Pinoy scientist creates free online platform to aid STEM students, teachers

A Filipino scientist residing in the United States has created an online platform to help students and teachers enhance their knowledge and skills on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

According to chemist Jeffrey Bunquin, he created Filipino Science (FilSci) Hub in 2012 as an online community to help teachers on science research.

FilSci Hub is accessible on both Facebook and YouTube.

When the pandemic began, Bunquin expanded the online platform to help STEM teachers teach lessons better through webinars and lectures.

“We provide webinars relevant to online teaching, so ’yung strategy paano ba gumawa ng online modules, strategy kung paano ’yung tamang mode ng evaluation, since this time na walang face to face interaction between teachers and students,” Bunquin told GMA News Online in an interview.

When he started posting webinars, Bunquin said many Filipino scientists abroad also began sharing their own lectures and teaching experiences.

Apart from holding webinars for teachers, Bunquin said they conducted science lectures for students in both Tagalog and English to help them understand the lessons better.

“We decided i-Taglish ’yung delivery kasi karamihan ng students ngayon, they might think na mahina sila sa sciences, mahina sa math, o mahina sila sa mga technical courses mainly because merong language barrier,” said Bunquin.

“Hindi nila ma-appreciate ’yung lenggwahe and then nagkakaroon sila ng ganoong paniniwala na, ‘Ay, hindi ako magaling diyan,’ so that’s what I’m trying to address with our efforts.”

According to Bunquin, the lecture series is directed toward high school students, but it can also serve as refresher courses for college students and teachers.

Aside from giving webinars and lectures, FilSci Hub also shares 1-minute tutorials on TikTok and stories of various Filipino scientists on their social media pages.

“Our ultimate goal is to make it an online platform to promote the culture of science, technology, engineering and math amongst Filipino students,” he said.

The organization also wants to help and empower teachers in the country, especially those in far-flung areas.

“In terms of the education sector, sila ’yung nasa frontline … Gusto din namin paabot sa kanila na there are people out there like us who appreciate what they do. We care for them and we are here to provide them with the support that we can actually offer in our simple little way,” said Bunquin.

Bunquin said FilSci Hub had received feedback from teachers in Batanes all the way to Sulu.

To further help learners, FilSci Hub aims to produce weekly content and create more projects, such as virtual conferences and investigatory competitions.

Composed of six core team members from different parts of the world, FilSci Hub is supported by many University of the Philippines alumni who have reached out to volunteer and deliver webinars.

“It’s disservice on our end kung hindi namin iho-hone, kung hindi kami magpro-produce ng mga batang papalit sa mga pwesto namin ngayon, so napaka-exciting niya,” Bunquin said.

Now, the platform has over 20,000 followers on Facebook, 24,800 followers on TikTok, and almost 5,000 subscribers on Youtube. – RC, GMA News