The Library Hub is a program by the Department of Education aiming to address the lack of public libraries across the countries by setting up the eponymous library hubs. The hubs operate warehouse style, compared to the traditional public library setup--instead of books being individually placed on shelves, they are stored in plastic bins for storage. These bins would then be checked out and brought by teachers and administrators of public schools to their respective public schools, to be returned after twenty-five days.
We live in a blended-learning academic environment where teachers will never be extinct
“Panahon na ngayong dapat na lumitaw ang liwanag ng katotohanan; panahon nang dapat nating ipakilala na tayo’y may sariling pagdaramdam, may puri, may hiya at pagdadamayan.”
- Andres Bonifacio, “ Ang Dapat Mabatid ng mga Tagalog,” Kalayaan 18 (January 1896).
A notable continuous discourse in Philippine Education has always included the topic of which mode of instruction to use. Two modes of education are involved, the Traditional (On-Campus) Mode and the Distance Mode.
The Traditional Mode of instructional delivery involves the long-established customs found in schools that society has traditionally deemed appropriate, while the Distance Mode is a process to create and provide access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both.
Blended Learning refers to a mixture of both modes of learning environments, an approach combining face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction. Learners and teachers work together with the goal of providing realistic practical opportunities for learners and teachers to make learning independent, useful, sustainable, and ever growing.
There are five components in a blended learning model. The first is Analysis and Planning, which mainly involves an in-depth consideration of the learner's profile in terms of existing and needed learning, as well as consideration of the different learning strategies and tools to be used. An evaluation system must be customized in order to aptly measure the effectiveness of this first component.
Designing Solutions is the second component in a blended learning environment. This particularly deals with the application of instructional technologies. The main concepts of Objectives, Personalization, Taxonomies, Local Context, and Audience are involved here.
The Development stage is the third component which includes a mixture of Asynchronous, Synchronous and Face-to-Face instructional activities. This component focuses on learning material can best be individualized, presented and learned.
The fourth component is Implementation. This centers on the available resources that support learning, training, business, and social activities.
Evaluation is the fifth and final component in a blended learning environment. It focuses on the standards and metrics needed in order to achieve objectives over implementation cycles. This component not only measures the success or failure of a blended learning program but also is a vital area for identifying best practices and room for improvement.
Much of our educational activities nowadays are centered on a blended learning environment characterized by the use of computers, the Internet and even the mobile phone, which has evolved into a small mobile computer thru its web browsing and email capabilities. Some students ask help from their teachers through of text messages and calls. Some teachers post lessons and other academic material on e-groups and even social networking sites and students positively interact with them. This generally proves that learning can take place at any time and anywhere, using a healthy combination of educational technologies, good teaching strategies, and great educators.
Students and some academic institutions have come to depend more on online educational activities making some teachers alarmed about the possible extinction of their profession. Some even forecast that in the near future, online degrees focusing on pure online courses will be the academic standard such, that classroom teachers would be replaced by online course facilitators.
However, I still firmly believe that teachers can never be replaced by technology but only partially substituted by it. Today, teachers have blossomed into being learning facilitators. The best teachers have effectively interspersed technology with good teaching strategies, leading to positive student learning and output. With the overload of information on the internet and media, a learner still needs a teacher to give him an intellectual sense of direction. Teachers must graduate (from becoming mere sources of information) to teaching students how to think, how to filter out the good from the bad, and how to use all accumulated learning for the good of all.
That's why its called blended learning. S + T + T = BL:
Student + Technology + Teacher = Blended Learning.
Resources:
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http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=BKW000000004&query=Andres%20Bonifacio#
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Honeyman and Miller (1993). Agriculture distance education: A valid alternative for higher education? Proceedings of the National Agricultural Education Research Meeting 67-73
Maria Nieves Roldan-Confesor
The Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE) aims to provide access and quality secondary
education to the Filipino youth. It is responsible for establishing secondary schools where there are none; formulating policies, plans and projects, and maintaining a complete and integrated system of secondary education with regards to curriculum, facilities and teachers' in-service training relevant to the goals of national development.