by L. C. SEVIDAL CASTRO, PhD
The MSU-IIT Center for eLearning (MICeL) notched another plus after training 19 faculty members on on-line classroom instruction.
The three-day program entitled “Building the Online Classroom” held last March 29 to 31 listed four-fold goals, namely, to: develop understanding of online teaching strategies; design a course that follows online distance learning principles; build student support materials necessary for developing the online course; create and manage the course content using Web 2.0 tools and MOLÉ.
The training sessions, a combination of Teaching Online 1 (TOL 1) and Teaching Online 2 (TOL 2) were handled by Professors Rhea D. Febro of the College of Education, Amelia T. Buan, Coordinator of the CED Audio Visual Media Center, and Dante D. Dinawanao, Systems Administrator of the Institute Computer Center. All three are part of the eLearning Program Committee of the Institute.
Attending all sessions was Chancellor Marcelo P. Salazar, one of the faculty members from the SGS-MBM program. Showcasing of outputs of selected faculty featured the course outline for the online classroom prepared by Dr. Mary Ann S. Sandoval of the CASS and that of Professor Pamela F. Resurreccion of the SGS-MBM.
During the closing ceremony, selected participants declared their impressions about the training. SET Professor Engr. Erman S. Marajas stated that the MICeL TOL program benefits “… our well-trained technician graduates to pursue higher education without having to resign from work.” CASS Professor Dr. Hilton J. Aguja underscored the need for striking a “…balance between e-learning and social skills …” and as such, to revolutionize the process of teaching and learning. For her part, MBM Professor Pamela F. Resurreccion was thankful for having learned about the “… platform to make life easier …” for the teacher.
Chancellor Salazar in expressing his own impressions declared that there is more to learn, there is room for improvement, and that the “… challenge is clear to build the online classroom…” Assuring MICeL of sustained support from the administration, the Chancellor recognized that despite adversities, MICeL has been able to deliver as it works to pursue its mandate.
In the closing ceremonies, Dr. Emmanuel S. Lagare, MSU System Vice President for Academic Affairs, took note of how encouraging it was to realize how people at the helm were interested in elearning. Underscoring the need to embrace ICT, he advised on the prudence of knowing when and where to use such technology, queries which were as important as when and where not to use it. He urged applying such technology only when it meets the requirements of the situation, and not just for saving time because under certain conditions, using it is actually expensive temporally, materially, and financially. In congratulating the trainees, trainors, and organizers, he exhorted all concerned to be circumspect in learning quickly about ICT because of the fast rate of its changes, certain aspects of ICT may become obsolete.
Faculty participants came from the School of Engineering Technology, the School of Graduate Studies (Master in Business Management), and the College of Arts and Social Sciences.
For most features of the training, the participants’ evaluation was highly positive. Tokens were given by MICeL Director, Dr. Fe Israel-Destura, to recognize the achievements of selected participants and the contributions of the resource persons, staff, and facilitators.
Topics : micel online learning