The DLSU expansion in Canlubang, Laguna – Part 2 What will attract the faculty

In the previous post, I threw the questions–

How willing are the faculty to support these grand plan of the university?The Brother in his speech last March 28 appealed to make a legacy of continuing the Lasallian education and formation. But what support will the university give the faculty? Is DLSU willing to offer a quality work package to its faculty and staff?

As I try to appreciate the goals and intentions of the Lasallian brothers and institution, I looked into my present situation as an academic faculty in the university for quite some time. Deciding to support this grand plan will mean a huge sacrifice on my part as well as my colleagues because there are no existing resources and amenities yet.While the principle of integration is clear, the parameters and the quality of work are not yet determined. Those who will contribute to this cause will have to determine what are needed and what will be the future stake. This is not just an issue of traveling from Manila to Canlubang, spending higher transportation costs and spending extra travel time. This means a lifestyle upheaval for many of us.

There were many questions. Of course, many could not dare ask the Brother President during the assembly.

And so these are my thoughts on the matter of faculty. Hopefully, LVL campus planners and administrators would want to look on these.

As DLSU aims to attract its existing faculty members as well as the outstanding teachers and researchers of the country to become part of its system, there are certain amenities and work lifestyle that must be offered lavishly in LVL campus not enjoyed or experienced in Manila. These amenities & work lifestyle are apart from the academic resources and equipment that should be provided. These may be existing already  or still to be created, but it must come in a different facet and may be something that will be enjoyed in a 6,000 hectare campus. Here are the initial suggestions:

a. huge, spacious and ergonomically designed work spaces
b. collaborative, transparent meeting and project rooms
c. big, furnished pantry– that permits coffee brewing, tea time and sandwiches. Faculty may not have near access to a CBTL or Starbucks but the privilege of brewing one’s own coffee is a very sound alternative.
d. sleeping room and game room — the game room is a place for unwinding where you have darts, billiards or Wii. Sleeping room is a necessity for off peak time working teachers/researchers.
e. peaceful, safe and green atmosphere that encourages reflective thinking
f. air and open green spaces, big parks for outdoor reading, studying and sharing insights. I really miss the football field in Manila. It was the last open space and now gone.
g. bike lanes, no pedicabs. An environment of the least carbon emission is healthier than the congested, polluted Manila area.
h. very, very fast internet connectivity. Any faculty would be willing to render extra time given the bandwidth advantage.

i. OER – open education resources
j. spacious and private dormitories that encourages cooking your own food
k. good zoning for stores and markets

An academic faculty (and researcher as demanded by the university) does not work on an 8-5schedule. She prepares her lessons extensively, she teaches, she evaluates students’ works, she makes herself available for student consultation, she reads a lot and she does research. Research comes in different formats. Given these typical tasks and activities, she gets to enjoy managing her time. She may leave earlier on some days or may extend her stay in the campus just to read or talk to the students.

In the onset of the integration,  it also matters that DLSU looks into the mobility requirements of the faculty– the cost of travel, the travel time, the flexibility of schedule.

I believe it is high time for DLSU to forcibly implement hybrid or online learning. This is to create a more self-organized learning system both for the students and faculty. This will also mean enhancing the technology teaching and management skills of the faculty.

In my cubicle in the faculty room, I usually imagine how the sky looks like depending on the time of the day. Given the choice, I would have been willing to trade our classrooms in Gokongwei bldg to have classes in Andrew Hall, just to have that glimpse of the big sunny blue sky. Maybe it is always sunny in the Canlubang campus.

The DLSU expansion in Canlubang, Laguna – Part 1

As the DLSU, my university for a long time, is moving to its new centennial it also made specific plans of expansion. This was announced last March 28 Town Hall meeting held in the Marilen Gaerlan Conservatory. The plan is to establish the Leandro V. Locsin Campus in Canlubang, Laguna as an integral part of the DLSU-Manila campus. At present the DLSU-Manila serves as the main campus of the DLSU System. It is projected that by 2023, LVL campus (with 50,000 sqr mtr property and 6,000sqr mtr is used by the campus) will become the DLSU main campus and the Manila grounds as a satellite

This was a huge and fast development from Nov 2010′s plan of making LVL Canlubang an extension campus of the three colleges–Engineering, Science and Computer Studies. (Virgula, 2010)

Many variables are to be studied and to be considered. Hence, the president of the university, Br. Jun Erguiza had emphasized the approach to be of strategic incrementalism with necessary recalibration along the way. DLSU envisions itself, particularly the LVL Campus to become the leading research center in Asia. It banks on its slogan, “If Lasalle builds it, they will come”. Of course various types of sentiments were expressed during the assembly. Many faculty and staff while bewildered in this magnificent, bold leap, they are also confused with questions in their faces like–what will happen to us? Are we going to be part of these? What will be our participation? Will there be support coming from the university? Is the university offering a retirement package for those who will not join?

