by Dr. Edgar G. Geniza, COLLEGE PRESIDENT

Contemporary realities dictate that education must also evolve into more receptive and more suited to the needs of our young people today. The element of time management, technology, leisure, and lifestyle are things worth looking into if we are to create alternative learning systems. Quite frankly, the days of face-to-face daily meetings with mentors will be automated and in the future replace with more technologically-based, less attendance, less personal contact type of instructions. New pedagogical models and concepts will be in place, which will revolve around ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

While a lot of educators are definite that their professions are not to meet the fate of dinosaurs, we have always thought of the computer – the PC and laptop as platforms of the instruction and knowledge delivery process.

On the contrary, smaller, more portable gadgets such as PDAs or palm computers and even cellular phones are getting to be more and more technology available that they may be future platform for the delivery of instruction. And rightly so, because a lot of different courses such as Nursing are now becoming more and more dependent on technology as most medical instruments, gadgets, and equipment are now becoming smaller but technologically advance.

There is an apparent need for the development and evolution of alternative learning systems which will be based on the latest technology, less person to person interaction and depending on available technological or electronic systems, utilize the latest in digital technology as a means of delivery of instruction.

While educators will never be extinct as workers in the knowledge industry, they would have to be more and more available to their students via cellphones and PDAs and complete the learning cycle without the usual face-to-face interaction. The need for a more personal interaction would be necessary only to deal with individual consultations and to address the difficulties encountered by specific students. The use of multimedia systems, like PowerPoint, graphics, audio – visuals, and even interactive television can be the next wave. This calls for educators themselves getting into the technology bandwagon to better serve the needs of their students.

The use of technology in transferring skills and knowledge is not only convenient but also faster and as an added bonus, our students need not attend person to person discussion and long lectures. Lectures can be summarized and send via SMS or email. This could shorten delivery of curriculum. Besides, we are now approaching the age of the merger of science or the multi-disciplinary approach and multitasking. Soon our students will not be concentrating on the whole range of information, and they will receive their degrees in half the time it takes via traditional classroom delivery. These are truly exciting times.

by Prof. Armin Santos, COLLEGE CONSULTANT

Technology advances exponentially that society cannot cope with it. In the process, a lot of people who do not have access to technology are left behind innocent or unaware that such technological advances have been invented already. Society creates culture to address such development with far-reaching and pervasive influence on it, television for example contributed to human knowledge and help in electronic mass communication. Whereas before, news travels very slowly through word of mouth, the newspaper made new (or gossip) travel faster. Then, the radio even travel faster via radio waves (but no permanent record is left) at the speed of sound.

The invention of television contributed to the ever-widening culture gap created by technology. Before, sound is transmitted, now the sound comes with the visual and therefore completing the audio-visual cycle. Before, news agencies record the events by such devices as motion picture, videotape, or DVD and replays those records to us. Now, no wonder of satellite communication enables us to see events as they happen in real time! Such electronic mass media makes the world truly a global community. On world TV, we can see actual footages of different places and cities all over the face of the planet in real time. It might be nighttime in Paris and daytime in Manila, whatever, it makes us see the world all at once.

The task of social science now is to help in culture – creation by helping our people realize those developments and that these are absorbed by our people through cultural systems. Our cultural systems must keep pace with technology so that there will be less chasm or gap between technology and culture. True, culture manifested in the language, values, attitudes, and knowledge of the people, but, we in the education system must assist society by fast – tracking absorption of technology in the mainstream culture. One good example is the introduction of cellular phones. Now, culturally, cell phones are very much part of our culture and our language. The texting craze has evolved into a cultural element already soon, might be contributory to mainstream culture through communication both verbal and written.

The problem is, it might have serious repercussion to our spoken language – as more and more young people find it more convenient to communicate via SMS or text messaging. It also comes with a sub cultural lingo – txt speak as I may call it. “How are you?” becomes “h r u?” or “see you!” is “c u!” Texting instead of bridging the gap may even contribute further to widening the cultural gap. We most do something about this by encouraging our students to text completing the words and phrases which might be a tall order. “c u!”