Page 174 - Open and Distance Education In Asia : Good Practice From AAOU Members

154 OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATON IN ASIA
Good Practices from AAOU Members

and the students and which cannot be fully 4. equipping the University Learning
addressed by the traditional media like print, Centers with computers and Internet
radio, television, and even the teletutorial connection to facilitate access to the
system. online courses by both the teachers/
tutors and the students;
Internet was introduced to the Philippines 5. digitization of the course packages and
on 29 March 1994 (DICT, 2015 https:// uploading in the online course sites;
dict.gov.ph/the-history-of-internet-in- 6. digitalization of the university processes
the-philippines/). There was a very slow e.g. enrollment and the different
integration, however, into the education components of the Learner Support
ecosystem probably because it was not System like library services and
readily accessible to both the teachers and counseling. This was accompanied by
the students. Access here is multi dimension the training of the University Staff tasked
to include access to the physical technology; to provide support to the students;
skills to use the technology; and the cost 7. review of existing policies and procedures
associated with the use of technology. and putting in place relevant ones to
Probably, among the first academic provide policy environment conducive to
institutions to have Internet as a major online teaching and learning; and
platform to deliver instruction at a distance 8. intensive operations research to monitor
is the UPOU. and evaluate the innovations introduced
In 2001, UPOU started officially integrating into the different processes and
the online component into its instructional subsystems of DE.
delivery system mainly to replace the F2F
and teletutorial sessions and beyond just
a communication platform with students.
The years 2004-2006 can be considered as
the transition period characterized by the
following:
1. the combination of F2F, tele and online
tutorial sessions across courses offered
by the university;
2. intensive training of the teachers in
online teaching which included the use
of the different features of a Learning
Management System and moderating
online discussions;
3. orientation and training of students on
the use of the Learning Management
System usually conducted in the
University Learning Centers;

University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU)