IMPLEMENTING AN ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE AT THE UP OPEN UNIVERSITY: CONVERGING ICTs TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Abstract

The Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies (BAMS) program of the UP Open University (UPOU) expects its graduates to attain both theoretical and practical knowledge regarding the field of multimedia and ICT. Facilitating skills-oriented learning commonly involves a hands-on approach. While it was the initial intention to deploy production courses in residential mode, the realities of UPOU's student demographics prohibit its implementation. In turn, these courses must be deployed in such a way that it would be possible for students to take the entire course online and perhaps level the playing field with the students who are able to more often interact face to face with the course facilitator through the use of various tools and methods for online learning. This study documents the implementation of one such course: Photography in Multimedia. The study also looked into the socio-demographics and performance of the 37 students enrolled in the course during Summer2010 and how it relates to the level of class participation of the student based on the model/ICT employed. The students were also asked to accomplish a survey at the end of the course regarding course implementation and ICT use for learning. Results showed that while majority of the students considered face to face sessions as beneficial, poor academic performance could not be attributed to failure to participate in these sessions. By the end of the course, all 37 students cited self-improvements in different aspects of photography, most notably the awareness of principles and technical knowhow. Results of the facilitator's assessment alluded to the same finding. It is therefore concluded that while face to face sessions remain as an invaluable tool in handling a production course, it is still possible, through the use of various tools, for a student to learn and even excel in a fully online mode.