E-Learning for College, Adult and Young

Learners and for Preserving Local

Knowledge:
The Miriam College Experience
Maria Lourdes Quisumbing-Baybay
Parallel Session on E-learning
ACUCA Management Conference
Kwansei Gakuin University
Nishinomiya, Japan
2011
 What is e-learning?
• “any form of learning that utilizes a computer or
technological network for delivery, interaction, or
facilitation” (Carry and Willis, 2001) .
• “a special kind of technology-based learning”
(Anderson cited by Gerhard & Mayr, 2002).
• "the delivery of content via all electronic media,
including the Internet, intranets, extranets,
satellite broadcast, audio/video tape, interactive
TV and CD-ROM" (Urdan & Weggen cited by
Gerhard & Mayr, 2002).
• the process of learning aided by information and
communication technologies (ICTs).
vis a non-profit, non-stock Catholic educational
institution in the Philippines
voffers academic programs from pre-elementary
to post graduate and adult education levels
vhas a school for the deaf
va premier women’s college in
the Philippines with all female
students in the grade school,
high school and college levels
with a few deaf male students
in the college
v Adult education school and the
school for the deaf are
coeducational.
vFrom 1926 -1969, the American
Maryknoll sisters ran the college.
v At present, a lay board of trustees
administers the college.
The Higher Education Unit is composed of the
College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education,
College of Business, Entrepreneurship and
Accountancy, and College of International,
Humanitarian and Development Studies.
 ICT Infrastructure
v34 HP Blade and DL servers providing the school’s
Web services and Windows application systems.
va fiber optic backbone link served by the HP
E5412zl Core Switch
vAvaya S8300C server with G450 Media Gateway
and 200 VoIP and 60 Analog local lines.
v2 x 8 MBps bandwidth internet service from
Bayantel, a national telecommunications
company
v15 WiFi areas
e-learning for Tertiary Students
Computer assisted courses, using appropriate licensed
software (e.g. SPSS/PASW, Minitab, AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Adobe
Master Collection CS4) and freeware (Audacity) are regularly
reviewed and revised by faculty to keep up with the changing
technology and with industry requirements
Various e-learning practices range from simple
to complex depending on the level of
proficiency of faculty and appropriateness in
the subject/course
vReputable websites and electronic references
in reference list of the course syllabus
vEmail groups (yahoogroups or googlegroups)
for distribution of notes, references,
announcements and for discussion
vpopular Facebook closed groups interact on
issues raised in class through comments by
members of the class and sharing of videos,
websites and photos.
vclass blogs to discuss issues and share in cyberspace
vclub blogs or Facebook groups to elicit active
participation
vpersonal blogs for students to communicate their
assignments, and their thoughts, insights, and
questions about the lessons
Trained faculty use e-learning modules to enrich face-to-face
instruction through the blended mode
vMoodle e-modules are housed in a separate MC server
vEdu2.0 e-modules are housed in the cloud
 Challenges and Plans
• Some faculty members continue to be resistant to
e-learning
• Faculty need continuous training to maximize the
features of platforms like Moodle and Edu2.0
• ICT infrastructure and systems need to be
updated (e.g. videoconferencing system)
• There is a need to virtualize the whole campus
• There is a need to review policy regarding access
to social networking sites
 e-learning for Working Adults

Open/Distance
Learning Program
(Professional
Program)
combines
distance
education with
the equivalency
of work
experience for
adults who seek
to pursue a
college diploma
while working
vMoodle and Edu2.0 are currently being used.
v The program is in its infancy and despite the
numerous inquiries, enrolment has remained
very low.
vStudents prefer the blended mode because
they want some face to face interaction.
vThe program is under review and
recommendations will be given after this
Conference.
e-learning for Young Learners
Miriam College has a
partnership with
HopeNet, a social
cause network, with
the goal of creating a
global force of youth
to restore hope and
fuel a citizen’s
movement for peace
and prosperity.
Hope Cybrary (cyber-library)
provides virtual world services to children ages 7-12
such as the Knowledge Portal, eTutoring, and
eMentoring
in two sites which will be expanded to 32 public schools
in Makati City
Miriam College students are online volunteers as
knowledge portal guides, editors, administrators
and eTutors to provide supplemental assistance
to those children unable to find answers to their
questions within the knowledge portal.
e-learning for Local Knowledge
v An innovative effort to inform and ground
students in their local knowledge through e-
learning is the Asian University Digital
Resource Network (AUDRN).
vMiriam College is the host of the AUDRN, an
innovative program of the United Board for
Christian Higher Education’s Local Knowledge
Initiative.
vAUDRN promotes new ways that local knowledge
can be collected, preserved, and shared by
university faculty, researchers, library staff, and
students, using inexpensive digital tools and
media in teaching and learning, research, and
expanding library and reference materials
collections.
vAUDRN aims to share resources with Asian
universities, particularly in preserving and sharing
Asia’s local knowledge, through training, online
interest groups and a website.
vAUDRN organized and successfully run
training events that featured documenting
and sharing culture and local knowledge
through Web 2.0 tools.
v A set of more formal official AUDRN
websites (http://audrn.net/ and http://audrn.org) shows
highlights of sample documentation of local knowledge
projects that are supported directly by UB and indirectly via
AUDRN.
vThe community site at http://people.audrn.net is
the platform for 230 AUDRN members to connect
and share digital resources on local knowledge.
vAn associated Facebook Fan page at
http://www.facebook.com/audrn and a Twitter
page at http://twitter.com/#!/audrn operate as
parallel information and communication touch
points to promote AUDRN.
vAUDRN supported higher education
institutions to conduct research in order to
develop and evolve reference models for
documenting local knowledge using digital
tools.

vThe researches focused on the enrichment of

the teaching learning process through e-
learning.
Two Miriam College researches showed the
interface of local knowledge and digital tools.

A study on lullabies in
the Hiligaynon dialect
documented existing
local lullabies and their
practice in digital form,
collected stories and
information behind the
local songs, and
connected the lullabies’
knowledge content to
various academic fields.
The other study used digital tools and cloud
based data representation, storage and
preservation of Google Maps and Panoramio to
to create a digital map of the endemic and
indigenous trees and plants in the Miriam
College campus with a description of their local
uses and historical significance.
Next Steps for e-learning:
vEight one-day fora of researchers and teachers
on integrating local knowledge into the
curriculum through teaching for
understanding (TUF), service learning and
values integration
vThe Mahara e-portfolio as the e-learning
technology for faculty to document and share
their work as well as their students’ work in
local knowledge.
 Conclusion
• Miriam College can definitely learn from the
established academic institutions which are
experts in e-learning.

• We hope that our innovative projects can find

support with individuals and institutions
interested in e-learning for young learners and
for local knowledge.
 Mabuhay!
(Long Live!)