Distance Education in the Philippines

The Law of Attraction—A photo of the UP Oblation wearing the Sablay (UP Graduation Garb) with the text "May 8, 2010," the date of UPOU's Commencement Exercises.

Honestly, I don’t know anymore what to post here. So, my dear readers, I urge you to comment or e-mail me on what topics regarding distance education are you interested about. I need your inputs! I’ll try my best respond to them through a blog post.

What’s happening on my part of the world? Well, the first semester has just ended and I’m a bit worried about some of the courses I took this semester. I’m not that confident about my grades, especially in Humanities 1. I really don’t care about the numerical grade. What I want is to pass every course I take/taking/took. But, I’m really happy that my grade in Mathematics 11 (College Algebra) is actually good. No, I’m not a Math Genius. My grades in other courses I took during the previous semesters weren’t that bad, either.

I’m actually aiming to finish my Associate in Arts (AA) degree next semester. Actually, I lack only 12 units of General Education courses, 2 units of Physical Education and 3 units of National Training Service Program. Hopefully, I get to finish and pass all my courses. I’m nervous and worried because I really want to finish my degree on time. I’ve been doing my best to excel in each course that I take. But, I can only do so much. For the past semesters, I’ve been exceeding the allowable number of units per semester just so I can finish my degree on time. I really exerted a lot of my time, effort, energy, and even money so I can graduate soon—it even killed my social life.

However, there are things in life that one can’t really control.

But, as I’ve said, I can only do so much. I believe that I’ve done my best to fulfill my responsibilities and obligations as a student. I’ve been going the extra mile. If I will graduate on May 8, 2010, then, so be it.

If you haven’t read the first two parts of this series on “Debunking Distance Education Myths,” I suggest that you check out them out first (Part 1 and Part 2) before reading this.

Myth # 2 – Studying via distance education means that you will be studying alone with no professor/instructor or classmates.

Although studying via distance education means that everyone enrolled in the university is separated geographically, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be a loner for the rest of your student life. Just like any other academic institution, of course, you will have a faculty-in-charge and classmates as well. The great thing about the UP Open University is that interaction between professor/instructor and students is highly encouraged. Typically, your faculty-in-charge will be holding face-to-face classes, online discussions, discussion forums and so on where you can interact with everyone else in the course or just simply chat to check on each other’s progress.

In my experience, professors and instructors at the UP Open University are really approachable and would entertain you if you have questions or inquiries regarding the course or course content. Administrators and other officials of the university are approachable, too. They are literally one text, one e-mail, or one call away. In fact, I frequently e-mail the University Registrar to check on my academic standing or to follow-up my grades.

My classmates and I would often see each other in school during regular face-to-face sessions or other school activities or in other places whenever we need to meet to discuss our projects or assignments.

Since my first year of being a UPOU student, we’ve been given a couple of group projects to encourage interaction among the students. I must say that group projects are the most challenging of all the tasks that you need to do for a course. Studying via distance education means that everyone is away from each other. Students live in different cities, in different provinces, or even in different countries. Group projects are challenging because my classmates and I aren’t on the same time zone. Moreover, most of my classmates are already working, have less time allotted for school works and are usually busying attending to their other responsibilities.

If you are interested in studying via distance education, you don’t have to worry that you’ll be alone for the rest of your stay in the university. As I’ve said, you still have your classmates and professor/instructor that you can interact with to help you in your journey as a distant learner.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of online degree. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com.

It’s literally a case of the mountain coming to Mohammed if Mohammed cannot go to the mountain for some reason or the other, and it’s boosted the spread of literacy and knowledge like never before. Online and distance education degrees and diplomas were introduced in order to allow people who had neither the time nor the wherewithal to attend regular college and earn degrees in the traditional manner, and today, it has become a booming business that has also given rise to a few myths along the way. Not many people are aware of the facts of online and distance education, so if you want to look beyond the hype and find the truth, you must get rid of the following myths that surround online education:

• It is easier: You may think that distance education is the easier option of the two because it’s being imparted online, but the truth is that without a teacher at hand to explain each concept or provide you with individual attention, without classmates to interact and discuss lessons with, without a fixed schedule that forces you to attend class, it’s harder to stay dedicated to studying. Online education involves much more hard work and discipline on your part because the onus is on you to voluntarily attend online discussion sessions and complete your assignments on time.
• It is not as informative or comprehensive: Very often, it’s not the degree itself but how much you are willing to learn that counts. Participation must be active rather than passive, be it for regular or distance education. So if you choose a good online school that is accredited and a degree that holds some value when you graduate, it is bound to be as comprehensive and complete as those taught at traditional colleges.
• You don’t get to interact with classmates and teachers: If you are even a little aware of the rage that social networks have become today, this is one myth that should have already been busted. Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites ensure that we use computers and technology to communicate, even to those we see regularly and interact with on a daily basis. So when it comes to online education, there are a number of tools that allow us to keep in touch with classmates and teachers, just like we would at regular colleges. It’s up to you to utilize them effectively.
• You need to be tech savvy: While it does help to know technology and be interested in it, it is not a prerequisite to be a student of online education. The technology used is simple enough, so if you know your way about a computer or are eager to learn, you should be good to go in a week or so. And as you continue to use the technology and software, you become better at and more comfortable with it.
• Employers and traditional colleges do not accept it: While it’s true that most people are not too crazy about online degrees, the college and degree you choose play a large role in its acceptance. Online degrees from reputable and accredited colleges are better than regular ones from colleges that are relatively unknown. Employers often look at your skills rather than the degree you hold, and colleges do accept credits transferred from accredited online colleges.

Starting today, I will be doing a “blog series” debunking some distance education myths so you can decide whether distance education is for you or not. I am also doing this to increase the awareness of people on distance education and how it actually works/operates.

Myth # 1 – Studying via distance education would be easy, fast and worry-free.

NOT TRUE. Studying via distance education is actually the same as studying via the residential mode. It requires time, effort and money. The thing with distance education is that you’re on your own. You decide when will you read your modules/lectures/readings. I tell you, at UPOU we have tons of modules/lectures/readings that we students need to read and understand. You decide when will you answer your assignments/exercises. But of course, you still need to follow deadlines. Hence, a distance learner should know how to manage his/her own time. At UPOU, we follow an academic calendar just like any other UP campuses / constituent units. Distance education and residential mode are almost the same except that in distance education you are not required to attend face to face classes. At UPOU, yes, we still have face to face classes once a month. We also have weekly online chat sessions depending on your professor. But, you are still required to submit assignment, submit projects and answer proctored examinations just like any other typical university student. So, studying via distance education is not worry-free for as a student, you have duties and responsibilities you need to fulfill. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who doesn’t have any idea on what University of the Philippine Open University is, then, watching this video would be very helpful. The video is also helpful to “prospective students” of the university.

The video features the different offices and departments comprising the UP Open University, the fifth constituent university of the University of the Philippines System.