UPOU faculty and staff from L-R: Asst. Prof. Mary Kristene Clariño, Asst. Prof. Katrina Joy Abriol-Santos, Asst. Prof. Blancaflor Arada, Asst. Prof. Emely Amoloza, Assoc. Prof. Roberto Figueroa, Jr., Ms. Danica Salcedo, and Ms. Percia Secreto at the ICoME 2025.
Breaking new ground in educational technology and innovation, faculty and staff members from the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) participated in the 23rd International Conference on Media in Education (ICoME), held from 7-9 August 2025, at Inha University, Incheon, Korea. With a strong line of research presentations and tech-driven projects, UPOU joined global educators, researchers, and media practitioners in exploring the future of learning in a rapidly evolving digital world.
UPOU’s contributions to the conference included the following paper presentations: Innovating Educational Materials through FrameVR and AI-driven Content Podcast in an Open University by Asst. Prof. Mary Kristene D. Clariño; Novador: An Interactive Learning Novel for Open and Distance E-Learning by Asst. Prof. Katrina Joy M. Abriol-Santos; Tales in the Metaverse: Assessing FrameVR for Filipino Folktale Storytelling in Education by Asst. Prof. Blancaflor P. Arada; Research Trends in the Field of Open and Distance e-Learning: A Content Analysis of Published Articles in IJODeL from 2015 to 2024 by Ms. Danica Salcedo and Assoc. Prof. Roberto Figueroa, Jr.; Strengthening Administrative Capacity through Peer-to-Peer Learning: Insights from the CollabOURate Initiative by Ms. Percia V. Secreto; and Examining Students’ Experiences with AI Tools in an Open Distance eLearning Course: Insights and Implications by Asst. Prof. Emely M. Amoloza.
FICS Dean, Dr. Roberto Figueroa, Jr., and UPOU Registrar, Asst. Prof. Blancaflor Arada (center and right) with Consul General Edwin Gil Q. Mendoza (left) at the Philippine Embassy in South Korea.
Following the conference, on 10 August 2025, Faculty of Information and Communication Studies Dean Figueroa and University Registrar Arada visited the Philippine Embassy in the Republic of Korea to introduce the UP VINTA initiative and promote UPOU’s academic programs to embassy officials.
Through these engagements, UPOU strengthened its role in the global educational media community, contributed Philippine perspectives on Open Distance eLearning (ODeL), and fostered new collaborations in both academic and diplomatic spheres.
Contributed by Percia V. Secreto | Edited by Emely M. Amoloza
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