After my post about the use of QR codes while checking students’ attendance went viral,  things suddenly became so hectic. The amount of people asking how it’s done and how I did it was quite overwhelming.

One day, I received a call from a good friend of mine who used to be a my classmate during graduate studies, Father Dexter Tanquis OAR. He phoned me and told me that he wanted me to talk to his students, faculty and staff of San Pedro Academy about this innovation.  The school is situated in Valencia, Negros Oriental. Who am I to say no with that kind of invitation, so I immediately said yes and started preparing my presentation.

I arrived in Dumaguete on the 28th of August at  around 6:30 pm. I was very excited and though the flight was a slightly delayed, I arrived safely and was met by two of their staff from the school. Valencia is not that far away from Dumaguete, it only took us less than 30 minutes.

I was excited the moment I arrived. They told me that they were having an evening program in celebration of Linggo ng Wika. I decided to join them to see the school and to meet some of the teachers and students as well. It was a fun atmosphere and everybody was having a great time!

August 31, 2018 – It was a cold morning, but I could not stay in bed all day because this was a big day. A day to finally meet and talk to the students and faculty and staff with regards to this innovation that they are now working on adapting for the whole school.

When Father Dexter called me out from my room, we walked out and I looked outside and asked Father Dex, what was going on? There were students lined up outside, drum and lyre started rolling, flags started waving. I was speechless and words were not enough to express how happy I was. One of the best welcomes one could have imagined! I felt that while at San Pedro Academy!

With the grand welcome, I was also able to learn about the culture of the people as well  in Valencia.  I couldn’t wait to talk to the students and share my story of  how it all started and maybe could also be a source of inspiration to the students of San Pedro Academy.

The talk lasted for an hour and I felt good talking to the students. They were very attentive and really listening to everything I said. I discussed with them how I integrated technology in my class such as doing an online quiz, checking test papers with just one scan with the use of Zipgrade, the use of Plickers in the class and of course, the use of QR code in attendance checking.

I also shared with them what motivated me to start using QR codes in checking attendance and came up with this idea and much more. It was a very productive morning and I was having a ball!

Prior to my arrival they told me that they were planning to do a pilot test of the use of QR Codes. So in the afternoon, we went to two classes with a QR code already made by each of the students. I showed them how to use it and how I normally arranged my students before coming to class.

The students and teachers loved it specially on how fast they could check the students attendance. Soon, San Pedro Academy is planning to do a full implementation of this attendance system.

After trying the attendance system using the QR codes, also took this chance to take a selfie with their senior high school students. They are such an amazing bunch!

San Pedro Academy, in cooperation  with their school journalism department, also took this chance and conducted a short interview  before I moved on to the faculty development. I was really impressed and surprised with the amount of talent they have at San Pedro Academy.

San Pedro Academy is also located in the heart of Valencia, next to Parish of Our Lady of the Abandoned Church and the town plaza right in front of the school.  It is a very relaxing place, it feels very peaceful and I loved the cold climate. Can I just say that the Rambutan and Lanzones in Valencia are some of the sweetest you can find anywhere!