Dean Bagarinao on Changing Profile of UPOU’s Graduates

The Dean of the Faculty of Education Dr. Ricardo T. Bagarinao reported the changing profile of UPOU’s graduates in the Research Conversations organized by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs held last September 21, 9:00 AM at Sandbox, Centennial Center for Digital Learning (CCDL), UP Open University Headquarters.

Dr. Bagarinao talked about his study with Ms. Percia V. Secreto, Student Records Evaluator III under the Office of the University Registrar entitled “The changing profile of UPOU’s graduates with the changing modes of delivery: A GIS-based Analysis.” The study focused on the UPOU’s shifting modes of delivery through the years from distance learning to blended learning to online learning and its impact on the profiles of its graduates. The study is part of the collaborative research on learner’s persistence conducted by five (5) open universities in the ASEAN region (or OU5).

The study found out that in terms of geographical location, the profile of UPOU graduates tends to shift from being dispersed throughout the country to being more concentrated in metropolitan areas such as Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao City as the university shifts its modality through the years. The graduates from other provinces lessen as UPOU transitions to online learning. Also, the University tends to have younger graduates and have relatively higher general weighted average of graduates today with online learning compared to distance learning and blended learning.

Dr. Bagarinao said that it is high time to rethink the current modality of the University it has to improve inclusivity and accessibility of its quality education. He recommends having diversification of its modality to provide students learning options depending on their learning styles and contexts — something the university administration and faculty still have to explore.

UPOU students, faculty, and staff attended the session and a live feed was broadcasted for viewers online. The session ended with a forum where attendees and online viewers asked questions and gave their insights about the study.

Held every Friday, Research Conversations is a venue for fruitful discourse between and among UPOU’s faculty, REPs, and staff about quality research. It is an initiative of the OVCAA with the primary purpose of upholding a participatory quality research culture in the university.

View the full video on Research Conversations with Dr. Bagarinao here: https://bit.ly/2DIHtFw

(CCBasa & MRSanBuenaventura)

Publication: An Editor’s Perspective

A special Research Conversations was held last 12 February 2018 featuring Dr. Don Passey, FEd’s Visiting Professor from Lancaster University, United Kingdom at UPOU’s AVR where he talked about Publication: an Editor’s Perspective.

Dr. Melinda Lumanta opened the conversation with sharing what Research Conversations is. Research Conversations is OVCAA’s initiative that serves as a “venue for [UPOU faculty and staff] to come together in a very relaxed atmosphere to talk about research interests”. It happens every Friday at the Sandbox, CCDL. The idea behind holding Research Conversations at the Sandbox came from the image of children playing in a sandbox, creativity sparks as they make something out of nothing and exchange ideas in free-flowing conversation.

Dr. Don Passey discusses what editors look for in an article
for possible inclusion in a journal.

Chancellor Melinda Bandalaria introduced the speaker in a more personal manner, sharing the story behind Dr. Passey’s visit at UPOU. As a visiting scholar of Lancaster University last June 2017, she was instrumental for Dr. Passey’s arrival at UPOU and a possible partnership between UPOU and Lancaster University. This year, Dr. Passey participated in UPOU’s Visiting Professor Program to immerse into the open and distance e-Learning (ODeL) setting.

Dr. Don Passey is a professor of Technology Enhance Learning from the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK. He finished his bachelor’s degree from the University of Birmingham, master’s and doctorate degrees from Lancaster University. He is a member of various government and non-government organizations such as Department of Education in Northern Ireland, International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), British Educational Research Association, among many other commitments. He designs, develops, convenes, and teaches modules and courses on technology, instruction, and education since 2009.

To begin the conversation, Dr. Passey first identified the different kinds of editors depending on their involvement, namely editor of a journal who is someone who has a position across a number of years, has an experience on a particular field, and is affiliated to that particular journal; guest editor of a journal who is in charge of an issue, has a particular idea for a theme from which the issue will come out of, and works on at most 20 papers across a year; editor of a book who is looking at chapters to put together into a book; and editor of post conference proceedings who compiles conference proceedings and papers into a book.

He then proceeds to discuss the responsibilities of an editor, such as take on board the reviews from at least 2 reviewers which are selected by the editor on the basis of the content of the paper or chapter; look across the reviewer recommendations from 3 reviewers, especially in the event of contradicting reviews; consider the role and remit of the journal or book and determine if the submission fits journal or book; and consider the aims of a particular journal issue, grouping papers together that have some sort of relationship.

As an editor with experience on all the aforementioned kinds of editors, he shared the points that he considers when accepting submissions in chronological order. He hopes that these serve as a guide for authors when submitting to a publication.

1. Does this fit/match the aims and remit of the journal or book?
2. What are the reviewer/s comments and are they amendable or are they grounds for rejection?
3. What are the paper’s/chapter’s contribution to the journal and/or to the field? Is the study contributing a new idea, theory or practice that has not been done before or an argument with other research that has been done before? Is the study contributing something in terms of context?
4. Does the study present robustness and rigor in terms of methodology and data analysis? Is the study over-generalized?
5. What kind support (i.e., feedback and recommendation) can be given to the author?

As parting words, Dr. Passey suggests to have an idea of who the editor is, determine role of editor in publication, carefully read the aims and remits of the journal/book, be clear about the paper’s or chapter’s contribution, be honest in stating the robustness and rigor of the study, attend conferences and see where it goes from there, and collaborate with other people to ensure the paper’s or chapter’s acceptance.

(MRSanBuenaventura, OVCAA)

OVCAA kicks-off Research Conversations for 2018

The UP Open University (UPOU) Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) kicked off Research Conversations 2018 on 26 January at the Sandbox, CCDL, UPOU Headquarters, Los Banos, Laguna.

Dr. Melinda Lumanta, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, opened the conversation by re-emphasizing Research Conversations’ intentions and purpose. As an equivalent to the scientific community’s research laboratories, Research Conversations is OVCAA’s initiative in upholding a participatory quality research culture in the university. Dr. Lumanta also introduced OVCAA’s next publication project that discusses teaching models in open and distance eLearning (ODeL), opening the invitation to UPOU faculty members that teach research, theory, skills, and practicum courses to participate in the discussions.

The kick-off activity featured two UPOU faculty members who imparted tips and advice in research and publication. Asst. Prof. Al-Francis Librero, faculty member of the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) and Director of the UPOU Information and Communication Technology Development Office (ICTDO), shared his experience in winning 2nd Place for Best Paper Award at the 2nd International Conference on Open and Distance e-Learning (ICODeL) back in 2014. His advice include finding your motivation and carrying out the research with dedication and rigor; minding the way you carry yourself; knowing the ins and outs of the conference that you are attending; finding a passion project then see where it takes you; noting the trends; and taking time to rest.

As the Managing Editor of the Journal of Nature Studies and the Director of both the UPOU Information Office and Multimedia Center, Dr. Joane Serrano also shared some tips for publishing papers in journals. According to Dr. Serrano, great benefit will come from studying the scope of the journal, following the required format, doing a comprehensive study on which journal the research paper would fit, and practicing proper indexing. She emphasized that authors should be careful of predatory journals. To determine if a journal is predatory, the author/s should note its publishers, cost of publishing, preservation of papers, and growth in number of articles.

Research Conversations are held every Friday the whole year-round, serving as the venue where UPOU faculty, REPS, research assistants, and everyone else can come together and talk about research and other academic matters. Speakers are also invited to talk about their field of expertise and/or studies to facilitate conversation and come up with other researchable areas. Concerns and suggestions from everyone are also very much welcome. Write ups of the Research Conversations sessions are found in the OVCAA microsite (https://ovcaa-dev.upou.edu.ph/index.php/activities/research-conversation).

(MRSanBuenaventura, OVCAA)

Flagship Program: PLAZA

Research Conversations featured UPOU’s Flagship Program: PLAZA with Dr. Joane Serrano as the keynote speaker last December 01.

To contextualize the program, Dr. Serrano discussed the roots of plaza as an intentionally-built, multipurpose, open space that is accessible to the public as a center for interaction. From the Greeks’ agora and the Romans’ forum, plaza have been understood as a public place for gathering; athletic, artistic, and spiritual pursuits; and processions, elections, and gladiatorial matches. In the Philippines, plazas are likewise centers for public activities such as sports, local trade and the like.

In this regard, Flagship Program: PLAZA is a venue for interaction between and among UPOU stakeholders (faculty, staff, and communities). It places UPOU in position as one of the leaders in promoting critical digital literacy nationwide. UNESCO promotes Media and Information Literacy (MIL) which emphasizes a critical approach to literacy which is recognizing that people do not only learn in the classroom but also outside of the classroom through information, media, and technological platforms. It enables people to question critically what they have read, heard, and learned.

