On March 6, 2020, officials from the different schools run by the Dominican Province of the Philippines (DPP) gathered in the University of Santo Tomas’s Educational Technology Center to discuss avenues for collaboration in a planned e-Learning initiative.
The orientation activity, facilitated by Rev. fr. Stephen Redillas, O.P., Senior Consultant for Information and Communications Technology of UST, brought to the fore the Blackboard and digital learning endeavors happening at the University of Santo Tomas – Manila, for possible adoption by the DPP schools.
According to Rev. fr. Winston F. Cabading, O.P., SThL-MA, Assistant to the Rector for Information and Communications Technology, “we are offering our expertise to our sister schools in the DPP in jumpstarting their e-learning initiatives.” Recognizing that the schools are at different stages of technology integration, fr. Cabading said that UST “will guide and provide training where needed to the schools” so they can maximize the potentials of digital learning.
During the session, Educational Technology Center Director Anna Cherylle M. Ramos, MSc presented in greater detail UST’s experience in using the Blackboard Learning Management System, which from 2002-2018 gave the University the e-Learning Access Program (e-LeAP) and since 2018 has given rise to the UST Cloud Campus. This made UST the pioneer institution in massive-wide e-Learning adoption in the Philippines.
The DPP schools represented were the University of Santo Tomas – Manila, University of Santo Tomas Angelicum College – Quezon City, University of Santo Tomas – Legazpi, Albay, Colegio de San Juan de Letran – Calamba, Laguna; Intramuros – Manila; Bataan; and Manaoag, Pangasinan; and Lyceum of Camiguin.