News

Dr. Roberto Figueroa, Assistant Professor of the UP Open University (UPOU) Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS), won the Michele Steele Best of JALT 2021 Award for his contribution to the Mixed Augmented Virtual Realities in Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) and an outstanding article.  The MSBoJ 2022 ceremony was held during the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT) International Conference in Fukuoka, Japan on 11-14 November 2022. The study “Virtualizing a University Campus Tour: A Pilot Study on its Usability and User Experience, and Perception,” which is also published in the second volume of the International Journal [...]

True to its mission of reaching out to underserved communities, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod UPOU, in collaboration with the Office of the Staff Regent  (OSR), and the All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) Diliman and Open University Chapters, conducted an ICT Literacy training program among the youth of the Dumagat Indigenous People community from Rodriguez, Rizal, last 8 and 15 October 2022.  This two-day training aims to capacitate the Dumagat youth of Rodriguez, Rizal in their computer proficiency and information and technology literacy skills that would be beneficial for their future career endeavors.  Two separate training sessions were conducted on 8 [...]

The University of the Philippine Open University (UPOU) partners with Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HMBSU) and the Benchmarking Framework for Online, Open, Smart, and Technology-Enhanced Higher Education in organizing the webinar titled “Sharing Best Practices of Asian Universities.” This initiative is in partnership with the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) to be held on 10 November 2022, 3:00 PM (Manila Time) and 11:00 AM (Dubai Time).  Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, UPOU Chancellor, will be delivering the welcome address.  Dr. Primo Garcia, UPOU Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, on the other hand, will serve [...]

The 8th episode of the Revitalizing Socioecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS) Webinar Series titled "Assessment of Ifugao Rice Terraces, a Satoyama Landscape" was held on 27 October 2022 via Zoom.   Ms. Eulalie D. Dulnuan, Supervising Administrative Officer of the National Museum of the Philippines, was the guest speaker.  Dr. Romeo A. Gomez, Jr., Professor of Ecology and Environmental Science of Benguet State University, served as the guest discussant.  Ms. Anne Frances Buhay from the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) hosted the virtual event. Ms. Dulnuan clarified [...]

The UP Open University Multimedia Center (UPOU MC) conducted a 2-day training-workshop titled “Graphics Editing Using Photopea”. The workshop, a hybrid event, was held on 18 and 25 October 2022 at the Audio-visual Room, UPOU in Los Baños, Laguna,  and broadcasted simultaneously via Zoom.  Ms. Ann Kristine Medina, a UPOU MC administrative staff member and multimedia developer/producer, served as trainer/resource person. Forty-eight individuals, consisting of UPOU faculty, REPS, research assistants, administrative staff members, and students/student assistants participated in the training.  The training aimed to capacitate participants on how to use Photopea (https://www.photopea.com/), a free graphic editing software [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) will be holding its 26th Commencement Exercises on 10 December 2022, 5:00 p.m. at the UPOU Oblation Plaza with the theme “​​University of the Future: Reimaginations, Reconfigurations, Realizations.”  A total of 534 graduates are expected to attend the Commencement Exercises. Of the 534 graduates, 99 are from the three undergraduate programs; 35 are from the two graduate certificate programs; 216 are from the 12 graduate diploma programs; 165 are from the 10 master’s programs; and, 19 graduates are from the two doctoral programs of UPOU. The Commencement speaker for this year [...]

In commemoration of the Acad Union Month this October 2022, the All UP Academic Employees Union - Los Banos and Open University (AUPAEU-LB and OU) Chapters  collaborated to hold the "Ang Guro at Ang Bayan Faculty Forum". The hybrid event was conducted last 17 October 2022, from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at the UPOU Audio-Visual Room, and via Zoom and Facebook Live.  Ang Guro at Ang Bayan Faculty Forum is represented by the University’s regular faculty members, Research, Extension, and Professional Staff (REPS) with teaching load, lecturers, teaching assistants, teaching fellows, and professor emeriti of UPLB and UPOU campuses.  [...]

In a segment in Radyo Pilipinas last 15 October 2022, University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Office of Public Affairs (OPA) Director, Dr. Myra C. Almodiel, had the opportunity to promote the 7th National Conference on Open and Distance eLearning (NCODeL 2022) in an interview with Tess Ramirez.      This year’s conference will be held virtually on 23-25 November 2022. Dr. Almodiel explained that the NCODeL had been consistently conducted every two years by the UPOU since 1999, where different educational institutions share their ideas, experiences, and best practices in an online setting. The conference is open to administrators, [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University’s (UPOU) OpenTalk 27 featured a discussion on Developing Immersive Learning Programs for Higher Education through Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and beyond. The guest speaker was  Prof. Eric Hawkinson, Professor and Learning Futurist at the  School of Global Engagement in Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, and Visiting Professor at the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies shared the benefits, limitations, and potential applications of the technology platforms  in both teaching and learning. Prof. Hawkinson shared his core passion for understanding the factors and technologies reshaping how humans happily teach, learn, [...]

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) conducted a half-day orientation for the new tutors last 04 October 2022. Through this orientation, the tutors were given an overview of the teaching and learning approach at UPOU and their roles in an online course.  Asst. Prof. Ana Katrina Marcial, the former Director of the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS), presented the distinction of resource-based learning approach and the difference between the roles of a UPOU FIC (faculty-in-charge) and a tutor. She also elaborated on the components of UPOU online courses such as the course [...]