The university should not just look into the opportunity of having a huge, beautiful and fresh campus. DLSU should look on several things–

1. Where will our students come? The aim of DLSU is to create a campus with high concentration of top students. Let us not forget that DLSU is a private HEI, highly dependent on students relying on their educational insurance. The best students in the country still aim to go to the University of the Philippines. The only way you can attract an excellent student is to offer her a package she cannot refuse.

2. What programs are we going to offer? This is the most difficult question I guess. How unique and viable are the programs that will be offered so that the students will have that dire desire to go to a far campus. The laboratories and the learning environment must be made highly conducive both for the students and the faculty. Internet connectivity with high bandwidth can be another attraction.

3. How accessible is the area? This is a tricky, crazy question. The most convenient present access to the LVL campus is via SLEX then Sta. Rosa exit, then IMI Laguna Blvd which is actually part of Binan, then the LVL campus which is in Canlubang.

going to DLSC LVL campus from SLEX, Sta. Rosa and Binan

DLSU must influence local government to open other access points. Sta Rosa will become a chokepoint.

4. How willing are the faculty to support these? What support will the university give the faculty? DLSU aims to attract as well the outstanding teachers and researchers of the country to become part of its system. Is DLSU willing to offer a quality work package to its faculty and staff?

While many questions are left unanswered, the playing field of Phil education is also moving and shaking dynamically. Many of the HEIs have moved to become centers of development (CODs) and centers of excellence (COE). As the other HEIs thrive to be better, DLSU has the greater pressure to level up.

Many of the progressive HEIs, including UP, have started to open new campuses in other metro cities, where most of the BPOs are present. This is not aiming for the BPO employees to become the students but the children or siblings of these employees are the potential clients.

Reference:

Virgula, A. (2010) DLSU Taft, to partner with Canlubang campus, The Lasallian, November 21, 2010. Retrieved from http://thelasallian.com/2010/11/21/dlsu-taft-to-partner-with-canlubang-campus/

A community based disaster risk reduction system for BuklodTao of San Mateo, Rizal

Rainfall monitoring. Flood monitoring. Effective early warning. Effective information dissemination. Cooperation of community members. These are some of the regular activities and important concerns of the BuklodTao, an NGO taking care of the community of Banaba in San Mateo, Rizal. This community is one that is self-reliant, organized urban poor community in the boundaries of the metro. What makes their geographic location challenging is that Banaba is situated in the intersection of two big rivers, the Marikina river and the Nangka river. Marikina river is the catchment stream of water coming from the mountains.

It was two years ago when a brave group of students–Jan Casas, Deecee Diego and Quino Legaspi, decided to look into the situation of Banaba. They have very good and dynamic solutions to offer. But the community has many challenges. They are not a priority of the government. They cannot leave that place. It is where they live, they are raising their families and making their own livelihood.

After around nine months of engagement, Pandora came into being. Pandora is a community based disaster risk reduction system, a combination of solutions and strategies consisting of technology supported methods on– community profiling, vulnerability and flood hazard assessment with the use of a mapping tool, flood reporting, training and assessment of community members. This applied research project also highlights a participatory and socially motivated early warning and monitoring methods through mobile technologies and Twitter. The project has also fashioned the solution that engages the community to perform local management and gain ownership of the system and strategies.

Last April 11 through the IT Dept of DLSU, we gave the software to BuklodTao. Training on how to use the system and how to mobilize the community citizens through these open technologies will take place by the end of the month. We greatly recognize Ka Noli Abinales, the director of BuklodTao and their officers for the patience and warm acceptance to this study.

This is not a silver bullet solution. This is just the start. We still have many issues to address. The system will need web hosting, SMS/mobile hosting, rain gauges, additional emergency equipment, eventually additional computers. We want to help this community manage and address their community hazard.

The BuklodTao Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/BuklodTao

*As the research project adviser, I enjoyed working with this group. We had mutual passion, persistence and desire to do something different, something instrumental to the community.

Noynoying is not just about “sitting and doing nothing”!

If there is a Twittesaurus, one of the new viral term is “Noynoying”.If it will be added as a new word, I imagine it spelled out as something like this.

Noynoying. [noy-noying]

Noun

1. not doing anything
2. idle, laziness
3. complacency
4. procrastination
5. unproductive
6. inaction to problems
7. doing a sloppy job, ineffective

Verb

1. to inhibit one’s self from any action or productive work
2. to indulge in not doing anything as a privilege of a boss
3. to postpone any decision or rigid mental activity that entails a performance follow through

Origin. 2011-2012; Philippines. A Filipino cosmo word taken from the nickname of the present President Aquino, Noynoy + suffix ing of v. action.

Example sentences from Twitter.

1. Let me predict what you’re doing now. It’s 315pm and you’re all #NoyNoying at your desk, watching the clock, waiting for 5pm to come. (@djmotwiter)
2. Another lazy day. Perfect for #noynoying. I’m bored though. (@zihrio)
3. Procrastinating my lunch. thinking about #noynoying first and try to play some draw something. (@leansanchez)

Pascual (2012) further defines it as “it simply means for someone expected to act on a problem to just sit there and do nothing.” Noynoying is an attribute to a disgraceful slackness. And as it is going viral now, people see it in different ways. First it is seen as a despicable negligence. But the question is, is it acceptable? It is NOT. More than a negative context, it is an insult to the whole Filipino race. We are a nation of hard-working, productive people. We despise apathy to inaction. Second, it is now becoming an excuse by many people not to work or to perpetuate laziness. It is an excuse because if the president of the country is permitted to be under performing or not performing at all, how much more the ordinary citizen of this nation. We are all working and contributing to raise our beloved country. But if the people will see their president not doing his role and share of work, if people see their president not giving importance to our country, then how do we expect every Juan dela Cruz to work now.

This viral may go worse. It is not enough the Palace is releasing photos of the president working (why only now?) As JM Ragaza (2012) points out in his article, noynoying is a “symbolic protest”,  an insult to the governance that our country is experiencing right now.

References:

Pascual, F. (2012). How sweet it is to do nothing. Manilamail.com Retrieved from http://www.manilamail.com/archive/mar2012/12mar22.html

Ragaza, JM (2012). Why Noynoying is offensive (and why the Palace is hurting)? Philippine online chronicles.

If you consider your information valuable, keep it in the CLOUD!

A student requested an interview to ask about cloud computing. Answers to her questions may be googled in the web. I thought of writing my opinion on the topic.

Cloud computing is a set of methods and technologies permitting remote keeping, storage and now, processing of data in the web through an array of flexible services an individual or organization can avail of.

Cloud computing is one of the relevant offshoots of web 2.0 (or rather web 3.0) technologies. As you know, web 2.0 technologies embody a model of open systems and development and cloud is one of these.

It is a solution for small businesses, organizations and individuals who have limited resources but value the information they have.

Cloud computing is also the answer to the many personal or professional curation issues an individual or organization encounters. For instance, in my case as a teacher, I would want to preserve the best works or projects or my students in digital form. Most of the time I have to confine myself to CDs, file cabinets or the college network server. But if I am at home, I am unable to access these storage. But if the best works or projects are in the web, I can organize and access them anytime.

Another example–
The other significant advantage of cloud is it permits sharing of data. In this era of collaboration–time, distance and space are secondary barriers now because of cloud. I do data gathering, research, analysis and different aggregations/consolidation of data with the help of  cloud tools and other applications such as Googledocs, Dropbox, Twitter and Skype. These are some applications colleagues from Sweden, Canada, Australia or the US that we use and share. I was the one who taught my Canadian friend how to use cloud and she was happy about it. I was able to teach her about this web storage. She found it as a safe haven for her enormous FGD interview data and considers it as a backup facility.

What are the values to the society–

1. Consider your data and information as an asset or property. If you consider it as a day to day utility, you keep it in your house. But if you consider it valuable, you put it in a safer place– the cloud.

2. Small business or small organization or not-so-tech-frantic individuals may not invest on servers, time capsule or time machines. These storage are expensive and requires an above average understanding of computer configurations. It means it is not so manageable. So the cloud is a very good alternative. A small business, a small organization or even individuals may just pay for the services. And the fees are affordable.

3. Our societies are now in an era of information and communication viral– from personal to academic or professional standpoint. Information and communication activities require technologies so we can sustain these two essentials in our daily lives. Cloud is one of the best technologies that permit us to organize, access, use, share or even collaborate information and communication.

Cloud computing is a strong actor in bridging the digital divide. Information and communication are basic, tangible knowledge commodities that should be enjoyed by every person. And cloud computing makes it possible for everyone to enjoy these.

Recognizing an excellent student thesis project

In the Information Technology department of De La Salle University, we find time to acknowledge exemplary work in theses.

The thesis is an avenue for students to exhibit high level of technical competency, a strong research potential and deep understanding of building real-life information system solutions. As my colleague claims, it is a “masterpiece”! It is also an opportunity for students to claim they have created a real masterpiece when the work is highly commended. There are no grade requirements in creating a masterpiece. But there is the matter of presenting and defending a masterpiece!

