Educational technology is ultimately limited by the people who use them. It’s one of the things I learned at work as an IT guy in UPOU. I anticipated the possibility that it wouldn’t matter much even if I agreed to use the platform that students would say they liked the most. Not everyone is going…
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Blogs about work, life and everything in between.
Online Uni Life #12: Looks different, but feels the same (Part 1)
My hiatus from teaching coincided with the influx of a new generation of undergraduate students at UPOU. They were among the first products of the Philippines’s recently established K-12 program. Many of them were also those who passed the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) who specifically chose to study online under UPOU’s…
More stories about my dad #2
Today’s my dad’s birthday. He’d have been 79 years old. I thought I’d get back to a story I left hanging a few months back. I mentioned before that we, meaning the men of the Librero family, are not particularly showy when it comes to affection towards loved ones. Me and my dad certainly were…
On talking about politics and religion
The prevailing wisdom amongst many for the past years has been to never talk about things like politics and religion with friends and relatives to avoid fights and arguments. It’s more important to keep up the good vibes. A friend’s post made me consciously realize that perhaps that is not necessarily the right thing do…
Thoughts on the looming elections
Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe I’m at a point where I’m more worried about my son’s future rather than my own. Whatever the reason, I’ve never been invested in elections until now. I’ve always tried to stay wherever the middle ground was at each time. Even when I didn’t like who won the presidency, I…
More stories about my dad…
I was thinking about what story I could share about my dad, coming into the first anniversary of his passing. It came as I was sorting through old junk. But I need to preface that with another story. I don’t remember the exact date, but it was likely around 2001-2002. I post this awkward picture…
So, I got Covid…
I tested myself late on both counts. But the glaring point holds. I admit being angry and frustrated during those first 2-3 days when I was feverish. Then I figured that since this was likely to have been omicron, I might as well get it over with now. Still… while symptoms were relatively mild, recovery…
Roxie (March 31, 2012 – December 29, 2021)
(aka Racha of Jam-Polka) One more loss to cap off the year. We got Roxie right after I got married. The poor girl was about 10 weeks old, caged and on display in the veterinary supply store next to where I work — the last of her litter to not have a home. I had…
Online Student Engagement and Sense of Community in a Philippine Online University
While a relatively simple study, I feel that this is one of the more relevant things I’ve studied as an academic. I can do the flashy projects and studies, but those can only be given solid foundations by research such as this.
Online Uni Life #11: Sympathy and empathy Part 8
Knowing and experiencing It’s not that I was in denial that the struggle is real. I just didn’t go through it as badly as some. The University of the Philippines, particularly the Los Baños campus, was not a place of hardship for me. It was home. It was, and still is, my comfort zone. While…
Online Uni Life #10: Sympathy and empathy (Part 7)
Chance renewed The wait only lasted one week. Lancaster University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences sent me an email notifying me that my application was up for reconsideration. I just needed to make a few clarifications and submit some additional documents. I was extremely thankful for the renewed chance, but I wasn’t going to…
Online Uni Life #9: Sympathy and empathy (Part 6)
Taken down a notch… That time between 2009-2011 was extremely important for my professional growth and personal maturity. Perhaps a bit of that went to my head, as I started to believe I’d have little problem pursuing my PhD. It didn’t take long for me to be proven wrong, though. I made attempts to apply…
Online Uni Life #8: Sympathy and empathy (Part 5)
Note to readers:This is turning out to be much longer than I had envisioned. I initially thought this was going to be a 3-part blog. But at this rate, it can easily make it to 10 parts. I apologize if it’s getting harder and harder to follow. But I still am keeping track of where…
Online Uni Life #7: Sympathy and empathy (Part 4)
Right at the beginning, I started to notice how my habits were taking shape. Hmmm… I was going to use the term study habits, but that would be me being too generous to myself.
Online Uni Life #6: Sympathy and empathy (Part 3)
While it was never my first choice, personal circumstances led me to taking up my PhD in distance mode. Time will tell whether or not this will end up being a good choice. But I would need to make the most out of it. I had thought that my experience as an online teacher would be an advantage. This made me feel secure enough to feel more relaxed coming in.