AAOU Webinar Series 2022 features UPOU Chancellor as Keynote Speaker

The Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) conducted Webinar Series 2022 #1: (R)evolution of ODL with the theme “The ‘Shape’ of ODL Post-Covid19” on 25 February 2022 at 10:00 AM (UTC+8) and streamed live via YouTube.  The webinar was co-organized by the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) as part of its 27th anniversary celebration.  It featured Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, UPOU Chancellor and Professor, as one of the keynote speakers.

Dr. Bandalaria shared her insights and perspectives on open distance learning (ODL) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.  She looked at the enrollment trend in the massive open online courses (MOOCs) of UPOU, which are the indicators and concretization of ODL.  She explained that the lessons learned from the pandemic are possible drivers of ODL post COVID-19, and that they have the potential to encourage other academic institutions to consider online mode of education, among others.

The UPOU Chancellor highlighted the possible drivers of ODL after the pandemic, which include institutions that have grown and learned from their catalogs of online courses; educators who have learned that they can develop and engage their students in virtual classrooms; faculty and students who have not considered online learning before the pandemic but have realized that authentic learning can be achieved through ODL; educators who learned new technology skills for teaching and learning; and institutions with a minimal footprint in the online environment but deployed large numbers of emergency remote courses during the pandemic.

She  tackled the situation beyond COVID-19, particularly in the higher education sector, and stated that there will be an increase in ODL initiatives with institutions capitalizing on the gains from the pandemic. She also stated that there may be a need to return to the first generation of ODL or even to traditional and analogue technologies due to the digital divide among students and teachers and there may be different configurations for different institutions for ODL.  She added that many institutions will see ODL as a new business model while some will consider it as a social responsibility, especially for government-funded institutions like the UPOU.

Dr. Bandalaria concluded her discussion by encouraging academic institutions, who have been in the position to champion the “open” in ODL, to continue to make available more open access courses, to make use of the combination of technologies for flexibility of access, to develop more quality assurance (QA) framework for ODeL and erase the perception that open and distance elearning (ODeL) is of lower quality, and to develop sustainability models for ODL/ODeL.

Dr. James W. Brown, known as the “The Godfather of Online,” was the other keynote speaker of the webinar.  He works for the City University of New York’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) and has taught at universities all over the United States for over 20 years.  Dr. Brown shared his knowledge and expertise in ODL, particularly in the science-related courses.  He advised that to avoid “Zoom fatigue” in students, teachers should break a lesson into 3 to 5-minute videos.  He also shared that making use of mentors is an effective way of keeping online students to stay connected and focused in completing their courses.   

Dr. Brown discussed four trends that will shape the future of higher education.  These trends include learning everywhere, replacing lectures with active learning, teaching skills that remain relevant in a changing world, and using formative assessment–which encourages students to actually improve their performance rather than just have it evaluated–instead of high-stake examinations.  

The Q&A session followed after the presentations. Dr. Tahira Bibi Naushahi, Lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Allama Iqbal Open University, served as the moderator of the 2-hour webinar.  Prof. Ojat Darojat, AAOU President and Rector of Universitas Terbuka, Indonesia, delivered the opening remarks and welcomed the speakers and viewers of the webinar.  

The AAOU is a non-profit organization of higher learning institutions that are primarily concerned with open and distance education.  The UPOU is a Full member institution of the AAOU, and Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria served as past president and is a Member of the AAOU Executive Committee.

The AAOU Webinar Series 2022 #1 is available for viewing on YouTube.

Written by Jaime Guimbao

Edited by Joane V. Serrano and Anna Cañas-Llamas