DURING my time as a student at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, only the students who came from families who were well-off had typewriters. Those whose dads were executives had the privilege of having their papers typed by their fathers’ secretaries.
Research was done at the library. Groupmates and classmates who had complete encyclopedia volumes at home were very much sought-after. We learned things the hard way.
For example, my Psychology professor, who was based in Germany, appeared at the start of the semester. She just gave us three questions to answer. She didn’t hold any classes; we just had to answer those three very difficult questions. At the end of the semester, she appeared again to get our papers. So many people in our class failed because not everybody had resources to the information needed for the answers. If they did, they didn’t know how to find it.
Well, things are done differently these days. It is the birthright of every student to have a smartphone with mobile data. When a student enters a restaurant, he or she immediately asks the waiter if Wi-Fi is available and what’s the password. Projects and other papers are submitted via e-mail, unlike the old days when we had to go to our instructors’ homes at midnight to submit our requirements. There’s no need to go to libraries, too, as nearly everything can be found online.
At the UP Diliman, an online course management system called the University Virtual Learning Environment, or UVLê, allows instructors to create online spaces for their classes to support and supplement classroom instruction.
“Most of our classes involve online submission,” said Moira Cruz, a fourth-year Civil Engineering student. “It’s like having online classes.”
This kind of reminds me of my Psychology class, except that here, the teacher doesn’t need to fly in from Germany.
Professors post slides and online quizzes on UVLê, said Gabrielle Seva, who is in fifth year in Industrial Engineering. “It’s important to have a fast and reliable Internet connection, especially if you have to e-mail something right away.”
Smart Communications has been upgrading its LTE sites in Metro Manila and other parts of the country to improve customers’ mobile data experience. “Smart LTE has a strong signal anywhere on campus. Connection is always at full bar…very reliable,” said Seva.
Other students find it difficult to get a connection on the fourth floor of the College of Engineering building, but not Sellina Sy.
The graduating Materials Engineering student said her Smart mobile data has never let her down whenever she needs to access the Internet—even when she’s at the Engineering Thinking Space, a study area on the fourth floor.
Nicole Tan keeps her mobile data turned on.
“I use it everywhere on campus. I use it to access resources and communicate with my friends,” said the fifth-year student who is majoring in Industrial Engineering. “It is definitely easier for our generation to access information because we have it at the palm of our hands. It’s easy compared to when my parents were studying. They had to go to the library to get information. With mobile data, we can just access it through our phone,” added Tan.
What these four Engineering students have been doing, together with other members of the UP Women in Engineering, are also part of an organization promoting the interest, competence and leadership of Filipino women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
“We noticed that in the Philippines, the STEM field is male-dominated,” said Seva. She adds that she has personal knowledge of cases of discrimination against women in certain courses.
“UP Women in Engineering started last year. We believe that women and men should be given the equal chance to work in the STEM field. It is a matter of empowerment,” said Sy.
“We started an empowerment series, a career talk for senior high school students to promote the science and engineering field,” said Cruz. The group is trying to correct the notion that STEM is a very tough field and that it is mainly for men.
The group will soon go to all-girls schools like Miriam College and Poveda. Like most people who belong to the younger generation, the group members use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to announce events and projects.
Also in the pipeline is the Female Friday project, wherein they would feature a Filipina in the STEM field on their Facebook page every Friday.
The organization also recently launched its official brand, I AM, which has its own Facebook page where updates on an incoming product line will be posted. The merchandise that has empowering words and promotes feminism, ecology and body positivity.