The primary objective of PLAZA is to provide digital opportunities to the community and venues for discussion of relevant issues in the community/society. Some of the strategies discussed were: 1) Establish information hubs which are contact points where the general public, students, and alumni can get in touch with UPOU, 2) Set up training programs at learning hubs where the priority is the marginalized sectors, students, and the general public, 3) Improve digital library systems and services in collaboration with the library and academicians to be able to develop programs in line with PLAZA, improve library collection, and improve research support, 4) Establish partnerships with other institutions such as LGUs, NGOs, telecomms, DOST, and the like.

Dr. Joane also presented recommendations for the design and management of a public space which focuses on 4 major points: uses and activities, comfort and image, access and linkages, and sociability. A public space must create a focal point where stakeholders gather to develop strategies for community-oriented programs. It must have practical amenities, increased security, upgraded maintenance, and established community-policing program. The space must also be accessible and accommodating of vehicles that the participants will bring.

She also enumerated the existing research-public service initiatives that are anchored on the concepts of digital literacy, open spaces, and leadership.

●           NCODeL

●           UPOU virtual space

●           Open Lib

●           ISMTP

●           Y4IRT

●           Cascading Best Practices Program

●           Infoteach

●           LBSCFI

●           Knowledge sharing thorugh LTIO/Field Visit

●           EDUKussion

Research ideas and/or researchable areas, suggestions, and sharing from the session’s group are as follows:

●   Dealing with public through presentation in national and international conferences

●   Use of social media platform to encourage research among staff

●   Linkedin-type interaction among UPOU staff

●   Use the Faculty portal to engage in research conversations about OERs and to foster the open culture

●   Orientation to high school and college students on OERs; collaborate with other libraries all over the Philippines; take advantage of the network of Chancellor

●   Participants of the NCODeL – can be part of Plaza

●   Learning center vs learning hub

●   Earth ambassadors (we conducted a research forum grades 5-6, they were asked to present their research and oriented them with the blended learning mode)

●   Public initiatives through lecture series and international symposium; use social media to encourage more participation in the upcoming ASEANALE; use of Google drive

●   Researchgate-type for internal purposes so UPOU community can have access to these; microsite where students can share their artworks, poems, etc

●   Research Conversations as venue to practice presentation

●   To increase engagement, existing sites (faculty, networks) link all these to main platform and share these to the public; sites have chat functions, so people can engage with us through that functionality

●   Engagement by partnering with SUCs; go to SUCs in other areas, orientation about use and functions of the platform (helping people around us to become digitally literate; and others to experience to be connected digitally through webstreaming) e.g. MPM experience

●   Engagement – UPOU blog (platform not just to promote flagship programs but venue for students); not too formal but more interactive approach

●   FMDS blog – tips for students for taking comprehensive exam, etc

●   FMDS Facebook page for each programs, DR&DM – Facebook group for alumni where they engage with graduate students

●   Diverse groups of people can talk about anything (organic market every last Friday of the month); good venue to promote the university; talk about the environment etc); come up with digital materials

●   Study on the psychological interaction of those who go organic market; what motivates them to attend; identify behavior of people who interact with other people

●   Lunch and Learn

●   Digital materials played in TV

●   Culture of participating in Research Conversations

●   Invite teachers in the learning center where they can attend the Edukkasyon

●   Venue for people to comments (i.e. chat functionality)

UPOU Connected

by Ma. Rosette San Buenaventura

Research Conversations featured the UPOU Connected Flagship Program last 8 September 2017 with Assistant Professor Al-Francis D. Librero as the resource person. 

Asst. Prof. Librero started off the talk with an overview of the program’s main goals, which are: 1) to engage in public discussion of critical social issues, 2) ro participate in social mobilization, and 3) ro disseminate research results and knowledge products. Accordingly, the program is a repacking and continuation of the initial efforts of the Multimedia Center, OASIS, ICTDO, and Faculty Offices on public discussion, social mobilization, and knowledge dissemination.  Its performance indicators are the availability of 1) multiple platforms for discussion of issues and knowledge dissemination and 2) network/s of community media and information service providers. 

Asst. Prof. Librero then discussed each of the program’s components and the ongoing efforts for each of these components. Accordingly, For the UPOU Networks website, the ongoing activities are: 1) organizing the materials in UPOU Networks, 2) providing links from UPOU website to all other Web-based assets of the university, 3) creating a mobile app to access UPOU Networks, 4) establishing a content management system, and 5) consolidating microsites. For the establishment of a low-powered FM Station, the target audience has been identified as those who are elderly and those who lack access to other sources of knowledge. It was also noted that there still is much to be done in the development of materials for the FM station and matters concerning the management of the station. Meanwhile, for the use of social media platforms, it was emphasized that there is a need for critical discourse on social issues and dissemination of research and knowledge products. To this day, UPOU has accounts on Facebook (UPOpenUniversity), Twitter (upopenu), Instagram (UPOpenU), and Youtube (UPOU Networks). 

