INNOTECH Offers Its First Full Online Course
SEAMEO INNOTECH’s first fully online flexible short course for Southeast Asian school heads formally opened on December 8, 2009, during an online orientation session for flexible learners. The online orientation was participated in by 15 of 17 officially enrolled learners from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. The first fully online orientation was witnessed by Thailand’s representative from the Ministry of Education, Ms. Fatina Wonglayka, and Philippine’s representative from the Department of Education, Dr. Shambaeh Usman. The online orientation was facilitated by Mr. Pierangelo Alejo, Head/Specialist of SEAMEO INNOTECH’s Flexible Learning Solutions Unit and PEACeXCELS Course Manager and Flexible Learning Tutor; and Dr. Lilibeth Taa, SEAMEO INNOTECH Regional Education Program (SIREP) Project Manager and Flexible Learning Tutor. Technical Support was provided by FLSU Staff Jesus Dela Cruz and PEACeXCELS Project Coordinator Ma. Christina Mercado.
The online orientation tackled about what the learners need to know about the course pilot and the basic how-to’s of the course: how to actively participate in forum and chat discussions, how to submit course requirements, how to access resources, how to check rating and feedback from the flexible learning tutor, and how to get TechSupport.
The orientation served as a forum where the learners raised their most pressing questions about the course.
Mr. Philip J. Purnell, SEAMEO INNOTECH Deputy Center Director (Programs) also gave important pointers for the learners towards successfully navigating through the course. In his closing remarks, Mr. Purnell congratulated all the school heads for being nominated and accepting the challenge of being a flexible learner in the pilot course on Peace Education Excellence in School Leadership for Southeast Asia (PEACeXCELS). He emphasized that while SEAMEO INNOTECH has run flexible learning courses for many years, this will be its first ever fully on-line flexible learning course. He added that while being a flexible learner is indeed a challenge, it is also a source of great personal and professional satisfaction when the destination of completing the course will have been successfully reached and the school heads graduate as official PEACeXCELS alumni of SEAMEO INNOTECH. According to Mr. Purnell, INNOTECH is excited about this pioneering course which is part of its commitment to prioritizing peace education within the bigger context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) – particularly this being the United Nations Decade for ESD. Through the guidance of the SEAMEO Council of Ministers and the INNOTECH Governing Board, this course was identified as a priority for 21st Century SEA school leaders as part of INNOTECH’s contribution toward promoting and exercising culture of peace and respect for cultural diversity in the region.
December 10, 2009 is a red-lettered day in the United Nations’ calendar. Being the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the day is celebrated as International Human Rights Day. On this same symbolic date, two important PEACeXCELS milestones took place: the online orientation of Flexible Learning Tutors and the PEACeXCELS first chat session. The tutors’ online orientation was attended by associate flexible learning tutors Dr. Grace Rebollos, President of Western Mindanao State University, and Ms. Josephine Perez, Program Director Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute. In the afternoon, Mr. Alejo and Dr. Rebollos handled PEACeXCELS Class 1 while Dr. Taa and Ms. Perez facilitated PEACeXCELS Class 2.
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