Schools implement e-learning strategies amidst COVID-19

Even when classes are disrupted, students can still access their lessons and answer drills and activities found in their Genyo e-Learning account.

Most schools from all over the Philippines use e-learning strategies to continue lessons despite the cancellation of classes that is implemented to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). This is done in light of the government’s decision to enforce the enhanced community quarantine all over Luzon, as well as their recent declaration of a national state of calamity.

In Metro Manila, Lourdes School of Mandaluyong issued a statement that their students are encouraged “to continue their learning journey via online home-based modules and activities.” To do this, their teachers create lesson packages that include video tutorials, game-based activities, and quizzes. They set the duration of the lessons, and the schedule when these are available for the students to access. Teachers are also able to monitor the students’ progress, up to the point where they know if the students are done with their daily lessons and activities.

Such is also the case with Catherina Cittadini School in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. When news broke out that the virus has made its way to the Philippines, the school decided to call off its regular classes and insisted that learning must continue despite the uncertainties surrounding the situation. The school has announced through an official memo that they prepared “relevant academic tasks” for the students “to do at home through their existing online learning management portal, Genyo.”

With the use of the learning management system (LMS), teachers assign lessons remotely to their students, who can access them from their computers or tablets at home. Students may also continue learning at their own pace by accessing ready-made lessons that are available in the LMS. In addition, they can collaborate with their peers and communicate directly with their teachers on the platform.

Lourdes School of Mandaluyong and Catherina Cittadini School are just two of the many schools all over the country who have been taking advantage of the benefits of anytime-anywhere learning through Genyo e-Learning, a fully integrated online LMS created by Diwa Learning Systems Inc. (Diwa). It has ready-made content in the major subject areas, and allows teachers to create and upload their own lessons and exercises.

For many years now, these schools have been using the platform and were trained by Diwa to maximize its features. Hence, it was less challenging for all of them to shift to using e-learning strategies immediately to finish the school year with minimal disruption.

The e-learning platform also enabled Batangas schools to remain steadfast in finding ways to facilitate distance learning when the Taal Volcano erupted last January. Indeed, in times like this when cancellation of classes is mandatory, education does not stop for schools that have learning environments that are unbound by the four walls of the classroom.