The pandemic may have caused a major shift in our conventional teaching practices, but it has also opened doors to new innovative pedagogical strategies and directions to meet the demands of the new generation of learners.
Rising amidst pandemic, the University has embraced flexible learning modality as an intervention to provide students with diverse opportunities to access and gain better control over their own learning. This has paved the way for the institution to initiate, generate and develop best practices and innovations to ensure that students gain continued access to quality education.
These now create authentic connections with students, which have been proven effective, practical and beneficial, in managing their own studies. Such as enumerated below:
University-Designed Electronic Learning Management System (E-LMS). This is a University-designed e-Learning Management System developed during the pandemic that promotes technology-driven process of conducting distance education. It is a customized LMS based on the current needs and capability of the faculty and students.
Community-Based Modules Distribution and Retrieval. This was strategized to reach-out students by going to their community, no matter how far it is, for the distribution and retrieval of their learning materials such as Modules, hand-outs, offline videos, etc.
Radio-Based Instruction (RBI) - "Abante CPSU: Edukasyon kag Impormasyon" (Move Forward CPSU: Education and Information). An off-shoot project of Radyo Muscovado (the University radio station to open soon) in response to the challenges of the new normal in education in collaboration with the benefactor Dr. Ramel Uy, CEO of Radyo Bandera.
Use of On-the-Go (OTG) Flash Drive. Students especially those who do not have internet connectivity are given an OTG Flash drive for free that contains necessary e-copies of different learning materials. In the absence of computer, they can use their smart and android phones to directly access, work on and save their activities.
These strategies employed by the University prove the efficiency and usefulness of flexible learning to empower students as they face the challenges in the New Normal and have control and responsibility over where and how they learn while building their skills to be independent, more self- directed, resilient, innovative and resourceful.
By J.A. Emoy & F. Carpio