Empowering education in the 21st century

Now more than ever, the potential of technology to remove barriers between educators and their students has become much more manifest. New software and the Internet have been changing our access to knowledge while innovative learning tools, like the "now-standardized" PowerPoint presentation, have started redefining the classroom experience. Beyond usual skills, students are now expected to become more proficient in collaboration (teamwork), communication (exchange of ideas) and managing information (organization) -- otherwise known as 21stcentury skills.

 

To put these skills within reach of the students, a leading educational institution, STI, has started to utilize a modern approach in teaching -- blended learning. One of the next new terms to dazzle us in technology-enhanced education, blended-learning is defined simply as a totally new approach in teaching that would combine technology and other educational tools with different ways in which various subjects may be taught. In an unforgiving global economy like today where information is literally just a click of the mouse away, 'blended learning approaches' could also be utilized easily as an equalizing tool that can help bridge the great digital divide.

 

Just think of the Internet, for example, as a limitless source of information. Whereas before when only those students coming from affluent families can afford to buy books or a PC, today's learning environment has enabled virtually anyone to gain access to a great variety of information which not even a good number of books combined can equal. What's more, it has helped level the playing field with virtually everyone getting access to information, be it from the school's smaller computer shops or at posh Internet cafes that are found usually in malls.

 

"Compared to the traditional 'face-to-face' approach in classroom settings, the use of blended-learning has recently been verified by experts to have helped enhance a student's understanding of the subject matter regardless of his age, social stature or economic background," states Mr. Mitch Andaya, Vice President for the Learning Systems Division of STI.

 

He shares that in the US, student nurses no longer rely on old metal logbooks to store information about a patient. What they use instead is network of computers, which makes access to vital patient information more accurate, faster and even effortless! The same could then be downloaded at any given time, so the shifting schedule of nurses will no longer pose a problem when it comes to sharing valuable data. It also helps in eradicating errors in medication by ensuring that only the right data has been evaluated and included in the patient's medical history.

 

Aside from computers, Mr. Andaya cites as another classic example of 'blended learning' the use of guides as lecturers during field trips. Not only do students get to see the "real" thing, they learn about it at the same time. "Aside from improving the content of your discussion, it would also be a good ploy to teach in a manner so different that you are able to arouse the students' curiosity. At STI, what we do is we just don't teach IT, we also use IT to teach," he adds with a smile.

 

Cognizant of the fact that students will need continuing access to various learning tools, STI, now also considered as having the largest network of colleges in the country today, has been pioneering a lot of endeavors for many years now with the aim of helping raise the level of education among the Filipino youth. One of these is an IT project that will allow STI students to access instructional materials through E-learning.

 

One other project that was recently institutionalized at STI is the E2E system. A vital cog in STI's education system, E2E or the Enrollment to Employment System ensures that a student's needs are covered from the time he enrolls in STI up to the time he graduates and starts looking for a job. Combined with blended learning approaches in teaching STI's strategic partnership with STI-Universal Workers, an international consulting firm that specializes in training, educating, and preparing qualified professionals for a successful working stint locally and abroad, prepares each student graduate with the required skills and technological savvy needed to survive in a rigorous job environment called the workplace. For those graduates whose skills may already be considered as world-class, another STI partner, Global Resource for Outsourced Workers or GROW, Inc., can help find the most suitable career for them overseas. GROW is currently one of the premiere placement agencies in the country today.

 

Aside from offering new courses that are attuned with the needs of the times and developing the content of STI's courseware, which is mainly the responsibility of his division, Mr. Andaya says that STI will continue to exert enormous efforts in instructional design to make the learning part much more interesting for its students. With the growing popularity of technological tools now used as a teaching aid in the learning environment, it seems quite clear now that access to data and availability of information in today's day and age is no longer a major concern among educators.

 

"The challenge for us now is how to package it (information), and to make the learning process as much fun as possible in a way that both the learner and the teacher could absorb new information without finding the experience onerous. At STI, we believe we can make it happen!" he exclaims.