The University of the Philippines Open University Office of Student Affairs (UPOU-OSA), in coordination with the Office of Public Affairs (OPA) and Multimedia Center (MC), held general student orientation programs on 10 September 2022 and 8 October 2022 for degree programs following the semestral schedule and trimestral schedule, respectively. The programs premiered online via the UPOU website, UPOU Facebook page, and the UPOU Networks website. The programs aimed to provide the necessary information for studying via open and distance e-learning (ODeL) at UPOU and allowed students to navigate through the adjustments of online learning, as well as know where [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) collaborated with the University of Sains Malaysia (USM) in an Open Distance Learning Forum about the “Challenges of Shifting to Online Mode During the Pandemic”. The virtual event was held on 5 October 2022, and was streamed as a Facebook Live Event. Dr. Joane Serrano, Dean of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies, represented UPOU as one of the panelists at the said forum. The ODL Forum aimed to discuss the challenges of shifting to an online modality during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This type of shift often concerned both students [...]

A study by Arthur J. Lagbas, a candidate for the degree of Diploma in Land Use Planning (DLUP), has been accepted for the April 2022 issue publication of the Ecosystems & Development Journal (EDJ). The study, entitled “Visitation and perception of college students on selected urban parks in the city of Manila,” assessed the frequency of visits, familiarity, and the perceived urban park benefits and urban environment problems of college students from the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP). Five public parks with notable historical and cultural heritage significance in Manila City were used in the study, namely the Arroceros [...]

The upcoming 7th National Conference on Open and Distance eLearning (NCODeL) is ready to trailblaze new research and best practices on distance education. With its plenary sessions, the participants are bound to engage in more learning activities that would expand their knowledge of open and distance eLearning. With the theme “Reimagining Education Futures”, the said activity will comprise three plenary sessions with Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista, and Mr. Borhene Chakroun as speakers. For the second plenary session, Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose Banzon Bautista will tackle the “Roadmapping for Transitioning to Flexible Modes of [...]

Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua - Valenzuela, Director of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Secretariat (SEAMEO Secretariat), is lined up as one of the plenary speakers for the upcoming 7th National Conference on Open and Distance eLearning (NCODeL 2022) on 23-25 November 2022. Dr. Valenzuela will be sharing her knowledge and expertise during the first plenary session on 23 November 2022, with the topic "Promoting Inclusion in Education".  Dr. Valenzuela is the 18th Director of SEAMEO Secretariat,the first female SEAMEO Secretariat Director and the first Filipina to lead a regional organization in education, culture and science. Prior to this, [...]

Dr. Roberto Figueroa, Assistant Professor of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), won the best oral presentation award during the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Sports & Exercise Medicine Conference held last 12-14 September 2022 at The Everly Putrajaya, Putrajaya, Malaysia.  His presentation on Prototyping a Blended Physical Education Course on Japanese Mixed Volleyball in the Philippines aimed to identify the challenges, determine the perceived benefits, and investigate the perception of participants in the development and prototyping of the blended PE course. They determined that a blended PE course can be useful to distance learners especially if [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University will hold the 7th National Conference on Open and Distance Learning (NCODeL) on 23-25 November 2022. The conference welcomes applicants for the most prestigious awards – ODeL Best Paper Award 2022 and ODeL Best Practice Award 2022. These two awards focus on different aspects of open and distance learning. The ODeL Best Paper Award recognizes individuals whose research focused on the “advancement of the principles and theories of open learning, distance education, e-learning, and technology-mediated learning”. In comparison, the ODeL Best Practice 2022 is awarded to entities “for their innovative and effective implementation [...]