BELIEVING that technology-oriented solutions can help solve problems in online teaching and global learning, AMA University Online Education (AMA OEd) is investing in more student-centric educational technologies (EdTech) and learning-management systems.
“Most of our students live complex and very busy lives, and staying on track with their online lectures and tasks can be a challenge. Without appropriate EdTech to provide real-time solutions, e-learning platforms often have so-called ‘blind spots’ that cause students’ inability to catch up with the rest of the class and even high classroom-attrition rates,” said Dr. Amable C. Aguiluz IX, vice chairman and CEO of AMA Education System.
AMA OEd’s EdTech enables instructors to gather and observe behavioral data to address negligible student engagement, low uptake of content, and poor documentation—some of the biggest pain points in e-learning.
An EdTech is successful if it builds on the existing hardware with little changes and to a certain extent add to its limitations. An array of solutions utilized by the AMA OEd learning platform enables any laptop to capture, record and livestream lectures, regardless of time and location. Its technology feature also connects learners’ digital notes to related presentations and video lectures as these happen to encourage real-time interaction with their instructors.
What’s more, EdTech-supported asynchronous learning empowers students to flag content they find hard to understand, foster better peer to peer interaction, and provide them on-demand access to curated content developed specifically for their program. It’s pivotal in aiding instructors interpret real-time behavioral informations and risk indicators, which is a big step from the same instructor-feedback acid tests that happen only after the course.
“The operative word here is real time. Online education is not a mere alternative to traditional teaching but is actually a mode of teaching with its own set of strengths. As EdTech solutions get better, this distinction will no longer be as apparent in the coming years,” Aguiluz said.
“Therefore, online learning platforms must be able to provide its students with the assistance, materials, consult and interaction at the same way or rate as they would in a traditional classroom-learning set-up,” he added. The AMA OEd is built to make affordable, yet quality education more inclusive and accessible for all. This is also a part of AMA Education System’s vision of e-learning in the country in the future. “Despite digital challenges, we see great potential for online education in the Philippines. As such, we take it upon ourselves to push the envelope, and invest in technologies to improve the online learning experience. This is the only way we can truly make online education useful and beneficial to all,” he said.