SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija - A prime rice research institution in the country has opened the door of digital technologies to agricultural extension workers whose age range from 40 to 60 with at least 16 of them currently taking up the one-and a half month online course on rice production technology.
Dr. Leocadio Sebastian, Executive Director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute based in Baranagay Maligaya here, the introductory program is being offered “to primarily run-test the viability of the e-learning system as well as to gauge the learning curve and readiness of their clients (extension workers) in this kind of learning platform.”
The current enrollees are agricultural extension workers from Cabanatuan City and the Science City of Muñoz, both in Nueva Ecija, who are each required a farmer-cooperator. The cooperator’s farm, another official explained, serves as the enrollee’s experimental field where he or she will apply his/her acquired knowledge.
Diadem Gonsalez of PhilRice Communication Division said that the online course program uses a blended pedagogical approach which deals with the Minus-One Technique (MOET) is composed of a series of lessons and discussions as well as field works. MOET is defined as the easy and cheap way to diagnose the nutrient deficiencies in the soil.
Online discussions are done through forums and chat, is supplemented with the use of texting or short messaging system “to facilitate better interaction despite geographical disparity.”
“With this pilot test, we hope to hear feedbacks from them (extension workers) on how the system works and on how we can improve it to better serve them,” Sebastian said. He added : “We envision to offer both onsite and online trainings in the near future to give our clients more learning options.”
Last July 6, the participants were taught of the basic uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as computer and internet.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment