With online classes in the Philippines looking to stay for a while, more schools are finding better ways to stabilize this game-changing learning setup and turn it into an everyday norm.
Making use of the cloud has made school administration processes, classes, and collaborations easier to manage remotely. With paperless and traceable transactions, organized files that can be worked on from anywhere, and secure data access without the need for physical storage, using the cloud is vital for school management. But with many providers, which one works best for institutions?
Many one-stop cloud solutions that provide practical and convenient platforms pop up here and there, benefiting both educators and students. One of which is ClassIn, a one-stop learning solution for online classes — or simply put, a fully functional and dynamic online classroom.
“Due to this pandemic, the whole education industry is hugely shifting, and all students and the teachers need to adapt to this changing environment at a fast pace,” Darwin Zhong said, ClassIn Business Development Manager, at the Staying Ahead with ClassIn: The Benefits of Using Classroom Management System. The topic was recently discussed at one of Globe’s E-Skwela events.
E-Skwela is Globe s education-focused webinar series in partnership with industry experts, meant to help educators learn more about accessible digital tools and learning platforms so schools can operate efficiently, educators can teach effectively, and students can continue learning in the new normal.
According to Zhong, the key pillars in adapting to the demands of holding virtual classes are:
- Stable connection, with a low bandwidth requirement of just 2MBPS for a fully-equipped online classroom setup
- Interaction and engagement, which encourages teacher-student collaboration and live participation
- Continued learning activities beyond the classroom, in which options for independent learning are provided
- Easy implementation, with its all-in-one admin dashboard for teachers, students, and other users
All these can be addressed by using ClassIn.
“What we do is we deliver seamless integration for different learning management systems,” Zhong said, helping students easily adapt to it, without having to learn new app-related habits. “For teachers, because they don’t need to exactly learn a new system, they will have more time to spend on their coursework to enhance the quality of their classes to make more benefits for their students. This integration can usually be done within one day.”
At the event, Dr. Catherine Recto-Banta, President of Alitagtag College, Inc., also shared their experiences with ClassIn in their virtual classes. According to her, they were looking for a platform that was “cost-effective, interactive, had the semblance of a classroom, had multiple device support” and something that could offer activities that make it more than just an online classroom.
“Because we are a small school from a fourth-class municipality, many of us cannot afford tablets or laptops. So, students actually use their mobile phones in order to attend classes,” Dr. Recto-Banta said.
According to her, installing the ClassIn app was also a breeze. “[To give an idea of how we went through the process of getting ClassIn, it was on June 16, 2020 [that we received our contract for review.] And believe it or not, two days later, I was already sending the contract [back] to them. Then they immediately arranged for the onboarding or the training of our faculty. We were able to manage our online classes efficiently and effectively because of ClassIn,” Dr. Recto-Banta said.
Free training for schools is a perk for those who avail of ClassIn, with video tutorials and learning sessions also provided to institutions and educators in the planning stages of purchasing.
“We all have difficulties when it comes to using technology as a tool, or any new application, but the good thing is, for the educators and administrators out there, they already have the curriculum, the way of teaching, and pedagogical theories they can apply in the virtual classroom,” said Mark Arthur Abalos, Segment Head for Education at Globe Telecom. “Technology is not supposed to be the be-all-end-all. Teachers are capable of handling the classes; all they need to do is to integrate technology as wisely as possible.”
Shifting to digital learning has its pros and cons but with educational cloud solutions such as ClassIn, the former can outweigh the latter. ClassIn covers everything necessary and relevant to making virtual classes run smoothly and effectively.
“We are not a rich school but we are so thankful that we were able to make use of ClassIn in so many ways,” Dr. Recto-Banta said. “We can easily monitor and playback classes, and we have the built-in assignment and test features with auto-correct function and test analysis.”
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