Public school teachers’ welfare have been improved by increasing their salary, reducing their work hours and workload, and giving them supply and other allowances. Their teaching competency and efficiency is also being improved through digital retooling. One such tool is artificial intelligence (AI).

Nerissa R. Lomeda, officer-in-charge of the Schools Division Superintendent of Manila City, under the Department of Education (DepEd)-National Capital Region, said AI is transforming education with personalized learning, intelligent tutoring, automated grading and predictive analysis.

“AI is no longer science fiction — it is already shaping our classrooms, lesson planning, and student tools,” Lomeda said during the “Empowering Educators: Harnessing AI for Future-Ready Teaching” workshop conducted by Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Philippines’ first techglomerate, and TELUS Digital Philippines Community Board (TDPCB), the CSR unit of digital solutions company TELUS Digital Philippines.

During the workshop — the second conducted by the two foundations under their partnership on empowering educators and part of the celebration of National Teachers’ Month — more than 50 educators from 12 Manila public schools participated in lectures and hands-on training given by Google for Education (GFE) experts

The GFE facilitators guided teachers through hands-on AI applications and interactive sessions, equipping them with practical skills to integrate AI into classroom education.

They learned prompt engineering, explored AI tools, and applied solution-building approaches.

Among the participants was Cindy, senior high school research teacher at Timoteo Paez Integrated School. She learned the many powerful features of Gemini AI, Google’s ChatGPT counterpart, particularly NotebookLM, which helps users interact with their documents, learn from them and generate insights.

The training concluded with teachers presenting capstone projects showcasing AI-powered solutions to improve lessons, streamline school operations, and build future-ready learning environments.

The AI workshop reaffirms the shared commitment of Aboitiz Foundation and TDPCB to equip teachers with innovative tools that will enable them to prepare students for success in a fast-changing world.

“When teachers are equipped with the right tools and knowledge, they can transform classrooms and uplift entire communities,” Ginggay Hontiveros-Malvar, Aboitiz Foundation president, said.

“Guided by TELUS Digital’s ‘We give where we live’ philosophy, we are committed to supporting educators who shape tomorrow’s leaders. Teachers deserve strong partners as they navigate the digital transformation of education,” said Phoebe Carrera, CSR senior manager at TELUS Digital Asia Pacific.

Also supporting the workshop were Ronald McDonald House Charities which provided meals, and Converge ICT, which ensured reliable connectivity.

The DepEd-Manila also fully backs the training, deeming it crucial to the digital transformation of public education and schools.