ports (@ P100,000 each x 1)	P 210,000.00 45,500.00 (45,500.00) (P100,000.00)	Cost of item for both options shown in Figure 4-A and 4-B. - do - Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A.
Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-A) Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-B)	P 401,000.00 P 255,500.00

Grand-total (Option shown in Figure 4-A) Grand-total (Option shown in Figure 4-B)	P 1,620,000.00 P 1,390,500.00	~P231,428.57/node ~P198,642.86/node

Table 2-B. Internet Connectivity Expenses for First Year of Operation

Option Shown in Figure 3-B - Radio Modem Connections for Seven Nodes[4]

Expense Item	Amount (Year 1)	Remarks
A. Salaries and Honoraria	N.A.
Sub-total	N.A.
B. Miscellaneous Operating and Other Expenses 1. Installation and Subscription Fees for 128 kbps Leased Line Internet Connection at Central Node (approximately P45,000 per one-time installation fee and average subscription fee of US $ 1,500/month per node=$18,000/year or ~P 936,000/year) or Co-location of Two (2) servers - approximately 1/3 of leased line subscription cost.	P 981,000.00	Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A.
Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-A) Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-B)	P 981,000.00 N.A.
C. Capital Expenditures 1. One (1) set of Radio Modem (2-10 Mbps, 25-50 km range, uni-directional antenna, Ethernet interface) at each node (@ P 250,000/set x 7 nodes) 2. Three (3) sets of Radio Modems (2-10 Mbps, 25-50 km range, omni-directional antennas, Ethernet interfaces) at Central Node (@ P 300,000/set x 7 nodes) 3. One (1) Router at Central Node with eight (8) asynchronous ports (@ P100,000 each x 1)	P 1,750,000.00 900,000.00 P100,000.00	Cost of item for both options shown in Figure 4-A and 4-A. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A. Cost of item for option shown in Figure 4-A.
Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-A) Sub-total (Option shown in Figure 4-B)	P 2,750,000.00 N.A.

Grand-total (Option shown in Figure 4-A) Grand-total (Option shown in Figure 4-B)	P 3,613,000.00 N.A.	~P 516,142.86/node

Table 2-C. Internet Connectivity Expenses for First Year of Operation

Option Shown in Figure 3-C - Lease-Line Internet Connections for Seven Nodes

Expense Item	Amount (Year 1)	Remarks
A. Salaries and Honoraria	N.A.
Sub-total	N.A.
B. Miscellaneous Operating and Other Expenses 1. Installation and Subscription Fees for 64 kbps Leased-Line Internet Connection at Each Node (approximately P45,000 per node one-time installation fee and average subscription fee of US $ 1,000/month per node=$12,000/year or ~ P 624,000/year per connection) P669,000/year per node x 7 nodes. 2. Installation and Subscription Fees for 128 kbps Leased Line Internet Connection at Central Node (approximately P45,000 per one-time installation fee and average subscription fee of US $ 1,500/month per node=$18,000/year or ~P 936,000/year) or Co-location of Two (2) servers - approximately 1/3 of leased line subscription cost. 3. Installation and Subscription Fees for 64-kbps Leased Line at Each Node (approximately P 15,000 one time installation fee and average subscription fee of P 15,000/month per line=P180,000/year per line) P 195,000/node x 7 nodes	{P 4,683,000.00} (P 315,000.00)