There are standard rules we abide in recommending an award or a recognition to the thesis project. First, it is a working, polished, robust integrated system. Essentially it captures the requirements of the study and able to address the issues and the requirements. Second, it is relevant, replicable, and serve as a foundation for other works. Third, it is able to comply to the rigid academic requirements of the department, the college and the university as a whole. This also means that the thesis should earn a verdict of “conditional pass with minor revisions”. Fourth, the endorsement from the panelists should be unanimous.The endorsement may be done even after the deliberation has been made or after the students have complied to the revisions.

But more than these rules, how are we to say that the thesis is exemplary and deserving of special citation? Here are my thoughts.

While we recognize that the students are not expected to build something that is totally a new idea, (1) the topic or solution must be (a) pioneering or (b) non-mainstream or (c) very complex. Pioneer means that no similar topics have been undertaken or there are limited studies done in the area. Non-mainstream projects cover solutions that have high impact not just to an organization but to a larger extent like the industry or the society. Non-mainstream projects are difficult to pursue because it entails research and gathering of data from many sources and stakeholders, establishing a working rapport with the beneficiaries and stakeholders. Complexity entails application of carefully selected decision models or knowledge base models that support managerial decision-making.

(2) Second, the thesis project must be creatively presented and convincingly explained and defended. The thesis project entails an oral defense of 30-40minutes. It has always been a big challenge for students to compartmentalize a 9-12mons work in a limited time. The challenge entails engaging the panelists in a joy ride through the demonstration of the system  and a clear discussion of the system design. Exhibition of very good understanding of the solution is further observed in the open forum. The students in the thesis group must take initiative to contribute and explain (or confer as necessary) information for better appreciation of the work.

In this long period of thesis engagement, many issues may arise. The students must recognize the role of the adviser, not as person to sign and agree to whatever plans they have made. The adviser is a co-author of the thesis project. The adviser  commonly leads the students in long periods of brainstorming, inquiry and coaching. These tasks are not easy and also requires a lot of creativity. Student groups have different working styles, learning curves and educational goals. The adviser recognizes these variables and other nuances in establishing a good team among the students.

I am glad to have the chance to work with some of the most brilliant and persistent students in the IT department. I look forward to grow older with new thesis projects and wonderful students.

Who are our 21st century students

Here’s the abstract of the project we made from June to Dec 2011 labeled as the Great Learning Experience project . My personal view is that the encapsulated experiences of students may be used to have deeper understanding of how they perceive and perform learning.

In behalf of my academic peer, Lennarth Bernhardsson, I presented my analysis in the recent DLSU Science and Technology Congress held in Manila last Feb. 16, 2012.

The Great Learning Experience Project: An attempt to understand learning from the views of the Millennial learners

Maria Victoria Pineda, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

Lennarth Bernhardsson, University West, Trollhattan, Sweden

Corresponding author: mavic.pineda@delasalle.ph

Abstract

Millennial learners are individuals born after 1985 with very wide exposure to various types of media enhanced by technology. They are persons who had listened to music while in the womb of their mothers and had watched television starting at age 0. Most of them would have had a music player or a game pad or a mobile phone at age 8. (Deterle, Dede and Schrier, 2008) These millenial learners grew up with constant web connectivity at their fingertips to assist them in their homeworks.

The present pedagogies our academic institutions employ to support the learning style of the web generation of students may not be as suitable. Social constructivism, transformative learning or problem-based learning, while prevalent in the Asian context, may be more perfect for cognitively dynamic students. Our students nowadays are more adept to constructing knowledge, content (Attwell, 2007) and even more independent in their learning priorities. This study attempts to understand the new learning practices among our students. This study attempts to find out how college students define what a good learning experience is. It is also the intention of the study to explore new educational practices and hopefully drive ways of designing and developing the future of learning activities.

The study was conceived in May 2011 and was planned to collect data in the form of short videos in a span of six months, from June to December. There will be two sets of samples, one from the students of De La Salle University of the Philippines (DLSU) and the other from the students of University West (UW) in Sweden.

The experiment asked for a two minute video that will be created and expressed by an individual or group of students. This meant planning and organization to compose the thoughts, the message and the content of the video. Since this contains the expression of the students themselves, the self-expression equates to a great degree of authenticity.

This paper will impart the work-in-progress of this experiment, the Great Learning Experience. To date, there are twenty videos from DLSU and fifteen videos from UW. This paper will tell the methods used in the different classes and the initial findings. Comparison of the UW and DLSU videos is not included in the paper.§