Ms. Luisa Gelisan, University Research II of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Multimedia Center (MC), has been appointed as the Acting Director of MC effective 1 May 2018. This is the first time that a REPS member is designated as Director of the MC. Dr. Joane V. Serrano, who was Director in two offices -- the MC and the Information Office -- resigned as MC Director effective 1 May 2018. She will remain as Director of Information Office. Ms. Gelisan has been with UPOU since 1997. She started as Information Officer II. Later she was tapped to [...]

On 28 April 2018, Dr. Joane V. Serrano, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) and Director of the Information Office and Multimedia Center, University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), gave a plenary talk on "Untangling Scientific Writing and Publishing" during the National Seminar-Writeshop on Scientific Paper & Academic Publishing hosted by the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBSUA) held at Starview Hotel, Naga City. The three-day seminar-writeshop, conducted on 26-28 April 2018, was participated in by more than a hundred participants, mostly teachers and professors from different schools and universities nationwide. Dr. Serrano [...]

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Chancellor, Dr. Melinda dela Pena Bandalaria, led the delegation of nine UPOU faculty and staff members in the first MoodleMoot Philippines held on 26-27 April 2018 at the Manila Hotel. Dr. Bandalaria, served as one of the plenary speakers. She shared her experiences in the implementation of different Moodle instances at UPOU such as MyPortal and Massive Open Distance e-Learning (MODeL), which help fulfill the mandate of the university, "to democratize access to quality higher education in the country". She spoke alongside Ms. Bianca Luna, Research Associate and Content Writer from TESDA, [...]

Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) faculty members Dr. Joane Serrano and Dr. Consuelo Habito led a focus group discussion (FGD) with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) personnel on 17 April 2018. The FGD is part of the efforts of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) on enhancing its courses through eLearning. It was attended by representatives from various FSI and DFA sections and divisions. The program was opened by International Programs and e-Learning Section Officer-in-Charge Dulce Fortunado. She mentioned that the institute has had a number of eLearning initiatives since 2009. However, they had only adopted the use of [...]

Press Release from the Philippine Communication Society The 2018 Excellence in Communication Award will be conferred by the Philippines Communication Society (PCS) to the beloved Media Educator, Film Studies Scholar, Communication Innovation Advocate, U.P. Professor Emeritus for Film, and Former Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Open University, Dr. Grace Javier Alfonso. The awarding ceremony with Dr. Alfonso's keynote speech is the highlight of the Media and Gender Conference with the theme "Constructing Gender in Multimedia Contexts" on April 30, 2018 (Monday) at the PUP Bulwagang Balagtas at the A. Mabini Main Campus in Manila. The award is the [...]

The Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) in partnership with GeoInfometrics Solutions Co. organized several two-day training courses which aimed to equip participants with basic knowledge on GIS and its application to Land Use Planning. This was held at the Training Room, Community Hub at the University of the Philippines Open University Main Headquarters. The GIS Training course was held for two batches. The first batch of trainees, which was made up of staff from GeoInformetrics Solutions Co, Filsite Mapping Solutions, and UPOU, took the training course on 16-17 April 2018. Ms. Maripres Sarinas, Ms. Ophelia Cariño, and Ms. [...]

UP Open University (UPOU) Chancellor Melinda dela Pena Bandalaria, together with Asst. Prof. Myra Almodiel and Ms. Cien Angela Baurile, visited Benguet State University - Open University (BSUOU) on 12-13 April 2018 as part of the Cascading Best Practices program of UPOU.During the visit, Chancellor Bandalaria facilitated a focus group discussion with the professors of BSUOU to monitor their progress as well as the challenges they encountered in the activities proposed by UPOU during the exploratory meeting. This second visit aimed to capacitate the people involved in the distance education programs of BSUOU by formulating more concrete plans and activities, [...]