Month: October 2024

Distance learning or distance education is not new technology at all — it has been around for quite some time already. In fact, according to the article of Gu (2022), the first generation of distance education emerged in the mid-19th century, in which the main media was printed materials. It then developed throughout the decades, using the CD, radio, television, and eventually computers, which are still used until the present time. Distance education, according to Tomei (2007), consists of learning situations in which the students and teachers are located in different geographic areas at least for a portion of the class. Additionally, Sadeghi (2019) mentioned that distance education is a kind of education which students may not always be physically present at a school campus.

Distance education has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that is can be practical for students who have different obligations, such as those with their own families and working students. In addition, They can be able to save files and readings sent by their instructors or professors. And students can attend classes at the comfort of their own homes.

Regarding the limitations of distance learning, it can have high chances of distraction for the students — the chances of losing track of deadlines and pending assignments is high. For some students, the technology of distance learning programs can be complicated, which can lead to some not grasping the technology well enough to catch up with his or her classes.

I find distance learning to be good and practical, but not too much of distance learning. Some classes can be online, but some have to be face-to-face in order to have that more personal interaction between the students and their teachers. As for its tools, in my personal experience, I used Google Classroom when I was a college instructor back in my home country, the Philippines for my classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I found it to be very user-friendly and I liked the fact that I could save PDF and PowerPoint files there for the students to peruse after my lectures. According to Pappas (2023), Google Applications for Education, which includes Google Classroom, is a powerful development tool for online education. Google Classroom has centralized storage data and it boosts the social learning aspect of online education; thus, this enables the students to benefit from the experience and skills of their classmates. One tool which I also found useful when I conducted my online learning classes was Khan Academy, wherein I utilized short videos to complement my lectures. I used videos sometimes so that the students will have a different form of learning, not just lectures from my PowerPoint slides. This way, they will further appreciate what I have been teaching them in my social science classes.

Currently, I am not teaching, as I am pursuing my PhD in Education and working in a different industry. However, my previous experience in teaching online classes during the pandemic from 2020 to 2023 taught me to appreciate distance learning more. It was practical at times (although it was sometimes stressful, especially during

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COVID-19!), and it challenged me to deliver my lectures in a more engaging manner in order to make my discussions lively for the students. Teaching online also challenged me to be creative in teaching my students. With the current tools available for distance learning, I can say

that learning and teaching online will be even more advanced in the near future, especially with more students having their own gadgets like laptops and tablets. While face-to-face lectures will always be available, it is a good option also for the students to have their choice in having distance learning classes.

Productivity suites have always been used in education at all levels — preschool, elementary school, high school, and higher education. These productivity suites make learning and teaching more convenient. According to Mao (2020), especially nowadays, technology plays an integral role in the lives of students and teachers. Students use laptops and tablets to take down notes and do research, and also to access course materials online. Technology in the classroom also aids teachers in providing the students a more engaged learning experience. Cox (2024) mentions the different benefits of technology in the classroom, such as enhancing classroom engagement, preparing students for the digital world, and helping students connect with the wider world.

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Personally, I believe that education is essential is many aspects of work life, that is why it is beneficial for the younger students now to learn more about the usage of computers, because they will use this knowledge to apply for jobs in the future and use this technological knowledge when they are already in the workforce. The students of today will be less intimidated when working in companies and organizations because of their confidence and exposure in utilizing technology.

As a university student in the early 2000s, I remember when the internet was still relatively new (compared to this era!), and there were some educational websites already. But among all the productivity suites, what was then common and still is used regularly nowadays in the Microsoft Office suite. For education, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are always utilized by students. Perhaps it may be because of its being user-friendy, wherein, walking into the library, you see a lot of students typing their papers on Microsoft Word. And also educators who give their lectures on Microsoft PowerPoint.

Despite the longevity of the Microsoft Office suite, thought, there are many new productivity suites that the education sector uses nowadays. The lecture of Oleg Kagan of the LA County Library explains that there are more modern productivity suites used in education, such as Canva, Prezi, and Tome for lecture presentations. For students, aside from just typing notes in Microsoft Word, the newer programs and software are being utilized too, such as Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, and Notion. These are not just for note-taking, but also for storing images and videos. Truly, we are in the 21st century technology in education!

Even more advanced than the usual productivity suites used in education are cloud software and how it widens student access to learning, according to the article by Hennick (2023). With some schools choosing to use Chromebooks, which mainly use web-based software, cloud software is becoming more essential. Using cloud software, students are able to save files online without the use of a physical drive. They can also create presentations using Canva without the need to download the program in their computers.

With the wealth of information through the internet, and the multitude of choices available for students and teachers, we should also be wary of the limitations of technology in education. These productivity suites are tools, and nothing can replace the human knowledge. We should be able to assess our needs in using these tools. At the same time, especially for me, as an educator, I should consider the security and privacy of these productivity suites, and ensure that sensitive data is protected and data privacy policies are adhered to. With that, the educational sector will be able to effectively utilize these new technologies for the advancement of education in a positive manner.

Having been an educator for a decade, and putting a halt on teaching to pursue a PhD, I believe that my teaching philosophies guides who I am as an educator. This is essential for the success of the students, and how they understand the topics being taught to them.

I have been used to giving lectures in the classroom, which is still the case most of the time. Lectures are important in order to impart what I know to the students. However, that is not always the case. Aside from giving lectures, I believe that Project-Based Learning (PBL) can bring out the best in students. This is one philosophy that I use in the classroom; PBL makes the students more responsible in their learning. According to an article by Marcus Guido (2022), PBL or project-based instruction is a student-centered teaching method that encourages learning through engaging, real-world, and curriculum-related questions. This encourages students to apply skills and knowledge they’ve developed inside the classroom, and also allows them to have their own approaches to develop an answer.

PBL goes beyond teacher-led instruction, and it makes the students to think more critically.  Guido adds that PBL helps teach students creative problem-solving skills and how to build independent learning, not just depending on the teacher for the lectures. Thus, I use PBL most of the time in order for my students to gain skills that they can use even beyond the classroom. Aside from giving them lectures, I allow them to think critically, usually through brainstorming within themselves about a certain topic we are discussing in class. This makes them more active in the learning process, as they interact not only with me during lectures, but also among themselves.

Complementing PBL, my teaching philosophy mainly subscribes to constructivism, which explains that knowledge is subjective in nature. Learning and knowledge goes beyond memorizing textbooks and lecture  notes. Through interactions with teachers and their fellow classmates, students will be able to learn in a more holistic manner. Furthermore, constructivism also means that students actively participate in discovery-based learning, which is essentially PBL. The students discover some more knowledge on their own, and not just from the teachers’ classroom lectures. Students can be more motivated to learn this way, when they take an active role in learning; they construct their own knowledge and meaning, rather than passively taking in the information.

Through constructivism, the students can analyze what is being taught to them on their own, in a more independent manner. In my case, I provide guidelines to my students. Even though I want them to learn independently through PBL and the constructivist approach to teaching, I still believe that as a teacher, I am responsible for the students’ learning in many ways. Through guiding the students, I am able to supervise their learning in the classroom; since students learn at different levels (some are fast learners compared to others, for example), I have to ensure that no one is left behind in the classroom. Therefore, I believe that, through my teaching experience the past decade, both Project-Based Learning and constructivism complement each other when teaching my students.