Mission RA 10650

by Jamsie Joy E. Perez

Dean Primo G. Garcia led the research conversation with the topic on Mission R.A 10650 last 16 June at the Sandbox, CCDL, UPOU. 

The session started with a brief introduction on the role of the UP Open University in fulfilling its mandate as the premiere open university in the field of distance and e-learning in the country through the Republic Act 10650 or also known as Open and Distance Learning Law such as providing technical assistance in curricula development for open and distance learning (ODL) program, share innovative ideas and research for other ODL institutions. Moreover, UPOU’s share in the achievement of the act includes the following: development of information and communication technologies for ODL, provide and design quality learning materials for ODL institutions in the Philippines, and capacitate teachers and practitioners in ODL. This year, UPOU is striving to fill in the roles as mandated in the ODL act which led to the conceptualization of the Mission R.A. 10650 together with other flagship programs of the university.

The Research Conversation provided a venue to discuss and share researchable areas on Mission RA 10650 and with that, collaboration among UPOU faculty members and staff surfaced. Some of the researchable areas shared by Dean Garcia were grouped into four, namely, capacity building, technical assistance, instructional models, and innovative research in ODL which all fit into the role the UPOU is taking in the implementation of the ODL act.

The researchable areas shared by Dean Garcia were as follows:

• Capacity building
• Training needs assessment
• Training course evaluation

Technical Assistance

• Quality Assurance (QA) framework
• ICT infrastructure policy
• Accreditation policy

Instructional models

• ODeL-based curriculum research
• Learning materials development and evaluation
• Innovative technology for ODeL

Innovative research in ODL

• Issues and concerns of institutions on DE
• Combining traditional and new media in ODL

CARe-UPOU

by Mary Aizel C. Dolom

Dr. Ricardo T. Bagarinao, Dean of the UP Open University Faculty of Education, conducted a talk on the CARe-UPOU flagship program of the University on 3 March 2017. The guiding principles and possible researchable areas under CARe-UPOU were the main topics of the conversation.

CARe-UPOU, which stands for “Climate Adaptive and Resilient UPOU”, is considered as a critical program for the University mainly because of the fact that UPOU’s operations are hugely dependent on online systems. With the Internet being vulnerable to climate-related events and other natural disasters, it is imperative for the University to ensure Internet resilience to maintain its integrity as an Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL) institution.

For the University to ensure continuity of its operations amidst disaster occurrence in any of its offices, CARe-UPOU has divided its efforts into two components: the “Green UPOU” which focuses on the University’s sustainability efforts, and the “Disaster Risk and Reduction Management” (DRRM) which focuses on the University’s climate adaptation and disaster resilience. For Green UPOU, Dr. Bagarinao said the committee was able to identify four goals for the years 2016 to 2019 to strengthen climate change mitigation efforts in the University: 1) Resource Conservation, 2) Environmental Education, 3) Ecological Waste Management, and 4) Renewable Energy Use. For DRRM, on the other hand, four areas of concern were laid out to attain climate change adaptation and resilience by the year 2019: 1) Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 2) Disaster Preparedness, 3) Disaster Response, and 4) Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery.

The following are some of the possible researchable areas that arose from the conversation:

• baseline condition
• criteria and indicators
• modelling
• behaviour and response. 

Some of the potential studies identified were:

• UPOU Disaster Preparedness: A Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Survey
• Institutional Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts among UPOU Offices
• Developing Sustainability Criteria and Indicators for an ODeL Institution
• Risk Reduction Initiatives: Balancing Costs with Benefits
• Modeling Behavioural Responses to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Initiatives

watch the recording of the conversation at: http://networks.upou.edu.ph/care-upou-concepts-and-researchable-areas/

QAlidad

by Louise S. Villanueva

Chancellor Melinda dP. Bandalaria conducted a talk on the QAlidad flagship program of the UP Open University. Faculty and staff attended the event on the guiding principles and researchable areas that cover the goals of QAlidad. The event was held at the Sandbox on 27 January 2017.

As the leading open and distance e-learning (ODeL) institution in the Philippines, it is imperative for the UP Open University to ensure and uphold quality standards in terms of instruction, research, public service, and administration. Hence, QAlidad has been deemed as the overarching flagship program that should permeate all the activities of the university. In line with this, Chancellor Bandalaria emphasized the QAlidad components which should be done and developed by the faculty and staff through scientific research. These are as follows: QA Audit, Development of the QA Framework, and the UP Open University QA System Implementation.

In order to operationalize the aforementioned QAlidad components, Chancellor Bandalaria shared the research plan which included survey research on perception of quality and review of literature that will surface the pillars of quality education in open and distance e-learning. The results of the research will be subjected to five rounds of Delphi and will serve as guides for the Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with the members of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU). The KIIs will compile the open and distance education institution practices that have an impact on quality assurance.

UP Open University as mandated in the Open and Distance Learning Act or Republic Act 10650, is tasked to lead the development and promotion of best practices in open and distance learning, hence, the results of the research on QA will be shared in different conferences and through a publication of the QA ODeL Manual which will be circulated to higher education institutions in the Philippines and the members of the AAOU.



watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXfZyXMezOc

Saliksik

by Louise S. Villanueva and Jamsie Joy E. Perez

Research Conversations kicked off the year 2017 with the discussion of Saliksik, one of the flagship programs of UP Open University. Dr. Melinda F. Lumanta, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, served as the lead discussant of the conversation. She detailed how the Saliksik team plans to improve the University’s research productivity and impact as well as provide significant contribution to research and innovation in priority social development fields by the year 2019.

Saliksik has laid out four strategic goals which all aim to provide support to faculty members and researchers in producing quality research. These are the: ODeL State of the Art Project, Research Publication Project, Research Preparation Support Project, and Analytical Tools Support Project.

The first project, ODeL State of the Art Project, aims to use the weekly Research Conversations as venue to produce state of the art papers through a system of identifying research interest groups with lead researchers to prepare a research-based paper on aspects of ODeL. For the Research Publication Project, the objective is identify and list the high-impact journals and conferences where faculty and staff can submit their research papers. In addition to this, the process from application of grants to disseminating results would be more streamlined and awards are planned to be given to those who publish in journals that are indexed by Scopus, WoS, and the like. For the Research Preparation Support Project, OVCAA will be holding writeshops for authors of ongoing research to provide needed assistance in having their papers published in reputable journals. Lastly, for the Analytical Tools Support Project, the aim is to further equip UPOU’s faculty and staff in their research efforts by providing useful research software such as SPSS, EndNote, Plagiarism Checker, GIS, UCINET, and Envivo. Statistical clinics will also be established and learning materials for statistical analyses will be created.