Republic of the Philippines

Region IX, Zamboanga Peninsula

Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic University
GRADUATE SCHOOL
R.T. Lim Boulevard, Zamboanga City

Course: MAED-EDAD
Subject: EDAD 210 (Current Trends, Problems and Issues in Education)
Professor: Margie B. Janda, RGC
Discussant: Juliet C. Clemente and Robin C. Clemente

TOPIC:
Online Class or Distance Learning Readiness and Effect Among Teachers

The global pandemic has affected almost, if not all, industries all over the world.
Here in the Philippines, Filipinos are badly hit by the ripple effects of the COVID-19 that
affected every aspect of their lives: from their jobs, health, well-being, and yes, their education.
The early ending of the school year (a precaution to prevent the further spread of the
virus) is a clear sign of how the current school system can be affected by a global pandemic.
With the threat of COVID-19 still on the rise, with no clear sign of how (and when) it
will end, the Department of Education (DepEd) saw itself faced with a crucial and giant task: to
maintain the flow of quality education in the Philippines while protecting its stakeholders’ health
in the process.

What Will Bridge the Gap? 

Though health precautions are, without a doubt, a paramount consideration in these
challenging times, Filipinos’ education cannot be left behind, even during this crisis. 
With this severe problem, the Department of Education decided that it’s time for the
Philippines to fully adopt distance learning. 
This initiative would utilize the power of current technologies to provide education even
with significant limitations such as community quarantines and social distancing policies. 
DepEd’s online learning platform is specially crafted to deal with the current limitations
that both teachers and students face during the crisis. 
Their platform is a convenient place where interactive and remote activities can be
performed. It also supports the fast distribution of educational resources to teachers and
students no matter where they are. 
All these things are possible because the platform taps the current and proven
technologies that provide practical solutions to the problems that the education sector is facing
right now. 

Current Limitations 
Without a doubt, this initiative from the Department of Education is laudable, but the
DepEd (including us) are still faced with another hurdle that will surely limit the full realization
of distance learning in the Philippines. 
 According to Huawei’s Global Connectivity Index, which annually ranks 79 nations
based on various factors, including digital economic performance, ICT investment, and ICT
maturity, the Philippines ranked 59th and is categorized as a “Starter.”
Also, the Department of Education (DepEd) cannot deny that the necessary equipment
for their distance learning initiative cannot be afforded by most public school students. 

Let’s Talk About Numbers 

There are 1,042,575 devices (Desktops, laptops, tablets) that are distributed across 44,155
schools that account for 93% of public schools in the Philippines.

On these more than a million devices, 459,578 are laptops/tablets that can be brought home,
which represents only a very fraction of the overall learners in the public schools, which is two
percent.

Forty-eight percent of public schools or some 22,645 schools have internet connections.

The 8,478 or 18 percent of public schools are in areas with ISPs or Internet Service Providers but
have yet to be connected.

Limitations in Detail

DepEd is in tune with the current limitations of Philippine Education’s ICT Infrastructure.
The DepEd’s Information and Communications Technology Service or ICTS has a list of the
specific challenges that our education sector faces with regards to tech infrastructures and limited
capacities.

The list also comes with DepEd’s implemented solutions:

Limited internet access is a major roadblock for the total rollout of online learning. One
way to decrease students’ reliance on the internet in accessing educational resources is by
loading relevant digital contents right into their devices.
Teachers should have proper training in the use of the technology needed for learning
dissemination.
To prepare teachers for the new mode of learning, the Department of Education has
already conducted a series of webinars and online training programs this year.
Each of these training has garnered 333,758 teachers from March 11 to May 15, 2020,
who have been trained to use the technology that will be used for DepEd’s online
learning.
The Department plans to expand this training, but, unfortunately, there are teachers with
limited knowledge in the ICT norms, and there is also the issue of the lack of internet
access.
Early grade levels must be supervised by parents in the use of technology.
But orienting parents in the use of technology could be a significant hurdle for students to
take advantage of DepEd’s online learning fully.
Online learning might not always be applicable for the hands-on sessions required in Senior
High School vocational tracks.

What Do the Stakeholders Think About DepEd’s Online Learning Program?