Existing issues on the program, as well as possible researchable areas, are as following: centralization/decentralization of content development, streamlining and consolidation of content and modes of  delivery, and evolution of design and production values.

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6fEsbrZobw&index=18&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7

Gender in Research: Framework and Methodologies

by Ma. Rosette San Buenaventura

Dr. Odine Maria M. de Guzman, director of the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, talked about Gender-Sensitivity Research at Research Conversations last 25th of August 2017. The event was organized by UPOU’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in partnership with the Office of Gender Concerns. It was a two-part talk that discussed concepts on gender and gender research. 

The speaker started the talk with determining what the researcher’s disposition should be when doing gender research. The researcher must be open-minded, adaptable, flexible, and most of all, gender-sensitive. Dr. Odine proceeded to define gender as “socially-ascribed and socially-learned sense of what and who we are” and that it is different from sex which is understood to be biologically determined. She also differentiated gender roles from sex roles such that the former are tasks, functions, or characteristics that a society or culture defines as female or male, while the latter are biological or occupational function for which a necessary qualification is to belong to one particular sex category. 

Dr. Odine also defined and discussed gender issues. These issues arise when there is notable gender inequality  in real world situations such as gender relations and roles, gender division of labor, organizational structures, programs and services, and laws and government directives. Sexism and discrimination were mentioned as examples of this. Gender stereotypes were defined as a widely accepted overly simplified judgment or bias about a person or group. These gender issues impact individuals in such a way that “gender roles, expectations, and perceptions categorize and limit women and men into situations that constrain their capacity to do and capacity to be, hindering their potential to attain a full and satisfying life”.

Dr. Odine went on to tackle gender-sensitive research. A common misconception about gender research is that it is solely about women or gender relationships. Also, contrary to traditional research, it does not operate on assumptions of homogeneity. It takes into account gender as a significant variable in the research context and in the whole research process. It recognizes that the sexes have different roles and impact to society, power and power relations among the sexes and genders, and the differences in genders and gives equal value to each. 

Engendering research, as Dr. Odine put it, presents new perspectives, raises new questions, and uses new analytical tools to create a better understanding of a situation. Moreover, it can improve relevance, coverage, and quality of research. Engendering research also contributes to empowering groups through the use of more participatory methodologies, presenting and valuing the experiences of marginalized groups, and better policy formation. Dr. Odine reiterated that an actual research must mainstream gender throughout the research process from identifying the problem down to the dissemination of the research results. She gave important points to consider when doing gender research such as acknowledge own bias, use a conceptual framework that could reflect the experiences of sexes and genders, formulate a gender sensitive research question, among others.

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBA7wayHJoI&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7&index=20 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UlqMJwSr8w&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7&index=19

InnovaTE

by Ma. Rosette San Buenaventura

Research Conversations' featured speaker for the InnovaTE Flagship Program is Dr. Sheila R Bonito. 

InnovaTE promotes the adoption and/or adaption of innovative technology-supported teaching methodologies in support of effective learning. Its performance indicators were enumerated as such: (1) innovative technology-supported teaching methodologies; (2) enhanced capacity in effective online teaching among the faculty; and (3) reduced attrition and improved graduation rates among students. Its initial components consist of: (1) online teaching toolkit available in the Faculty Portal website; (2) faculty seminar-workshop/webinar series; (3) online teaching skills certification program; and (4) FIC and Tutor Congress.

Dr. Sheila expounded on the Faculty Portal website, noting that it is still under development but is already up and running. The website is designed to house modules for FICs and Open Educational Resources (OERs) as an effort to collate, organize, and present available content. However, at the moment, only modules for course authors are available and can already be retrieved at faculty.icodel.org. Webinars and workshops on open educational practices, OER in Education, extent of use of OER in UPOU, and OER in Health have been conducted with many more to come. Dr. Sheila provided websites such as roer4d.org and oerhub.com as sample resources on OERs and open education studies, data sets, etc.  

By the end of the conversation, a call for continued research on open education and OERs and for other research topic suggestions was raised. The audience also voiced out their concerns on how resources such as student theses repository and data sets can be made accessible for everyone. It comes as existing policies like the Data Privacy Act limits practitioners to make their work available for all. 

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7&v=m-9YeRwBZEM