TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite - With the continuous rise of Covid-19 cases in the Philippines, various aspects of life are being transformed, including education and learning.
As the front runner in providing training and extension services in the region, the Agricultural Training Institute in Calabarzon adheres to the nationwide policy on stringent social distancing measures and other protocols on managing the Covid-19 situation.
Thus, participants for trainings and extension activities are cut down, and official travels are limited to the most essential: those which cannot be accomplished through virtual communication.
In addition to that, the Information Services Section (ISS) led the "Mentoring Workshop on the Use of Online Platforms" for all regular and Job Order technical personnel. The two-day activity is a collaborative sharing of experiences and tasks of the ISS personnel, including the online initiatives during the lockdown starting March.
In the said activity which took place on July 22-23, 2020, the ISS personnel shared the implementation strategies on the Center's webinar, "Agricultural Technologies through Internet (ATI) at Home" and provided tips on how to effectively conduct a virtual meeting.
The mentoring session also paved the way for the exploration of the Learning Management System (LMS) being used by RLearning Center Online of MoCa farm.
Its owner, Ms. Gloria Pontejos-Morris has extensive years of experience as an LMS User Provider after finishing her degree in Nevada State College and putting up the RLearning Center in 2015.
Morris demonstrated a walk through in using the "TalentLMS" and provided an actual learing experience on course development using LMS.
The LMS is considered an essential tool of eLearning, upon which all online courses and training modules can be built.
With ATI's distance learning programs such as School on the Air, and e-Learning for Agriculture and Fisheries already in place, the Center regards the pandemic as an opportunity to strengthen these programs and innovate on how to provide agricultural trainings and extension services that inspire.