 The Department of Education (DepEd) has reached out to 789,690 respondents (of which are 53
percent are school personnel, 31 percent are parents/guardians, and 16 percent are learners) to
know their response with the online learning initiative.

Here are the results (data source from The Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan in
the Time of COVID-19 of the Department of Education (DepEd):

 From the parents/guardian’s category, 59 percent says they are open to this new initiative
from the DepEd.
 From school personnel respondents, 41 percent say they are optimistic about the
alternative learning set up.
 While from the learners, only 35 percent are looking forward to it.

Indeed, with the results mentioned above, it is clear that the Department of Education (DepEd)
has a lot of work to do to make their initiative as appealing as possible to its stakeholders.

Understandably, their respondents still have a lot of trust in the traditional face-to-face learning.

When asked about the students’ readiness to go to school in the midst of strict implementation of
social distancing, here’s how open the stakeholders are:

 Parents/Guardians – 58 percent
 School Personnel – 66 percent
 Learners – 61 percent

Also, DepEd has also distributed a Memorandum with a survey template to get in touch with the
responses among its teachers about their readiness with the online learning.

There are 787,066 respondents for this survey (which are all teachers) from different stages of
primary education.

Here are the results:

 Ownership of laptop and desktop

Of the 787,066 respondents, 87 percent of teachers (or 687,911) say that they have an available
computer at home.

13 percent (or 99,155) says that they lack this equipment

 Internet Access

Of the 687,911 respondents with a computer at home, 49 percent (or 336,252) says that they
have an internet connection at home.

41 percent (or 280, 531) says that even though they have a computer, they have no internet
connection.

10 percent (or 71, 128) says that in their area, the internet signal is not available

Large Scale Implementation

With this distance learning that DepEd is implementing right now, the public might get the
impression that it is the Department’s first actual attempt to venture into online learning.
Actually, it isn’t.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has existing Alternative Delivery Modes or ADMs even
before the global pandemic happened.
But since the demand for this alternative mode of learning has skyrocketed recently, the
challenge that the Department is facing right now is rolling out this alternative learning on a
national scale.

Indeed, it’s a Herculean task to fully implement this alternative learning nationally, and we have
yet to see if the Department of Education (DepEd) has what it takes to bring what the teachers
and students need in these challenging times.

REFERENCE:
Department of Education (2020, May). The Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan in the
Time of COVID-19. Retrieved June 15, 2020.

Distance learning is a learning delivery mode where interaction takes place between the teacher
and the students who are geographically remote from each other during instruction. This means
lessons will be delivered outside the traditional face-to-face setup.
This modality has three types: Modular Distance Learning (MDL), Online Distance Learning
(ODL), and TV/Radio-Based Instruction.

Modular Distance Learning

Involves individualized instruction that allows learners to use self-learning modules

(SLMs) in print or digital format/electronic copy, whichever is applicable in the context of the
learner, and other learning resources like Learner’s Materials, textbooks, activity sheets, study
guides and other study materials. Learners access electronic copies of learning materials on a
computer, tablet PC, or smartphone. CDs, DVDs, USB storage and computer-based applications
can all be used to deliver e-learning materials, including offline E-books. The teacher takes the
responsibility of monitoring the progress of the learners. The learners may ask assistance from
the teacher via e-mail, telephone, text message/instant messaging, etc. Where possible, the
teacher shall do home visits to learners needing remediation or assistance. Any member of the
family or other stakeholder in the community needs to serve as para-teachers.

Type/Modality/Approach/Strategy

Learning is in the form of individualized instruction that allows learners to use self-
learning modules (SLMs) in print or digital format/electronic copy, whichever is applicable in
the context of the learner and other learning resources like Learner’s Materials, textbooks,
activity sheets, study guides and other study materials. Learners access electronic copies of
learning materials on a computer, tablet PC or smartphone. CDs, DVDs, USB storage and
computer-based applications can all be used to deliver e-learning materials, including offline e-
books. The teacher takes the responsibility of monitoring the progress of the learners. The
learners may ask assistance from the teaser via email, telephone, text message/instant messaging,
etc. Where possible, the teacher shall do home visits to learners needing remediation or
assistance. Any member of the family or other stakeholder in the community need to serve as
para-teachers.
Online Distance Learning

Features the teacher as facilitator, engaging learners’ active participation through the use
of various technologies accessed through the internet while they are geographically remote from
each other during instruction. The internet is used to facilitate learner-teacher and peer-to-peer
communication. Online learning allows live synchronous instruction. It requires participants to
have good and stable internet connection. It is more interactive than the other types of distance
learning. The responses are real time. The learners may download materials from the internet,
complete and submit assignments online, attend webinars and virtual classes. This is practiced
effectively by using a Learning Management System or related technologies. The DepEd
Commons and LR Portal fall in this category.

