As the country and the rest of the world are continually being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, let alone the climate of fear and uncertainty it creates, various sectors are beset with decisions to keep up with the impending demands under the state of the “new normal”. The education sector is no exception.
For this reason, Indiana Aerospace University (IAU) takes on a proactive approach to address the challenges posed by the pandemic guided by the protocols from the National government, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the local government units by migrating to a flexible learning platform called the Alternative Instructional Method Electronic Resource or ALTIMETER. This is set to be launched for pilot use during the Summer Term in June and July.
The name ALTIMETER was inspired from the actual altimeter or altitude meter, a flight instrument which measures the height of an aircraft above a fixed level. Customized for the school’s unique academic culture, ALTIMETER is designed to gauge student learning in virtual wireless scenarios based from the D2L platform, a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS) used popularly in top universities around the world offering online and remote education.
What makes this program advantageous is that it does not require students to be available every day for an online class. Unlike the traditional summer term set-up in which a 3-unit course runs a schedule of five days a week with two hours of contact time, this will entail only minimal online synchronous interaction. The rest of the class days will be intended for blended learning modes such as assigned readings, worksheets, modules, and the like. ALTIMETER can readily be downloaded in mobile phones and can also be accessed using laptops or desktop computers. It requires minimum data/internet usage to run, hence, making it convenient and user-friendly.
The University emphasizes that enrolment to the summer term is optional. Students who cannot enrol in the summer term in June are allowed to take the summer courses in the regular semesters on top of their regular subjects. Meanwhile those who are interested should have the means and capacity to go online and are open to use technological platforms. Enrolment and other school requests will be transacted online.
Guided by the emergency remote teaching paradigm which is a temporary shift from traditional instructional modes to alternative means with full consideration of the capacities and resources of its clientele, IAU supports the education sector’s stance for continuity of instruction amid the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is hoped that with the full implementation of ALTIMETER, the Filipino brand of resiliency will prevail and empower the Aerospacers, future aviators of this country, for a renewed commitment to life-long learning, as did the founding fathers of the aviation industry who weathered the storms.