TV/Radio-Based Instruction utilizes SLMs converted to video lessons for Television-Based

Instruction and SLMs converted to radio script for Radio-Based Instruction.

Distance learning modality is most viable for independent learners, and learners supported by
periodic supervision of parents or guardians.

The challenge will be in dealing with learners not capable of independent learning. This is the
subject of further discussion within DepEd, and with partners and parents.

Type/Modality/Approach/Strategy
It features the teacher facilitating learning and engaging learners’ active participation
using various technologies accessed through the internet while they are geographically remote
from each other during instruction. The internet is used to facilitate learner-teacher and peer-to-
peer communication. Online learning is a form of live synchronous platform where it requires
both parties to have good and stable internet connection. It is often more interactive than the
other types of distance learning. The responses are real-time. The learners may download
materials from the internet, complete and submit assignments online, attend webinars and virtual
classes. This is practiced effectively by using a Learning Management System or related
technologies. The use of DepEd Commons and LR Portal falls in this category as both requires
internet connectivity to have access.

Blended Learning

This refers to a learning delivery that combines face-to-face with any or a mix of online
distance learning, modular distance learning, and TV/Radio-based Instruction. Blended learning
will enable the schools to limit face-to-face learning, ensure social distancing, and decrease the
volume of people outside the home at any given time.

Critical for implementation will be the production of the needed teacher’s and learner’s
learning materials (LR Portal and DepEd Commons will be maximized), as well as the support of
media institutions like TV and radio stations.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning?

The advantages and disadvantages of distance learning depend on the perspective of the student.

The advantages are:

 You can take courses and learn from any university and/or instructor in the
world
 You make your own studying schedule during the time the course is given
 You can get a degree from any university without leaving your home country as
long as you complete the required courses successfully
  You do not need to leave your employment position, but can study whenever you
have time and your job schedule allows it
 You can communicate and interact not only with the professor through virtual
means, but also with other people around the world who are taking the same
course as you. This interaction can be done via email or chat rooms, and the students
can be from different cultures or countries. This assists people in gaining more insight
and expose themselves to different points of view that they might not have gained in a
typical physical classroom with less diversity
 Distance learning courses or degrees often cost much less than formally registering in
a classroom at a physical university. As mentioned before, if you register in MOOCs,
the courses are usually free of charge.

The disadvantages of distance learning are:

 Lack of physical social interaction that is found in a typical, traditional classroom.

Students can only engage and share opinions through virtual means in chatrooms or
broadcasts, but are not able to physically interact with each other
 It does not fit all types of learners. If you are someone who needs constant
motivation and support from professors or instructors, then distance learning is not for
you, since instructors are not always available to offer assistance in the same way that
they would be in a traditional classroom
 Some courses required to complete a degree may not be available online.
Sometimes universities make many required courses online to give students a feel of
their teaching methodologies, quality, and value. After you complete those courses, to
get the degree you might be required to attend some classes in person. These classes
will most likely be less affordable, or you will not be able to travel to the university to
take them.
 You need to be technologically savvy. If you are a person who is not as comfortable
to working with technology, then distance learning will not suit you. Distance learning
requires students to be able to operate with at least a minimum knowledge of different
chat rooms, online examinations, and interaction, and many people do not feel
comfortable if they do not even have physical material to study from.

In summary…
Distance learning has many benefits which the physical classroom and correspondence
learning do not necessarily have. Despite distance learning advantages and disadvantages, it is up
to each person to weigh the costs and benefits of enrolling in a virtual classroom or attending a
class in person.
Both options give different types of learners a comfortable environment to gain new
knowledge and skills and accommodate their educational needs.

References:

https://www.mastersdegree.net/what-is-distance-learning/
https://www.teacherph.com/deped-learning-delivery-modalities/